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THE

AMERICAN CYCLOPEDIA

VOL. XV.
SHOMER-TROLLOPE

JV1 ;J it \ it j.

M VKJf., If OF

THE

AMERICAN CYCLOPEDIA:

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE.

EDITED BY

GEORGE BIPLEY AND CHARLES A, DANA.

VOLUME XV.
S. HOMER-TROLLOP E.

L I B R A U Y

i; N i v K n s r i: v o F

CALiFOiiNlA.

NEW YORK:
D. APPLETOISr AND COMPANY,

549 AND 551 BROADWAY.
LONDON: 16 LITTLE BEITAIN.

1876.

ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by D. APPLETOX AXD COMPANY, in the
Clerk s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.

ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, in the
Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Among the Contributors to the Fifteenth Volume of the Revised Edition are

the following :

Prof. CLEVELAND ABBE, Washington, D. C.

SNOW.
STORMS.
TRADE WINDS.

Bvt. Brig. Gen. HENRY L. ABBOT, U. S. A.,
Willet s Point, K Y.

TOEPEDO.

Hon. GEOEGE BANCROFT, Washington, I). C.
SOUTHAMPTON, HENRY WRIOTHESLEY, EAKL OF.

WILLARD BARTLETT.

SlNDE.

TANGANYIKA.
THIBET.

Prof. C. W. BENNETT, D. D., Syracuse Univer
sity.

SOULE, JOSHUA.
STRONG, JAMES.
SYRACUSE (University).

JULIUS BING.

SICILIES,

STAEL-HOLSTEIN, Baroness de,

TASSO, TORQUATO,

TIIIERS, Louis ADOLPIIE,

and other articles in biography, geography, and

history.

Hon. JAMES BLACK, Lancaster, Pa.

TOTAL ABSTINENCE.

FRANCIS 0. BOWMAN.

SIVOHI, ERNESTO CAMILLO.
STRADIVARI, ANTONIO.

TlTJENS, TlIERESE.

EDWARD L. BURLINGAME, Ph. D.

STUART, ARABELLA.

Rev. CHARLES P. Busn, D. D.

SMITH, ELI.
SYRIA (in part).

C. H. CARTER, Waterbury, Conn.

TOWN (in part).

ROBERT CARTER.

STEVENS, THADDEUS.
STORY, JOSEPH.
SU.MNER, CHARLES.
TAYLOR, ZACHARY.

Jonx D. CHAMPLIN, Jr.

SHOMER, JEBEL,
SIBERIA,

SLANG,
SPAIN,
SWEDEN,

and other articles in biography and geography.

Prof. E. II. CLARKE, M. D., Harvard Univer
sity.

SQUILL,
STRYCHNIA,

and other articles in materia medica.

Hon. T. M. COOLEY, LL. D., University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor.

SLAVERY (in part\
TANEY, EOGER BROOKE,
TAXES,

and other legal articles.

Prof. E. CURTIS, M. D., College of Physicians
and Surgeons, New York.
SPECTACLES.

Rev. S. S. CUTTING, D. D.

SLATER, SAMUEL.

Prof. J. C. DALTON, M. D., College of Physi
cians and Surgeons, New York.

SMELL,
STOMACH,
TASTE,
THORAX,

and other medical and physiological articles.

Rev. B. B. DRAKE.

TlIEOPHYLACT. SlMOCATTA.

THEOPHYLACT, ARCHBISHOP.

Prof. M. J. DRENNAN.

SIEMENS, ERNST WERNER.
SIEMENS, KARL WILUELM.
SOUTH SEA SCHEME.

EATON S. DRONE.

SOUTH CAROLINA,
STRAUSS, FAMILY OF,
TENNESSEE,
TRADE MARK,

and other articles in American geography.

Prof. THOMAS M. DROWN, M. D., Lafayette
College, Easton, Pa.

STEEL.

ROBERT T. EDES, M. D., Harvard University.

Articles in materia medica.

W. M. FERRISS.

TARGUMS,
TRIGONOMETRY,

and articles in biography and history.

Prof. WILLARD FISKE, Cornell University, Itha
ca, K Y.

SWEDEN, LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF (in part).
JOSEPH FITZGERALD.

SILK.

STOCKING.
. STRAW.

Lieut. Com. HENRY H. GORRINGE, U. S. N.,
Washington, D. C.

TARRAGONA.
TENERIFFE.
TRISTAN DA CUNIIA.

Prof. W. E. GRIFFIS, late of the Imperial Col
lege, Tokio, Japan.
TOKIO.
TOMOMI IWAKUEA.

Prof. JAMES MORGAN HART.

TELL, WILLIAM.

J. W. IlAWES.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Ohio, 111., and Mo.,

TEXAS,

TRENTON. K J.,

and other articles in American geography.

Lons HEILPRIN.

STATES GENERAL.
THIRTY YEARS WAR,

M. HEILPRIN.

SLAA ONIA.

TAURUS.

THRACE.

Prof. JOSEPH HENRY, LL. D.

SMITIISON, JAMES.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

G. A. HEWLETT, Shreveport, La.

SlIREVEPORT.

Prof. J. E. HILGARD, U. S. Coast Survey T
Washington, D. C.

TIDES.

CONTRIBUTORS TO THE FIFTEENTH VOLUME

THOMAS HITCHCOCK.

SWEDBERG, JESPER.
SWEDENBORG, EMANUEL.

CHARLES L. HOGEBOOM, M. D.

SODIUM.
SULPHUR.
SULPHURIC ACID.

Prof. THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY, LL. D., Royal
School of Alines, London.

SPECIES.

Lieut. HENRY JACKSON, U. S. A., Office of Chief
Signal Officer, Washington, D. 0.
SIGNAL SEEVICE.

ROSSITER JOHNSON.

TENNYSON, ALFRED,

THACKERAY, WILLIAM MAKEPEACE,

and other articles in literary biography.

Prof. 0. A. JOY, Ph. D., Columbia College,

New York.
SILICON,

and other chemical articles.

JOSEPH C. G. KENNEDY, LL. D., Washington,
D. C.

SHUBRICK, WILLIAM CRAWFORD.
Prof. S. KNEELAND, M. D., Mass. Inst. of
Technology, Boston.

SILKWORM,
STAG,
SWALLOW,
TORTOISE,

and other articles in zoology.

Prof. S. P. LANGLEY, Allegheny Observatory,
Allegheny, Pa.

SUN (in part).

CHARLES LINDSEY, Toronto, Canada.

TORONTO.

Prof. JOSEPH LOVERING, Harvard University.

TELEGRAPH (in part).

Capt. S. B. LrcE, U. S. N., U. S. Navy Yard,
Boston.

SIGNALS, NAVAL.

Prof. ALFRED M. MAYER, Stevens Inst. of Tech
nology, Iloboken, 1ST. J.

SOUND.

SPECTRUM.

STEREOSCOPE.

Rev. ANDREW B; MORSE, Danbury, Conn.

SIAM (in part).

Rev. FRANKLIN NOBLE.

SPURGEON, CHARLES HADDON,
SUNDAY SCHOOLS,
THANKSGIVING DAY,
TRACT AND PUBLICATION SOCIETIES,

and articles in biography and geography.

Rev. BERNARD O REILLY, D. D.

SISTERHOODS, Roman Catholic,

SYLLABUS,

TRAPPISTS,

and other articles in ecclesiastical history.

Prof. S. F. PECKHAM, University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, Minn.

TALLOW.
TAR (in part).

EDWARD T. PETERS, Bureau of Statistics*
Washington, D. C.
TRADES UNION.

RICHARD A. PROCTOR, A, M., London.

SPECTRUM ANALYSIS,

STAR,

SUN &lt; in partX

TELESCOPE (in part),

TRANSIT (in part),

TRANSIT CIRCLE (in part),

and other astronomical articles.

Prof. ROSSITER W. RAYMOND, Ph. D., Editor
of the "Engineering and Mining Journal."

SILVER.
TIN.

PHILIP RIPLEY.

STOCK EXCHANGE.
SWIMMING.
TICHBORNE TRIAL.

RICHARD E. ROBERTS, "Y Drych " Office, Uti-
ca, N. Y.

STANLEY, HENRY M.

THOMAS T. SABINE, M. D.

STONE.

SURGERY (in part).

EPES SARGENT, Boston, Mass.

SPIRITUALISM.

Prof. A. J. SCHEM.

SISTERHOODS, Protestant,
SWITZERLAND (in part),
THEOLOGY (in part),

and various articles in geography and history.

J. G. SHEA, LL. D.

SHOSHONES,

Sioux,

TECUMSEH,

and other articles on American Indians.

Prof. J. A. SPENCER, D. D., College of the
City of New York.

TEMPLE, FREDERICK.
THOMSON, WILLIAM.
TREGELLES, SAMUEL PRIDEAUX.
TRENCH, EICHARD CHENEVIX.

E. C. STEDMAN.

STODDARD, EICHAED HENRY.
TAYLOR, BAYARD.

Prof. FRANK II. STORER, College of Agricul
tural Chemistry, Harvard University.

SYMBOLS, CHEMICAL (in part).

HOMER D. L. SWEET, Syracuse, N. Y.

SYRACUSE, N. Y.

BAYARD TAYLOR.

STEDMAN, EDMUND CLARENCE.

Prof. GEORGE THURBER.
SORGHUM,
STRAWBERRY.
SUNDEW,
TEA,
TOBACCO,
TOBREY, JOHN,

and other botanical articles.

Prof. ROBERT H. THURSTON, Stevens Inst. of
Technology, Hoboken, N. J.

STEAM.
STEAM BOILER.
STEAM CARRIAGE.
STEAM ENGINE.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
STRENGTH OF MATERIALS.

Prof. G. A. F. VAN RHYN, Ph. D.

SIAM, LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF,

THEBES,

TlSCIIENDORF, LOBEGOTT,

and, other archaeological, oriental, and philological

articles.

C. S. WEYMAN.

SIDNEY, ALGERNON.
SIDNEY. Sir PHILIP.
SPAIN, WINES OF.

Prof. JUNIUS B. WHEELER, U. S. M. A., West
Point.

SIEGE.

Prof. W. D. WHITNEY, LL. D., Yale College,
New Haven, Conn.

SYROC LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.

Prof. E. L. YOUMANS.

SPENCER, HERBERT.

THE

AMERICAN CYCLOPAEDIA

SHOMER

SHOWIER, Jebel, an inland division of Ara
bia, between lat. 25 40 and 32 K, and
Ion. 37 20 and 47 20 E., bounded K by the
Syrian desert, N. E. by Irak Arabi, S. E. and
S. by the Wahabee sultanate, and "W. by Turk
ish Arabia, It is divided into the provinces
of Jebel Shomer, Jowf, Kheybar, Upper Ka-
sim, and Teyma, with a total population esti
mated by Palgrave in 1862 at 440,000, inclu
ding 166,000 nomadic Bedouins. Jebel Sho
mer in its general aspect is a Hat table land,
a large part of which is desert, with occa
sional oases. These are merely depressions
in the desert surface, and take sometimes the
form of a long valley covered with a thin soil,
under which. water may generally be found at
the depth of a few feet. Fruits, bushes, herbs,
and coarse grass grow in sufficient quantities
to supply food for the Bedouins and their
camels and flocks. The entire 1ST. portion is
covered by a rocky desert. On the E. border,
about lat. 31, is a long valley, called "Wady
Sirhan or Serhan (valley of the wolf), which
extends from near Bozrah in Syria in a S. E.
direction to about lat. 29 20 in Arabia, where
its base rests on AVady Jowf, a deep valley
lying E. and "W., and which may be consid
ered the porch or vestibule of central Arabia.
(See JOWF.) The Wady Sirhan is the com
mon route for caravans to and from Syria, S.
and E. of Jowf lies a Avide expanse of sandy
desert. The caravan route to the province of
Jebel Shomer lies across this waste in a S. E.
direction through what is called the i^efud or
Sand pass, consisting of parallel ridges of loose
reddish sand 200 to 300 ft. high, where no
water can be obtained for nearly 100 m. The
route runs beside a small range of hills called
Jebel Jobbah, a cluster of black granite rocks
streaked with red, about 700 ft. high. Be
yond them, on the south, is a barren plain,
partly white and incrusted with salt, partly
green and studded with palm groves, among

which is the small village of Jobbah. From
the heights overlooking Jobbah are visible in
the southeast the main range of Jebel Shomer,
and in the southwest the palm groves of Tey
ma, famed in Arab history, and supposed by
some to be identical with the Teman of Scrip
ture. Beyond Jobbah the undulations are not
so deep, and the sand has occasional shrubs
and tufts of grass. The plain gradually rises
as it approaches the mountain ranges, which,
stretching !N". E. and S. "W., cross two thirds
of upper Arabia. These ranges, Jebel Adja on
the north, the mountains of Upper Kasirn on
the south, and Jebel Solma between, lie near
ly parallel, and are separated by broad plains
covered with grass and shrubbery. Within
their limits is the chief centre of population
of Shomer. Hayel, the capital, lies in an ex
tensive plain between Adja and Solma, girt on
every side by a high mountain rampart. The
only approach from the north is by a narrow
winding defile through Jebel Adja, which 50
men could defend against thousands, The
range of Jebel Adja, or Jebel Shomer as it is
now more generally called, is a ragged granit
ic mass, piled tip in fantastic disorder, attain
ing at times an elevation of 1,400 ft. above
the plain, but Solma does not rise more than
700 or 800 ft. Good crops of grain, fruits,
and vegetables are raised by a laborious sys
tem of artificial irrigation. The date is the
principal fruit. There is a considerable trade
by caravans between Hayel and Medina oil
the southwest, and Biyad, the capital of Ned-
jed, on the southeast. Many horses and asses
are exported. Upper Kasim, the southern
most province of Shomer, is an elevated pla
teau, forming part of a long upland belt that
crosses diagonally the northern half of the
peninsula,, one extremity reaching nearly to
Zobeyr, near the head of the Persian gulf,
and the other to the neighborhood of Medina.
Its surface is covered with shrubs and brush-

SHOOTING STARS

SHOSHONES

wood, and in spring and summer with grass.
This great plateau is intersected at intervals
by long broad valleys, which contain villages
built around wells, surrounded by palm groves,
gardens, and fields, and varying in population
from 500 to 3,000. Dates are exported in
large quantities to Yemen and Hedjaz, and
cotton is raised to a small extent. The sul
tanate of Jebel Shomer originated in the pres
ent century. In 1818 Abdallah, an ambitious
chief of the family Rashid, was driven out of
Hayel by his rival Beyt Ali, who assumed the
sovereignty. Abdallah took refuge at the
court of the Wahabee -monarch, who was then
reconstructing his father s dominions, and for
his services to him was made absolute gover
nor of Shomer, with right of succession, and
supplied with the" means to establish his rule.
Beyt Ali and his family were cut off, and
Abdallah made himself master of the whole
mountain district. He died about 1845, and
was succeeded by his son Telal, who extended
his dominions, subdued the Bedouins, invited
trade from abroad, and established law and
order. Under his rule the country has made
rapid advances in civilization and prosperity,
and has become virtually independent.

SHOOTING STARS. See METEOR.

SHORE, Jane, an English woman, the wife
of Matthew or William Shore, a goldsmith in
London, and mistress of King Edward IV.
She was beautiful and amiable, and Sir Thomas
More says that the king s favor " she never
abused to any man s hurt, but to many a man s
comfort and relief." After the death of the
king she became attached to Lord Hastings ;
and when Richard III. had resolved on the
destruction of that nobleman, he accused Jane
Shore of witchcraft and of having withered
his arm by sorcery. The king, though he sent
her to prison and confiscated her goods, did
not attempt to maintain his charge of witch
craft ; but the bishop of London caused her to
do public penance for impiety and adultery.
After the death of Hastings, Thomas Lynom,
the king s solicitor, desired to marry her, but
was prevented by the king. She lived till the
time of Henry VIII., and tradition represents
her as dying of hunger in a ditch. A celebra
ted tragedy by Rowe is founded on her story.

SHOSHONE, the N". county of Idaho, bound
ed S. by .the Clearwater river, and intersected
in the north by Clarke s fork of the Columbia
and the Kootenay river; area, about 12,000
sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 722, of whom 4G8 were
Chinese. It is watered by tributaries of the
Clearwater river and by the Spokane river,*
and contains Coeur d Alene and Pend d Oreille
lakes. The surface is mountainous. There is
fertile land around the lakes and along the
streams. Timber is abundant, and there are ex
tensive placer gold mines. Capital, Pierce City.

SHOSHOi\ES, or Snakes, a family of North
American Indians, embracing the Shoshones
proper, the TJtes, Comanches, Moquis, Cheme-
hueves, Cahuillo, and the Kechi, Kizh, and Ne-

tela of California. The Shoshones proper are
a large and widespread people. According to
their tradition, they came from the south, and
when met by Lewis and Clarke in 1805 they
had been driven beyond the Rocky mountains.
The various Shoshone bands have gone by
numerous names. The most important were
the Koolsatikara or Buffalo Eaters, who have
long defended their homes on Wind river, and
the Tookarika or Mountain Sheep Eaters, a
fierce tribe in the Salmon river country and
upper Snake river valley. The western Snakes
near Fort Boise were separated from the oth
ers by the kindred Bannacks. The Shoshocos
(footmen), called also White Knives, from the
fine white flint knives they formerly used,
were digger tribes on Humboldt river and
Goose creek, and included apparently most of
those in the basin of Great Salt lake. These
bands were generally mild and inoffensive,
lurking in the mountains and barren parts,
and having little intercourse with the whites.
About 1849 they were in open war, and the
peace made with some of the bands at Salt
Lake, in September 1855, did not end it. In
1862 California volunteers, under Col. Connor,
nearly exterminated the Hokandikah or Salt
Lake Diggers in a battle on Bear river. Wau-
shakee s and other bands of the Koolsatikara
Shoshones made peace at Fort Bridger, July
2, 1863; Pokatello s and other bands of the
Tookarika at Box Elder, July 30; the Sho-
shoco or Tosowitch at Ruby valley, Oct. 1 ;
and the Shoshones and Bannacks at Soda
Springs, Oct. 14. In 1864 the Yahooskin
Snakes made peace, and with the Klamaths
and Modocs ceded their lands ; and on Aug.
12, 1865, the Wohlpapes also submitted. The
government did not promptly carry out these
treaties, and many of the bands renewed hos
tilities. In 1867, in the campaign of Gen.
Stcele, a number of Indians were killed, and
immense, stores of provisions laid up by the
Shoshones were destroyed. Gen. Augur at
last allowed them to come in and make
peace at Fort Bridger. The government then
attempted to collect the whole nation and re
strict the Shoshone bands to certain reserva
tions. The Yahooskin and Wohlpape Snakes
had prospered on the Klamath reservation, al
though their crops frequently failed. The Fort
Hall reservation in Idaho was begun in 1867
for the Bannacks, and several bands of Sho
shones, about 1,200 in all. The Shoshone res
ervation in Wyoming, set apart under treaty of
July 3, 1868, for Waushakee s and other bands
of eastern Shoshones and Bannacks, is exposed
to attacks from the Sioux, and only about 800
have united there. There are also the north
western Shoshones in Nevada and Utah, esti
mated at from 2,000 to 3,000, and a band of
400 in the N. W. part of Idaho. Vocabularies
have been obtained from various bands of the
Shoshones, but no critical study of their lan
guage has appeared. The Episcopalians have
a mission on the reservation in Wyoming.

SHOT

SHREW

SHOT. See LEAD, vol. x., p. 262.

SHOVELLER. See DUCK,, vol. vi., p. 289.

SHREVEPORT, a city and the capital of Cad-
do parish, Louisiana,- in the 1ST. W. corner of
the state, on the "W. bank of Red river, at the
head of low-water navigation, 330 m. above its
mouth according to Humphreys and Abbot,
or 500 m. by local authorities; pop. in 1870,
4,607, of whom 2,168 were colored. It has
since been enlarged, and the population in
1875 was locally estimated at 12,000. It con
tains many handsome residences and substan
tial business structures, is lighted with gas, and
has a good fire department and several miles
of street railroad. The principal public build
ings are the new market, costing $50,000 ;
the Presbyterian church, costing $35,000 ; and
the synagogue, a fine specimen of architecture.
The surrounding country is very productive,
and the climate is mild and generally healthful.
Shreveport is the E. terminus of the Texas and
Pacific railroad, which affords an all-rail route
to St. Louis ma Marshall, Tex. Steamers run
regularly to New Orleans and intermediate
points on the Red and Mississippi rivers. The
trade is extensive and increasing, the value of
shipments amounting to about $7,500,000 a
year, and the sales of merchandise to about
$7,000,000. The shipments of cotton average
100,000 bales annually, including about 20,000
bales from the upper Red river reshipped at
this point. The transactions in hides, wool,
and tallow are also considerable. The prin
cipal manufactories are two of carriages, one
each of cotton gins, cotton-seed oil, sash and
blinds, and spokes and hubs, three founderies
and machine shops, a planing mill, two saw
mills, and three breweries. There are three
private banks, two public schools (one for
white and one for colored children), nine pri
vate and denominational schools and acade-
mies,, two daily and weekly newspapers, and
eleven churches (Baptist, Episcopal, Jewish,
Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic),
of which five are for colored people. Shreve
port was incorporated in 1839.

SHREW, or Shrew Mouse,- the common name of
the insectivorous mammals of the family so-
ricidm, characterized by a general rat-like or
mouse-like appearance, elongated and pointed
muzzle, and soft fur. The distinct auricle of
the ears, and the normal size of the anterior
feet, not usually employed in digging, dis
tinguish them from the moles. The skull is
long and narrow, compressed at the orbits,
malar bone and zygomatic arch wanting ; the
ribs are 12 to 14 pairs, 6 to 8 vertebras without
ribs, 3 to 5 sacral, 14 to 28 caudal; tibia and
fibula united, clavicles thin, and pubic arch
closed ; stomach simple ; caecum in some ab
sent, in others very large ; on the sides of the
body, nearest the anterior limbs, and in some
at the base of the tail, is a series of glands
which secrete a strong musky fluid. The teeth
vary from 28 to 32 ; there are two very large
incisors in each jaw, nearly horizontal in the

lower and much curved in the upper ; canines
absent ; premolars f zf to J-if-, molars fczf ; the
posterior molars are many-pointed, and the
anterior ones conical ; the precise homologies
of the cheek teeth have been the subject of
much controversy. The snout ends in a naked
muffle with the nostrils pierced on the sides;
eyes very small, ears distinct, and feet nearly
plantigrade and usually naked beneath ; mam
mas six to ten ; feet five-toed, each with a claw.
Their food consists of insects, worms, and mol-
lusks, though they sometimes destroy small
vertebrates and devour each other; they are
nocturnal, more or less aquatic, do not hiber
nate, and the young are born blind and naked ;
most of the species live on the surface of the
ground, and a few in burrows. They are
spread over the northern hemisphere, some
times going very far north, and the smaller
species enduring severe cold. The subfamily
soricincB is the only one represented in North
America ; other subfamilies are found in south
and central Africa, Asia, the East Indies, and
Europe; none as yet have been detected in
South America. Of the American genera,
neosorex (Baird) has rather short ears, partly
furred on both surfaces ; teeth 32 ; tail longer
than body and head, and hairs of equal length
except a tuft at the tip ; feet very large, with
a fringe of ciliated hairs ; muzzle very slender.
In the genus sorex (Linn.), which contains a
great part of the species of the new and old
worlds, the ears are large and valvular, the
tail about as long as the body, and the feet
moderate and not fringed; it is divided into
two sections, one with 32 and the other with 30
teeth, most of the American species belonging
in the former. . Prof. Baird describes 12 species
in vol. viii. of the Pacific railroad reports, va
rying in length from 3 to 4^ in., of which the
tail is about one half, ranging from blackish
and brownish to grayish above and lighter to
whitish below, the 8. personatus (Geoffr.) is
the least of the American shrews, and among

Mole Shrew (Blarina talpoides).

the smallest of the quadrupeds of this country,
being not quite 3 in. long; it belongs in the
S. Atlantic states. Most of the species belong
on the Pacific coast or in the N. W. territories.

SHREW MOLE

SHRIMP

In the genus "blarina, (Gray) the body is stout ;
the tail shorter than the head, with short bristly
hairs and small brush at tip ; the hands large
in proportion to the feet, and the soles usually
hairy at the heels; skull short and broad; ears
very short, with the external surface densely,
furred. This genus, peculiar to America, is
also divided into sections, one with 32, the
other with 30 teeth. The mole shrew (B. tal-
poides, Gray), the largest of the American
shrews, 4^ in. long, is found from l^ova Scotia
to Lake Superior, and south to Georgia ; it is

Common European Shrew (Sorex araneus).

dark ashy gray above and paler below, with
whitish feet. Several other species are de
scribed by Baird, of which two are in Mexico
and Texas. In the old world, among the spe
cies of sorex, subdivided into several by Wag-
ler, and called musaraignes by the French,
is the common European shrew (S. araneus,
Linn.), 4 to 5 in. long, of which the tail is
1-J- in. ; the color is reddish mouse above and
grayish below ; it is found in dry places very
generally over Europe. The shrews appear
during the miocene age in small numbers, and
continue through the diluvial epoch to the
present time, without material change.

SHREW MOLE. See MOLE.

SHREWSBURY, the shire town of Shropshire,
England, on the river Severn, 140 m. N. W.
of London ; pop. in 1871, 23,406. The remains
of the ancient castle are still standing, and
also a portion of the ancient walls of the city.
The Severn is crossed by two bridges ; there
is a canal, and railways connect it with all
parts of the kingdom. Shrewsbury is the seat
of a Roman Catholic bishop, and in 1872 had
32 places of worship. The principal manu
factures consist of thread, linen yarn, and can
vas; and there are extensive iron works at
Ooleham, a suburb. The salmon fishery of the
Severn is valuable. There is a considerable
trade in Welsh flannels. Shrewsbury was im
portant in the 5th century, and is prominent
in English history as a royal residence for
short periods. Its original name of Pengwern

was changed by the Saxons to Scrobbesbyrig
(Scrubsborough), of which Shrewsbury is a
corruption. Parliaments were held here in
1283 and 1398 ; and a battle was fought here
in 1403 between the royalist troops and the
insurgents under Douglas and Hotspur, in
which the latter w r as killed. (See PEECY.)

SHRIKE. See BUTCHER BIRD.

SHRIMP, a common decapod or ten-footed
and long-tailed crustacean, of the genus cran-
gon (Fabr.) ; with the prawn (palamori) it is
called crevette by the French. The integu
ment is corneous, the carapace considerably
flattened, the abdomen very large, and the tail
powerful ; the rostrum very short ; eyes large
and free ; antennae inserted about on the same
transverse line, the internal pair the shortest
and ending in two many-jointed filaments, the
outer larger, and longer ; mandibles slender and
without palpi ; jaw feet moderate, with a ter
minal flattened joint and a short palpus on the
inside ; sternum very wide behind ; first pair
of feet strong, ending in a flattened hand hav
ing a movable hook opposed to an immovable
tooth ; second and third pairs of legs very slen
der, and the fourth and fifth much stronger ;
branchiaa seven on each side, consisting of hor
izontal lamellas ; false swimming feet on under
side of abdomen large, and caudal plates wide.
The common shrimp (G. vulgaris, Fabr.) is
1^ to 2^ in. long, greenish gray spotted with
brown ; the carapace is smooth, except a spine
behind the rostrum, one on the sternum, and
seven on each side of the thorax ; abdomen
without ridges or spines, and middle caudal
plate pointed and not grooved below. It is
common on the coasts of Europe, and in Eng
land and France it is much used as food. The
shrimpers catch these animals in large nets
with a semicircular mouth, which they push
before them along the bottom during ebb tide ;
this fishery gives employment to many hundred
people in Great Britain. Shrimps are used in
the United States chiefly as bait. They spawn
throughout most of the year, carrying the eggs

Common Shrimp (Crangon vulgaris).

attached to the swimming appendages, and
cast their skins from March to June. They
feed on such animals as they can seize with
their claws, and on what may be killed by the

SHROPSHIRE

SHUMLA

waves or other causes, and are themselves de
voured by fishes, aquatic birds, echini, and star
fishes. Other species are found in the Medi
terranean. Though the American shrimp re
ceived from Say a different- name from that
of Europe, there seem to be no well marked
specific differences . The long-beaked, almost
transparent crustacean, commonly called shrimp
in New England, and used sometimes for bait,
has been described by Mr. Stimpson as palce-
monopsis vulgaris.

SHROPSHIRE, or Salop, a W. county of Eng
land, bordering on the counties of Chester,
Stafford, Worcester, Hereford, Radnor, Mont
gomery, and Denbigh ; area, 1,291 sq. m. ;
pop. in 1871, 248,064. The surface is greatly
diversified. Toward the frontiers of Wales
it becomes wild and mountainous, while the
other parts are comparatively level. The Sev
ern flows S. E. between the elevated and the
level portions, and has a course within the
county of nearly 70 m., all navigable. Its
chief tributaries are the Tern and the Teme.
There are several small lakes, of which Elles-
mere, covering 116 acres, is the largest. There
is communication by canals with all the im
portant rivers of England. The soil varies
much, and there are considerable tracts of
moorland, but much of it is easily worked and
yields good crops. Large numbers of cattle
are reared. Lead mines are worked to a con
siderable extent. Iron, coal, and limestone are
found, and the manufacture of iron is exten
sively carried on. There are manufactures of
machinery, glass, stone-china ware, earthen
ware, and coarse linen and woollen goods.
The principal towns are Shrewsbury, the cap
ital, Bridgenorth, Wenlock, and Ludlow.

SHROVE TIDE (A. S. scrifan, to absolve in
confession), the days immediately preceding
Ash Wednesday. These days were so desig
nated because on them, and especially on the
last of them, people were wont to confess
their sins as a preparation for Lent. Shrove
tide or confession tide comprised a whole
week in some countries. In most Roman
Catholic countries it began on the Sunday be
fore Lent. While the ancient penitential can
ons were in vigor, all adults were enjoined to
present themselves to the bishops and priests,
in order that private penitents might be shriv
en in private and assigned a day for receiving
communion, and that public penitents might
be instructed as to what they should do to be
reconciled at Easter. This practice continued
substantially long after public penance had
fallen into disuse. It is mentioned in the
homilies of jElfric (died about 1005) as being
in force in England in his time. Shrove tide
soon became a season of feasting and merri
ment, especially Shrove Tuesday, the eve of
the long Lenten fast. This day is still called
mardi gras (fat Tuesday) by the French, and
Shrove tide is known to them as les jours
gras. Shrove Tuesday is also popularly called
Pancake Tuesday in English-speaking coun

tries, from the common practice of eating pan
cakes on that day, the use of eggs having been
formerly forbidden during Lent.

SHUBRICK. I. John Templar, an American
naval officer, born in South Carolina, Sept. 12,
1778, lost at sea in 1815. He entered the
service as a midshipman in 1806, and was at
tached to the Chesapeake in her affair with the
Leopard in 1807. In May, 1812, he was made
a lieutenant, and served in the Constitution
in her action with the Guerriere in August,
1812, and in the Hornet s with the Peacock
in February, 1813. For his services in these
engagements he received medals from con
gress. He was second lieutenant of the Presi
dent when she was captured by a British squad
ron in January, 1815. In that year he was
first lieutenant of the Guerriere, and was pres
ent in all the operations against Algiers. On
the conclusion of peace, he was despatched
with the treaty to the United States in the
Epervier sloop of war, which was never heard
from after she left the Mediterranean. II.
William Branford, an American naval officer,
brother of the preceding, born in South Caro
lina, Oct. 31, 1790, died in Washington, D. C.,
May 27, 1874. He was appointed midshipman
in June, 1806, and in May, 1807, joined the
sloop of war Wasp. At the beginning of the
war of 1812 he was an acting lieutenant on
board the Hornet, and was soon transferred to
the frigate Constellation, which rendered im
portant services in defence of Norfolk and the
navy yard at Gosport. In 1813 he was trans
ferred to the Constitution, in which he made
two cruises, and aided in the capture of three
ships of war, including the Cyane and Levant
(1815). When the Levant surrendered he was
ordered to her command. He returned to the
United States in May, 1815, second in com
mand of the Constitution, and was awarded a
sword by his native state and a medal by con
gress. In December, 1815, he was. made se
nior lieutenant of the Washington, 74 guns, un
der Creighton, the first ship of the line which
made a full cruise under the United States
flag, returning in 1818. J3e became command
er in 1820 and captain in 1831, and on Feb.
3, 1844, was appointed chief of the naval bu
reau of provisions and clothing. On July 9,
1846, he was appointed to command the Pa
cific squadron ; on July 8, 1853, the eastern
coast squadron; and on Sept. 8, 1858, the Bra
zil squadron and Paraguay expedition, from
which he returned May 11, 1859. On July
16, 1862, he was commissioned rear admiral.

SHOILA, a walled and strongly fortified city
of European Turkey, in Bulgaria, 48 m. W. of
Yarna and 185 m. N. W. of Constantinople ;
pop. about 20,000, exclusive of the garrison.
It lies on the N. slope of the Balkan, about
midway between its crest and the lower Dan
ube, in a gorge, enclosed on three sides by
mountains. The inhabitants of the higher por
tion of the town are principally Turks ; of the
lower, Jews, Armenians, and Greeks. There

SHURTLEFF COLLEGE

SIAM

is trade in grain, wine, silk goods, copper ware,
morocco, soap, and candles. This town, ori
ginally called Shumen or Shumna, was burned
in 811 by the emperor Nicephorus, and in
1807 it was besieged by Alexis Comnenns.
It was taken by the Turks in 1387, and embel
lished and fortified in 1689 and the 90 years
that followed, mainly by the grand vizier Has
san, whose tomb is the most remarkable mon
ument of the city. In all the wars between
Turkey and Eussia, it has formed the point of
concentration of the Turkish army. The Rus
sians attempted unsuccessfully to take it in
1774, in 1810, and in 1828.

SHCRTLEFF COLLEGE, an institution of learn
ing under the control of the Baptists, at Up
per Alton, Madison co., Illinois, 1 m. E. of
the city of Alton. It was established in 1832
under the title of Alton seminary, and char
tered in 1835 as Alton college. In 1836 its
name was changed in honor of Benjamin
Shurtleff, M. D., of Boston, who had given it
$10,000. It was designed especially for the
education of young men for the ministry, but
a distinct theological department was not or
ganized till 1863. The institution now consists
of an academic and preparatory department,
Kendall institute for young ladies, the college,
and the theological department. Both sexes
are admitted to the academic and preparatory
department and to the college. The latter has
a classical and a scientific course, on the com
pletion of which the degrees of bachelor of
arts and bachelor of philosophy respectively
are conferred. Kendall institute, established
in 1873, has a fine building and grounds, and
is chiefly used as a home for young ladies at
tending the other departments. Tuition is
free in the theological department, and several
scholarships have been founded to provide for
the tuition of needy students in \hv other
departments. Additional aid is afforded to
needy candidates for the ministry by the "Illi
nois Baptist Education Society." The libraries
of the institution contain 7,300 volumes. The
number of instructors in 1874- 5 was 14; of
students, 204 (154 maj.es and 50 females), viz. :
theological department, 5; college, 53; aca
demic and preparatory department, 146. The
number of graduates is 159 ; of all those who
have received instruction in the institution,
3,825. The property of the institution amounts
to about $180,000, the debt to $30,000.

SIAM, the chief kingdom of the peninsula
styled Indo-Ohina, or Further India. Siyam,
from the dark color of the inhabitants or of
the soil, is the ancient, and Muang T hai, the
kingdom of the free, the modern native ap
pellation for ih-G country ; T hai, the free, for
the people. With its Laos, Cambodian, and
Malay peninsular dependencies, it lies between
lat. 4 and 22 K, and between Ion. 97 and
106 E. ; greatest length 1,350 m., breadth 450
m.; area estimated at about 300,000 sq. m. ;
pop, about 5,750,000. The capital is Bang
kok. Siam proper lies mainly between lat.

13 and 18 and Ion. 98 and 102, being bound
ed by its dependencies, the gulf of Siam, and
the British territory of Tenasserim. Two
mountain ranges, extending mainly S. E. from
the Himalaya, form general natural divisions
from China on the north, and partly from
Anam on the east and Bunnah and the Brit
ish possessions on the west. A third range,
less continuous and direct, passes through the
central regions ; in this is situated the P hra
Bat, or mountain of "the sacred foot" (foot
print) of Buddha, a Mecca for Buddhists. The
gulf of Siam, between Siam proper and the
Malay peninsula, forms a long coast line, and
has numerous islands, much precipitous shore,
and several ports, of which Bangkok is the
chief. It is never visited by typhoons or
heavy gales. The country is watered by sev
eral rivers, bearing the generic name Menam,
"mother of waters," and taking the specific
name or names from cities or provinces. The
Menam Kong, Mekong, or river of Cambodia,
1,800 m. long, traverses in its middle course
the iST. E. or Laos dependencies of Siam.
(See MEKONG.) The Menam Chow P ya, Me
nam Bangkok, or simply the Menam, rises in
the north and flows S. through the centre of
Siam proper into the gulf of Siam. Its length
is about 600 m. ; its principal tributary is the
Meping from the west. Bangkok, Ayuthia,
Angtong, and other towns are situated on the
Menam. The Salwen flows on the border of
British Burmah. These rivers, with the very
numerous intersecting canals, for rowing, not
tracking, are the great highways of traffic.
The plains, irrigated and enriched by their
annual overflow, are extensive and fertile ; the
valley of the Menam equals in richness that
of the Nile, and in extent half of the state of
New York. The seasons are two, the wet or
hot and the dry or cool. The former, opening
near the middle of March, is not a succession
of wholly rainy days, but resembles a New
York April and August combined. The an
nual rainfall is about 60 inches. April, the
hottest month, has at Bangkok a maximum
of 97 F. and a mean of 84. In October the
S. "W. monsoon gives place to the N. E., which
ushers in the dry and cool season ; this is very
fine, with only a few light showers throughout.
January is the coolest month; but the mer
cury rarely falls below 65. The mean annual
temperature is S2|- , and the mean range 13.
Vegetation is luxurious, fruitful, and beautiful
beyond description, and the soil yields a rich
return to rude and careless cultivation. Rice,
sugar, pepper, cotton, and hemp are the staple
products. In the abundance, variety, and ex
cellence of fruits, vegetables, and spices, Siam
is unsurpassed. Many fruits, as the durian,
mangosteen, and custard apple, are cultivated
in large gardens or orchards, trenched, and
watered by the daily tide. In the forests are
found gutta percha, lac, dammar, gamboge,
catechu, gum benjamin, and the odoriferous
agila or eagle wood ; innumerable medicinal

SIAM

plants, herbs, and roots ; sap an, fustic, indi
go, and other dyes ; the lofty silk-cotton tree,
with its soft silky floss for mattresses, but too
brittle for the loom ; the bamboo, the rattan,
and the atap, together forming the material of
three fourths of the houses; the teak, with
other ship and house timbers ; iron, red, and
white woods, rose woods, and ebony ; the
banian, and the sacred fig tree. The animal
kingdom is no less varied and interesting. Most
celebrated is the white elephant, a dark-cream
albino, prized and honored as very rare, and
when captured belonging to the king. The
national standard is a white elephant on a crim
son ground, and the royal seal, medals, and
money bear the same device. Albino deer,
monkeys, and even tortoises are sometimes
found, and the natives believe white animals
to be the abode of transmigrating souls. The
elephants of Siam attain a size and strength
unsurpassed in other countries, and are much
prized throughout India. Among other ani
mals are the rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, bear,
pangolin, otter, musk civet, wild hogs, ourang
outangs and other apes, monkeys, and deer ;
dogs and cats, wild and domestic, are innu
merable. The forests abound in peacocks,
pheasants, pigeons, and other birds ; aquatic
birds of all kinds are numerous ; the sea swal
low which produces the edible nest is common.
Among the reptiles are the crocodile, turtle,
python, cobra de capello, numerous other
snakes, and several varieties of lizards. Fish
are plentiful, but of poor quality. The most
noteworthy insect is the coccus ficus, which
produces the lac of commerce by punctures in
resinous trees. Gold, copper, iron, tin, and
lead all abound, in great purity ; but by rea
son of the rudeness of working, the jealousy
toward foreigners, and the fevers and hard
ships of the jungle, their vast wealth is com
paratively undeveloped. Antimony, zinc, sul
phur, and arsenic also exist, and silver in com
bination. Salt is largely manufactured by so
lar evaporation, and saltpetre less so. Mining,
previously under the strict surveillance of gov
ernment, and carried on chiefly by Chinese,
has recently excited some interest among Eu
ropeans. Rubies, spinel, corundum, sapphire,
amethyst, garnet, topaz, and other precious
stones are found. According to the French
consul Gamier at Bangkok (1874), the popula
tion of Siam proper and its Laos dependencies
is composed of 1,800,000 Siamese, 1,500,000
Chinese, 1,000,000 Laos, 200,000 Malays, 50,000
Cambodians, 50,000 Peguans, and 50,000 Ka
rens and others. The Siamese are of .Mongo
lian origin and Laos or Shyan descent. They
are olive-colored and of medium height. The
head is large, face broad, forehead low, cheek
bones prominent, jaw bones in retreat very
divergent; mouth capacious, lips thick, nose
heavy, and eyes black and without the Chinese
turn of the lid. The teeth are stained black, and
sometimes serrated. The hair is all plucked
from the face in youth, and the most of the

head is shaved bi-monthly. A black bristling
tuft 4 or 5 in. broad and 2 in. high is left on
the top ; that of the women, whose hair is only
closely cut, is often encircled by a thread of
bare skin whence two or three hairs breadths
have been uprooted. The dress consists of a
cotton waist cloth (to which women add a silk
shoulder scarf), a jacket for the cold, and a
straw hat for the sun. Children under seven
or eight years old are clad only in jewels, fig
leaves, flowers, and turmeric. Priests, with
head entirely shaven and uncovered, wear sev
eral yellow robes of cotton and silk. Kings
and nobles on state occasions wear silk and
gold brocades and high conical hats. The Si
amese are indolent, greedy, and untruthful,
intemperate, servile, and superstitious. At
the same time they are peaceable and polite,
decorous in public, and affectionate to kin
dred and kind to the poor and imbecile. The
dwellings are of one story, partly to prevent
the indignity of another s walking over the
head. They consist of huts, built on piles,
of bamboo, roofed and sided with atap leaf ;
boats, serving also as peddling stalls or vehi
cles; floating houses, of panelled teak, rising
and falling with the tide on bamboo rafts ;
and palaces, of white stuccoed brick, adorned
with gilding, carving, painting, foreign furni
ture, pictures, gold, silver, china, and glass.
These palaces are not of Chinese, but rather
of Indian architecture, and they often occupy
several acres, with the dwellings of the wives,
the quarters of the servants, and the grounds,
which are paved, shaded, adorned with flow
ers, and enclosed by high walls. Marriage
takes place as early as 18 for males and 14 for
females, without the aid of magistrates or
priests, though the latter may be present to
make prayers, and especially to feast and to
receive presents. The number of wives, ordi
narily one, in the palaces reaches scores and
hundreds ; but the first is the wife proper, to
whom the rest are subject. Social distinctions
are very numerous, and in th.e law are repre
sented numerically, from 100,000 for the sec
ond king down to 5 for the lowest slave. Be
fore "the lord of life" on the throne, far above
numerical representation, all crawl and crouch,
or, with head bowed to the ground, lie " dust
at the sacred feet." Prince is approached by
noble, noble by lord, lord by master, &c., each
with body bent, eyes prone, and hands folded
and raised to the forehead or above the head,
giving and receiving homage. An annual ser
vice of three months is paid to the king by
all, save the Chinese triennially taxed. One
third of the common people, it is largely es
timated, are slaves by birth, by gambling or
other debts, by redemption from the penalty
of crime, by capture, &c. Men sell their chil
dren, their wives, or themselves ; convicts in
scores clank their chains about the streets ;
villages of thousands are made up of foreign
captives. Yet Siamese life is in the main com
fortable, and is moreover gladdened by many

SI AM

sports, amusements, and holidays. On all
great occasions the coffers of kings and nobles
are opened widely for merrymaking for the
people, and merit-making for themselves. The
only honorable disposal of the dead is by burn
ing. The badges of mourning are white robes,
and an entire shaving of the head. A limit
ed and superficial education is afforded gra
tuitously at the temples, to the males, 80 or 90
per cent, of whom read. The drama is much
cultivated, and dramatic companies are at
tached to the palaces and gaming houses. The
music is unwritten, simple, plaintive, and pleas
ing. Bands of 10 or 12 instruments, most re
sembling Javanese, are a part of every wealthy
establishment. Gaudy and incongruous paint
ings, of rude perspective, chiefly adorn the tem
ples. The medical art is in a barbarous state.
Nowhere else does Buddhism hold so pure and
absolute a sway as in Siam. It is of the Cey-
lonese rather than Chinese type. The wats or
temples, resembling not the Chinese, but dis
tantly the Egyptian architecture,, are among
the most beautiful and splendid in the East.
They are in vast, choicely situated, paved parks,
with white walls gleaming through the leaves,
serrate roofs and spacious domes and lofty pra-
chadi spires, all painted and gilded and glazed,
vocal with air-rung bells, and resplendent in
the sunlight. One is estimated to have cost,
with all its paraphernalia, over $800,000. (See
BANGKOK.) Missions have been carried on by
the Roman Catholics, under the greatest vicis
situdes, since the middle of the IGth century.
The missionaries are French, and their con
verts were reckoned in 1872 at 10,000 in 16
congregations. At the head of the mission
is a vicar apostolic. Protestant missions date
from the visits of Gtitzlaff, Tomlin, and Abeel
in 1828- 31, and properly from the settlement
of Jones in 1833. Representatives of the
American Baptist missionary union, of the
Presbyterian board of foreign missions, and
of the American missionary association have
established several Protestant congregations,
schools, and religious papers. The number of
the Baptist congregations in 1874 was 154,
and of Presbyterian 38. In commerce Bang
kok once ranked second only to Calcutta and
Canton in the far East ; but monopolies, exor
bitant duties, and numberless restrictions had
well nigh stifled production and banished trade
till in 1855- 6 new treaties were negotiated for
Great Britain, the United States, and France,
by Sir John Bowring, Townsend Harris, and
Count do Montigny. The purchase of land
is now allowed ; the monopolies and tonnage
duties are abolished ; imports pay 3 per cent,
in money or kind, and exports one duty only,
according to tariff. In 1873 the number of
Siamese vessels entering the port was 157, ton
nage 55,049 ; British 84, tonnage 32,406 ; Ger
man 15, tonnage 4,731 ; French 14, tannage
5,198; American 1, tonnage 388. The total
arrivals in 1873 were 386, tonnage 102,454;
clearances 265, tonnage 97,212. The principal

exports are rice, sugar, pepper, sesamum, sapan
wood, hides, and cardamoms. Their total value
in 1873 was about $4,600,000; that of the
imports, $4,000,000. The most important trade
is that with China, carried on in junks built and
navigated by Chinese. The junks leave the Me-
nam generally in June, returning in December.
The tical, a silver coin bearing the device of
an elephant and weighing 236 grains troy,
with bars of silver cut into pieces, stamped,
and bent into an irregular oval, in value 71,
15, and 60 cents, with cowries, form the cur
rency. Dollars are also current, though usually
exchanged for silver tical s at the rate of three
dollars for five ticals. The rate of interest is
about 30 per cent. The inland trade is con
ducted chiefly by boats. Foreign steamers ply
between Bangkok and Singapore. The Uni
ted States and European treaty powers are
represented by resident consuls at Bangkok.
The government of Siam is theoretically a
duarchy, practically a monarchy. While there
is a second or vice king, the first or senior
king is actual sovereign. The crown is hered
itary, but without primogeniture, being be
queathed, with the sanction of princes and
nobles, to any son of the queen; but intrigue
and violence have often diverted the succes
sion from the high royal line. A royal de
cree of May 8, 1874, announced that in future
the king would give important laws only after
consulting the council of state and the minis
try. The council of state comprises the first
king as president, the ministers, who have no
vote, from 10 to 20 councillors, who have to
draft new laws and from their own number
elect a vice president, and six princes of the
royal house. Any two members of the council
may submit a new law to the king. The min
istry (sendbodi) consists of an honorary presi
dent, three ministers of the interior (of the
west, the north, and the east), and the ministers
of agriculture, justice, the royal house, and
finance. The minister of finance may be dis
missed at any time ; the dismissal of any other
minister requires a sentence of the court. The
country is divided into 41 provinces, each of
which is governed by a phraya or council of
the first class. There are also several territo
ries which have their own princes, tributary to
the king. The king is by title " sacred lord of
heads," "possessor of all," and property and
life are at his will, to be taken at government
al necessity or caprice ; but many considera
tions conspire to render a violent and arbi
trary exercise of this absolute power compar
atively .unfrequent. The queen consort, the
wife supreme among hundreds, must be of
native and royal blood, and she is rigidly kept
from all possible intercourse with an inferior
of the other sex. She never becomes regent,
or takes any part in political affairs, but is
treated with the highest deference. She has
a separate court, in which appear the prin
cesses, who, not allowed to marry beneath
them, rarely marry at all. She has her fe-

SIAM

SIAM (LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE) 13

male guards in uniform and arms. The num
ber of females within the palace is, on royal
authority, 5,000, and of males about the same.
The second king has also a separate palace,
seraglio, officers, retainers, and soldiers, only
second to those of the first. Though never
appearing at the audiences of the nobles with
the senior king, his opinion and sanction are
sought on important state policy, and his
name is associated in treaties, llis position
seems to be that of counsellor, not of co-ruler
or successor. The larger portion of the public
revenue is embezzled by the numerous officers,
who receive only a nominal salary. The- rev
enue of the king is estimated at about $4,000-
000. There is a very ancient written code of
laws, the acts and decisions of the kings, and
an unwritten code, scarcely less authoritative,
of traditional usages ; both are often absurd,
unjust, and cruel, and both liable to be disre
garded at the royal will. More than 25 classes
are excluded from testifying, many for the
most trivial reasons. The penalties are vari
ous, from bambooing to beheading. Capital
crimes are now very few. Treason, very com
prehensive, is punished by beating the con
vict, enclosed in a large sack, nearly to death,
and then casting him loaded into .the river.
The military force is small, and is disciplined
by European officers. In time of war all male
inhabitants are liable to service. The fleet
consists of seven men-of-war carrying 40 guns.
The history of Siam dates back some cen
turies before Christ, but only the annals sub
sequent to the founding of Ayuthia, the for
mer capital, A. D. 1350, can be deemed au
thentic. In the 16th century the dominion
extended to Singapore, and the first western
connection was made with the Portuguese and
Spanish. In 1604 the Dutch established rela
tions ; in 1662 an English ship arrived; and
the latter part of the century is remarkable
for the grand embassies from and to Louis
XIV. of France, and the later bloody and al
most utter overthrow of French influence. In
1782 the present dynasty ascended the throne,
and transferred the seat of government from
Ayuthia (sacked by the Burmese) to Bang
kok. In 1822 and 1825 treaties were made
with Great Britain, or rather with the East
India company, through Mr. Crawfurd and
Capt. Burney. In 1833 a treaty was made with
the United States through Edmund Roberts.
The first embassy from the country for nearly
two centuries was sent to England in 1857;
and another was sent to France in 1861. In
1868, on the death of his father, the reigning
king ascended the throne, with the title Phra-
bat Somdetya Chula Lankarana, and during his
minority a regent carried on the government ;
he became of age Nov. 16, 1873. The name
of the present second king (1875) is Kroma
Phraratcha. The recent kings of Siam have
been among the most remarkable characters
of the East by their attainments in languages
and general information, adoption of foreign

ideas and improvements, wise and humane
government, and liberal and enlightened inter
course with foreigners and foreign powers. In
January, 1875, a conflict arose between the first
and second kings, the latter for a time taking
refuge with the British consul ; but a reconcil
iation was soon effected. The best books on
Siam are Crawfurd s "Embassy to Siam and
Cochin-China" (London, 1828); Pallegoix s
Description du royaume Thai ou Siam (Paris,
1854) ; Bowring s " Kingdom and People of
Siam" (London, 1857); Bastian s Reisen in
Siam (Berlin, 1867); Mrs. Leonowens s "Eng
lish Governess at the Siamese Court " (Boston,
1870); McDonald s "Siam, its Government,
Manners, Customs," &c. (Philadelphia, 1871) ;
" Siam, or the Land of the White Elephant,"
compiled by the Rev. George B. Bacon (New
York, 1873) ; and " The Land of the White
Elephant," by Frank Vincent, jr. (New York,
1874).

SUM, Language and Literature of. Siamese is
spoken from Burmah and British Burmah on
the west to Anam and Cambodia on the east,
and from the Malay state of Keddah on the
south to the confines of China on the north.
The dialectical variations are numerous, and
the language-is spoken well only in Bangkok
and by persons educated there. (See INDO-
CHINESE RACES AND LANGUAGES.) The Siam
ese alphabet, supposed to be derived from the
ancient Cambodian letters still used in Siamese
sacred books, and ultimately from the original
Pali alphabet, consists of 44 consonants and 20
vowels, including diphthongs and semi-vowels.
The gradation of the vowel sounds is very
delicate, and some of the consonants are but
slightly changed forms of the same letter, indi
cating the tone in which they are to be uttered
in certain syllables. The English g, j, v, x,
and z are wanting. The th sound, though fre
quent in Burmese, is entirely unknown in Si
amese, the th used in transcriptions of the lat
ter representing an aspirated t, or a combined
utterance of the two sounds t and h. Accord
ing to the tone in which it is uttered, a word
has several distinct meanings, by means of
which the otherwise very meagre vocabulary-
is considerably increased. Thus Jikai, likai,
hlcai, pronounced in the same tone, would
mean who? who? who? ; but enunciating each
with a different tone, it may be made to mean
"Who sells eggs ? " This same word JiTcai may
further be made to signify a fever, to open,
rough, fortress, or camp, by other intonations.
Besides the parts of speech distinguished in
English grammar, there is in Siamese a peculiar
class of numeral or classifying nouns. Such a
word is lam, which is used in conjunction with
objects having the quality of length, as ships
and palm trees ; others of this class are an, toa,
luTc, ton, and met, all of which must be used
when speaking .of one or another class of ob
jects. Three genders, masculine, feminine, and
common, are distinguished by the grammarians,
but in common speech and in poetry gender is

SIAMESE TWINS

SIBERIA

commonly disregarded, except in distinctions
of sex, which is indicated by the addition of
special words. The plural is expressed by add
ing some word like hlai, many, or mak, much.
There are no inflections, and case is indicated
by the use of a preposition, or by the position
of the word in the sentence. There is a great
variety of pronouns, or pronominal expressions,
and the proper use of one or another depends
on the relative rank of those writing or speak
ing. Moods and tenses are indicated by pre
fixes and suffixes, or by auxiliary verbs ; thus
Tika boh, I say ; lilca dai ##&, I have said ; lika
cJia lo~k, I shall say, &c. The Siamese are very
fond of using words in pairs, for euphony,
distinctness, or figurativeness. Siamese. liter
ature is not of a very high order. The works
on history and medicine contain little else but
fables and quackery. The law books are very
elaborate, but wanting in legal acumen and pre
cision. The religious and philosophical pro
ductions are based upon the Pali scriptures and
Chinese learning, and exhibit nothing of an
original growth. The books of Siamese prov
erbs, however, have been praised as contain
ing much social wisdom sharply put. The best
productions of Siamese literature are works
of fiction, poems, and dramas, though a large
portion of them are borrowed from or imita
tions and adaptations of Hindoo works. See
Pallogoix, Grammatioa Linguae, Thai (Bang
kok, 1850), and Dictionarium Linguce Thai
(Paris, 1854) ; Bastian, Reisen in Siam (Ber
lin, 1867), which contains learned disquisitions
on the language and literature of the coun
try; Alabaster, "Wheel of the Law" (London,
1871) ; and the " Siam Repository," a journal
published at Bangkok in English.

SIAMESE TWINS. See MONSTER.

SIBERIA, a part of the Russian dominions
occupying the whole of northern Asia, bound
ed N. by the Arctic ocean, E. and S. E. by
Behring strait, Behring sea or the sea of Kam-
tchatka, and the seas of Okhotsk and Japan
(inlets of the North Pacific), S. by China and
the Russian provinces of central Asia, and
W. by European Russia, from which it is sep
arated by the Ural mountains. As officially
bounded, it extends from lat. 41 30 to 77 50
N., and from Ion. 59 30 to 190 E. ; length
about 3,600 m., breadth 2,000 m. ; area, 4,826,-
329 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 3,428,867. It is di
vided for administrative purposes into the four
governments of Tobolsk, Tomsk, Yeniseisk,
and Irkutsk, and the four provinces of Trans-
baikal, Yakutsk, Amoor, and the Littoral or
Primorsk. In a geographical sense, however,
the four northern provinces of Russian Cen
tral Asia, Semipolatinsk, Akmolinsk, Turgai,
and Uralsk, and portions of the governments
of Perm and Orenburg, also belong to Siberia,
and will be included in parts of this descrip
tion. Tobolsk comprises the western end of
Siberia, as officially constituted, and extends
from the Arctic ocean to the Central Asian
province of Akmolinsk. Tomsk lies E. of it

on the borders of the Central Asian province
of Semirietchensk. Yeniseisk includes the
Arctic coast from the gulf of Obi to the river
Anabara, and extends S. to the borders of
Mongolia. Irkutsk lies between Yeniseisk and
Lake Baikal, and the Transbaikal province east
of Lake Baikal. Yakutsk comprises the Arctic
coast from the Anabara river to Cape Shelag-
ski, extending S. to the Amoor province, which
includes the country on the left bank of the
Amoor from the Stanovoi mountains to the
N. E. extremity of Mantchooria; The Littoral
province covers the entire E. coast from Cape
Shelagski in the Arctic ocean to the sea of Ja
pan, including the Tchuktchi peninsula, Kam-
tchatka, -the district of Okhotsk, the lower
course of the Amoor, and the island of Sagha-
lien. The coasts of Siberia, both along the
Arctic ocean and the seas on the east and
south, are indented by many bays and inlets.
On the N. coast the first large inlet, beginning
at the W. extremity, is Kara bay, an offshoot
of the Kara sea lying between Siberia and
Nova Zembla. Next is the gulf of Obi, an
inlet of the same sea, which forms between it
and Kara bay the Yelmert or Samoyed pen
insula. It receives the Obi or Ob at its S. W.
extremity. A branch on its E. side is called
the Taz gulf. The gulf of Yenisei, the outlet
of the river of the same name, forms with
Khatanga gulf, the outlet of the Khatanga riv
er, the Taimyr peninsula. On the W. side of
Taimyr bay is Cape Taimyr or Northwest cape,
and on its E. side, at the extremity of a long
peninsula, is Tcheliuskin or Northeast cape,
the northernmost point of Asia, in lat. 77 50
N. Between Khatanga gulf and Behring strait
are many smaller bays, most of which are the
outlets of some of the numerous rivers which
empty into the Arctic ocean. The principal
islands off the N. coast are the Liakhoff or
New Siberia group, extending 205 m. opposite
the shore between the mouths of the Yana
and the Indigirka; the largest, Kotelnoi, is
100 m. long by 60 m. broad ; the next in size
is called Fadeyeff, and the next New Siberia.
Between the main group and the coast are
smaller islands called Liakhoff and Maloi. The
surface of the islands is covered with alter
nate layers of sand and ice, and in their hills
are immense alluvial deposits filled with wood
and the fossil bones of animals. Great quan
tities of fossil ivory have been obtained from
them and the neighboring coasts of the main
land. N. of the coast, about the 180th meri
dian, and separated from it by Long strait,
is Wrangel s, Plover, or Kellett land, of un
known extent. Along the whole Arctic coast
of Siberia the sea is frozen for more than half
the year ; and in the warmer seasons the ice
floats in such masses as to render navigation
always dangerous and often impossible. A
large part of the coast is unexplored, and
all efforts to double Cape Tcheliuskin have
been unsuccessful ; but Lieut. Tcheliuskin,
from whom it is named, reached its north-

SIBERIA

ernmost point in 1742 in a sledge. The east
ernmost point of Siberia is Cape East at the
end of the Tchuktchi peninsula, which juts
into Behring strait, opposite Cape Prince of
Wales in Alaska, the westernmost point of the
American continent. On the S. side of this
peninsula is the bay of Anadyr, an inlet of
Behring sea. The coast follows thence a gen
eral southwesterly direction to the end of the
peninsula of Kamtchatka, W. of which lies
the Okhotsk sea, separated from the Pacific
by the chain of the Kurile islands stretching
from Kamtchatka to Yezo. Of the islands
of Behring sea, only Behring and Copper isl
ands and those lying close to the coast belong
to Russia. The surface of Siberia is in its
general form a vast diluvial plain, slightly
undulating, and sloping gradually from the
Altai mountains on the south to the Arctic
ocean. In the W. part are the steppes of
Ishim and Baraba, broad tracts of lowland
in which grassy prairies alternate with reed
marshes, fresh lakes with salt, and tracts of
rich arable land with extensive forests. Parts
of this region present in summer fine park
scenery, in which beautiful wooded hills rise
from grassy plains covered with flowers. Here
the birches often attain a diameter of 4 ft. and
a height of 150 ft., and the pines much great
er dimensions. S. and E. of the steppes the
spurs of the Altai mountains jut into the plain
like the headlands of a seacoast. Many of the
great rivers rise here, the upper part of their
courses being through dense forests. In east
ern Siberia the plain is more broken by hills,
and has but little land fit for agriculture. In
the S. part of Irkutsk and in Yakutsk the hills
and mountains are covered for most of the
year with good pasture, and in favorable places
all the grains of temperate climates are grown.
The greater part of the country is covered with
open forests, in which there is tolerable pastur
age at certain seasons. Between the Kolyma
river and Behring sea the country is traversed
by several mountain ranges having a general
elevation of 2,000 to 3,000 ft. above the sea.
The entire N. coast of Siberia is a dreary region
of salt steppes and frozen swamps, called the
tundra, where the soil is perpetually frozen to
the depth of hundreds of feet. The surface is
never thawed before the end of June, and is
again ice-bound by the middle of September,
and deep snow covers the ground nine or ten
months in the year. The banks of the rivers
are lined with vast numbers of uprooted trees
brought down by floods, which eventually find
their way into the Arctic ocean, to be drifted
away by the current flowing from E. to "VV.
along the Siberian coast. The principal moun
tain range of Siberia is that which forms in the
west its S. boundary with China, and which is
called by various names in different parts. Its
E. extremity is at East cape in Behring strait,
whence it extends in a general S. W. direction,
forming the boundary between the Littoral, the
Amoor, and Yakutsk provinces, until it reaches

VOL. XV. 2

the Chinese frontier, when its course is first S.,
then W., and then 1ST. W. to the boundary be
tween Irkutsk and Yeniseisk, from which it
again runs S. "W. to the borders of Turkistan.
In the east and along the shores of the sea
of Okhotsk this range is called the Stanovoi
mountains, W. of the Amoor province the Ya-
blonnoi, further W. the Daurian and Sayanian
mountains, and finally the Altai mountains in
the narrower sense. The general height of
the chain (the Altai in its widest sense) is
about 3,000 ft., but the highest summits of the
Altai proper reach an elevation of upward of
10,000 ft., and the Yablonnoi mountains are
little more than an undulating plateau. There
are many spurs from the main range, as well
as several smaller ranges in the interior. (See
ALTAI, AMOOR COUNTRY, and KAMTCHATKA.)
With the exception of the Amoor and a few
streams of less importance, the rivers of Sibe
ria all flow into the Arctic ocean. The Obi
ranks among the largest rivers in the world,
and many of its tributaries are of great size ;
the most important of these are the Irtish,
Ishim, Tobol, and Tom. The Yenisei is by
some authorities said to drain a greater ex
tent of surface and to have a longer course
than the Obi ; its chief affluents are the Lower
Tunguska, Stony Tunguska, and Upper Tun-
guska or Angara. The Lena is nearly as large,
and the principal streams which join it are
the Viliui, Yitim, Olekma, and Aldan. The
other rivers of most importance which flow
into the Arctic ocean are the Nadym, Pur,
Taz, Piasina, Khatanga, Anabara, Olem, Ole-
nek, Yana, Indigirka, Alaze} r a, Kolyma, and
Tchaun. The chief rivers flowing into the
seas which bound Siberia S. E. are the Amoor
or Saghalien, which forms part of the south
ern boundary and receives several considerable
tributaries from the north ; the Anadyr, flow
ing into the gulf of the same name ; and the
Okhota, which has its mouth on the W. shore
of the sea of Okhotsk. Few of these rivers
present any obstacles to navigation except ice.
Frozen inundations are frequent. As the
rivers flow from warm to cold latitudes, their
lower and middle courses freeze while their
head waters are still open. Xear their mouths
they freeze to the bottom, while above for
hundreds of miles only the surface is frozen.
The waters accumulating under the ice finally
burst from confinement and flood the valleys
with many thicknesses of ice. At the close of
winter these accumulations are sometimes 20
ft. in depth. There are many lakes, but they
are all small, with the exception of Baikal,
between the Transbaikal province and the
government of Irkutsk. (See BAIKAL.) The
geology of Siberia is but little known, except
ing in a few parts. Granite and crystalline
schists are found in the Ural mountains, and
also in the Altai and its E. continuations, be
tween Ion. 85 and 120 and as far N. as lat. 57,
and again in the E. extremity of the country
between Ion. 165 and Behring strait. Volcanic

SIBERIA

rocks occur chiefly in the south, and are found
along with the granite and crystalline schists ;
and there are a few active volcanoes. Other
rocks, belonging to the Silurian, Devonian, and
carboniferous systems, are found in the south
and extending toward the interior of the coun
try. The tertiary formation is the most ex
tensively developed, and is found throughout
the whole of Siberia. The shores of the Arctic
ocean are covered for a considerable distance
inland, and for a great part of their extent, by
a deep alluvial deposit which contains immense
numbers of fossil remains of extinct species
of elephants and other animals, from which
large quantities of ivory are procured. (See
MAMMOTH.) Mining operations in Siberia are
confined to three parts of the country. The
westernmost district is on the E. face of the
Ural mountains, and occupies a tract about 40
in. broad, extending between lat. 56 and 60 ;
gold, silver, platinum, copper and iron ores, and
precious stones, are all found in this territory.
This region is, however, not officially included
in Siberia. (See YEKATERINBURG.) The second
district lies on the 1ST. side of the Altai moun
tains, in the neighborhood of the head streams
of the river Irtish ; silver and copper are found
here, and gold and lead in smaller quantities.
The third district lies in the Yablonnoi moun
tains, E. of Ion. 120 ; in this gold, silver, lead,
zinc, antimony, iron, and arsenic are all found,
and there are emerald and topaz mines of great
value. Diamonds are occasionally found on
the E. slopes of the Ural mountains. Por
phyry, jasper, and malachite, for ornamental
uses, and mica, used as a substitute for window
glass, are common. Salt is found in great
abundance on the steppes, and on the surface
of some of the lakes, where the summer heat
rapidly evaporates the water and leaves mass
es of crystallized salt, sometimes 8 or 9 in.
thick, and so solid that beasts of burden pass
over in safety. The climate of Siberia is much
colder than in corresponding latitudes in Eu
rope. At Ustyansk, at the mouth of the river
Yana, in lat. 70 55 , the mean annual tem
perature is 4 39 F., while at North cape in
Europe, a few minutes further north, it is
32. At Irkutsk, in lat. 52 17 , 1,240 ft.
above the sea, the mean temperature is 31;
in winter quicksilver freezes, and remains so
for about two months. In 1864 Pumpelly
saw the thermometer indicate TO below zero
at a station near Irkutsk. The severity of the
climate increases toward the east. At Nizhni
Kolymsk, at the mouth of the Kolyma, in lat.
68 31 , Ion. 160 56 , and nearly on a level
with the sea, the river freezes over in the be
ginning of September, and is not again free
from ice till the beginning of June. The sea
begins to freeze in October, but the cold at
this time is somewhat diminished by vapors
which rise from it before the ice forms. In
January the thermometer falls to 60 below
zero, and respiration becomes difficult. The
cold is almost as great in February, but in

March it begins to decrease perceptibly; the
wind blows from E. S. E., and the tempera
ture rises to 29. In June it is sometimes 72
at noon ; and in July the heat is very great,
and the atmosphere is filled with swarms of
gnats, which compel the reindeer to migrate
from the forests to the open country on the
shores of the sea. In August frosts begin at
night and the temperature rapidly decreases.
Forests cover a large part of southern and cen
tral Siberia, but the tundra on the N. coast is
bare of trees. The birch, larch, fir, pine, wil
low, poplar, elm, and Tartar maple are the
principal trees. The silver poplar is found as
far north as lat. 60 ; the silver fir ceases at
about 60 50 ; the polar limit of birch is about
63, although dwarf specimens are sometimes
seen further north ; the pine is found on arid
slopes and heights in lat. 64, and the red fir
(pinus abies) disappears about the same paral
lel. Larch trees with twisted trunks and many
branches are found in the southern part of the
tundra. On the most desolate steppes and moun
tain sides, from the Okhotsk sea to the Arctic
ocean, grows the trailing cedar, called kedre-
vnik by the Russians. It has needles and cones
like the common white pine ; it never stands
erect, but covers the ground under the snow
with a network of gnarled, twisted, and inter
locking trunks. It furnishes almost the only
firewood of the wandering natives, and without
it N. E. Siberia would be nearly uninhabitable.
With the opening of summer the melting snows
are rapidly followed by foliage and flowers, and
the whole region is converted for a short time
into a blooming garden. The flora of Irkutsk
is richer than that of Berlin, exhibiting the
plants of warmer countries beside those of the
arctic regions. Turtchaninoff discovered 1,000
phanerogamous plants in its neighborhood,
many of them of unknown species. Along
the banks of the rivers, particularly in S. W.
Siberia, is much land well suited for agricultu
ral purposes. Wheat, barley, rye, buckwheat,
oats, and hemp are grown, and some inferior
tobacco. Grain is cultivated as far north as
lat. 61, and turnips and other vegetables of
temperate climates thrive in favorable places.
Reindeer and wild sheep are found on the
mountains which separate Siberia from Mon
golia, and the former roam in vast herds
throughout the N. part of the country. The
Bengal tiger and a species of panther (fells irMs)
also inhabit these mountains, and are sometimes
seen much further north. The Caspian ante
lope is found in the southwest, and the black
and arctic or stone fox in the north. Sables, er
mines, marmots, martens, and squirrels abound
in the south. The white bear, the lynx, the
wolf, the wild hog, and the glutton are com
mon everywhere. The dog of the country,
which bears a strong resemblance to the wolf,
is used to drag sledges. The animals belong
ing to central Asia are nearly all found in the
S. part of Siberia. Camels are kept by the
Calmucks and some other tribes, but do not

SIBERIA

live N. of lat. 55. The domestic sheep are of
two species, the Russian and the broad-tailed
Kirghiz; the latter are chiefly kept by the no
madic tribes, single herdsmen of whom some
times possess flocks of 10,000 head. The horned
cattle of Russia degenerate in size in Siberia.
The horses are good, and generally white, but
sometimes they are singularly marked. Fish
are very numerous. Ducks, geese, swans, wood
cocks, partridges, and other fowl abound in
the S. part of the country. The population
of Siberia is composed of various tribes and
races. More than half are Russians or their
descendants, some of whom came to the coun
try as volunteer immigrants, but the greater
part were sent as exiles. These exiles consist
of three classes, criminals and political and re
ligious gffenders. The worst class are con
demned to the mines, and those whose offences
have not been so great are employed at less
laborious work, while the rest are formed into
settlements under the supervision of the police,
and receive grants of land for cultivation.
None except the worst criminals are sent to
Siberia without their families. In 1874, from
May to October, 16,889 persons were banished
to Siberia. Of these 1,700 were sentenced to
hard labor, and 1,624 were drunkards and va
grants. They were accompanied voluntarily
by 1,080 women and children over 15 years of
age, and 1,269 younger children. Among the
native tribes are the Samoyeds in the 1ST. "VV.,
and the Ostiaks, who occupy the country S. of
them as far E. as the river Yenisei ; these peo
ple live by fishing and hunting, and but few of
them have been converted to Christianity. In
the S. "W., besides some hordes of Bashkirs,
are the Kirghiz, occupying the steppes of the
Ishim and Irtish, commonly called from them
the Kirghiz steppes ; they are still in a barba
rous state. Among the inhabitants of the W.
parts of the Altai mountains the most numer
ous are the Calmucks, who have, become par
tially civilized and have laid aside many of
their national peculiarities ; they manufacture
iron and gunpowder, and cultivate some grain
and tobacco, but their chief subsistence is
drawn from their flocks and herds. Their re
ligion is made up of various superstitions. On
the slopes of the E. part of the Altai chain are
several tribes known as Beruisses, Beltirs,
Sagai, and Katchins. The Buriats are of Mon
gol origin, bear a strong resemblance to the
people of 1ST. China, and are the most numer
ous native tribe in Siberia; they are found
chiefly about Lake Baikal and E. to the river
Onon, a tributary of the Amoor. Most of the
nations of N. E. Siberia may be referred to
one or the other of three classes, the Yakuts,
the Tunguses, and the Tchuktchis and Koriaks.
The Yakuts, settled chiefly along the Lena,
from its source to its mouth, are of Tartar
origin, speaking a language said to resemble
closely the Turkish. They are all more or
less civilized by Russian contact, many having
adopted the Greek faith, and are the most

thrifty and industrious of the nations of N.
Asia. The Tunguses, and the allied tribes, the
Lamuts, the Monzhurs, and the Gilyaks of the
Amoor river, all of Mongol origin, are found
as far W. as the Yenisei and as far E. as Ana-
dyrsk in Ion. 169. They are amiable, and easi
ly governed and influenced. Their original re
ligion was Shamanism, but they now profess
almost universally the Greek faith. They train
reindeer for riding and pack-carrying (the oth
er nations using them only in sledges), and pay
a regular tribute in furs to the government.
The Tchuktchis and Koriaks, inhabiting the
extreme E. part of Siberia, between the 160th
meridian and Behring strait, strongly resemble
the North American Indians in general appear
ance, and are tall, vigorous, and athletic. A
part of them are settled along the seashore, but
most are nomadic. The latter own large herds
of reindeer, numbering frequently several
thousand, and their wandering life is a neces
sity to provide food for them. The Tchuktchis
and Koriaks are independent of civilization,
impatient of restraint, and bold and self-reliant.
They are the only Siberian tribes that ever
made a successful stand against Russian inva
sion. Nearly all the Siberian nations eat a
species of toadstool, called by them mulc-a-
mur, which in small doses produces all the
effects of alcoholic liquor, but when eaten in
large quantities is a violent narcotic poison.
Its habitual use shatters the nervous system,
and its sale to the natives by traders is made a
penal offence by Russian law. In respect to
religious belief the inhabitants are divided as
follows: Orthodox Greeks, 2,875,533; Ras-
kolniks, 65,505 ; Armenian Greeks, 9 ; Ro
man Catholics, 24,754; Protestants, 5,722;
Jews, 11,400; Mohammedans, 61,083; pagans,
283,621. The population in towns numbers
113,236. Although the manufactures of Si
beria are not extensive, a remarkable spirit of
enterprise among the people is rapidly devel
oping the industrial resources of the coun
try. In most of the chief towns there are
manufactories of cotton and woollen cloths,
linen, glass, iron, earthenware, and leather;
and others are springing up all over the coun
try. The internal commerce is of great im
portance, consisting principally of skins, furs,
cattle, fish, both dry and salted, caviare, soap,
and tallow. The transit trade between Chi
na and European Russia is also largely carried
on across Siberia. The sole entrepot of this
commerce was formerly at Kiakhta, S. E. of
Lake Baikal, but trade is not now restricted
to it. The principal exports to China are cot
ton and woollen cloths, linen, furs, gold and
silver articles, and leather; the imports, tea,
both leaf and compressed in cakes, sugar,
silks, cottons, wool, cattle, leather, furs, grain,
dried fruit, and colors. This trade has been
chiefly carried on by means of the rivers
which flow into Lake Baikal, thence through
the Upper Tunguska to Yeniseisk, thence after
a land carriage of about 40 m. passing through

SIBERIA

SIBYL

the Ket, the Obi, and the Irtish to Tobolsk,
whence there is again a land conveyance of
about 500 m. across the Ural mountains to
Perm. In winter it is maintained by means
of sledges. But recently the tendency of the
trade has appeared to be to take the sea route
by the coast of China to Nikolayevsk, and
thence up the Amoor by steamboat. There is
also a considerable caravan trade with Hi,
Tashkend, Khokan, &c. A great deal of the
trade of the country is transacted at fairs held
at stated periods. The most important fairs
are at Obdorsk near the mouth of the Obi, Tu-
rukhansk on the Yenisei, TJstyansk on the Ya-
na, Ostrovnoye on a tributary of the Kolyma,
Tiumen on a W. tributary of the Irtish, and Ir-
bit in the E. part of the government of Perm.
During the summer steamers ply on all the
large streams of central and southern Siberia
and on Lake Baikal, so that there is less than
1,000 m. of wagon transit between St. Peters
burg and the mouth of the Amoor. A great
railway across the continent is projected, to
connect European Russia with Peking. The
proposed western terminus is Yekaterinburg
on the E. slope of the Ural mountains, whence
the line will pass through Shadrinsk, Omsk,
Tomsk, and Krasnoyarsk to Irkutsk. Siberia
is divided into two military circumscriptions,
East and West Siberia : the former comprises
the governments of Irkutsk and Yeniseisk,
and the provinces of Transbaikul, Yakutsk,
Amoor, and the Littoral; the latter the gov
ernments of Tobolsk and Tomsk, together with
the Kirghiz territories of central Asia. The
respective capitals are Irkutsk and Omsk.
Each of these two great divisions, which were
formed on the present basis in 1865, has a mil
itary governor general, who is also cominand-
er-in-chief of the troops, and has control of
all affairs, civil and military. Each of the
governments and provinces has also a civil
governor, subordinate to the governor general,
who is assisted by a council of regency. A
vice governor fills his place in case of his ab
sence or sickness. Genghis Khan conquered
a part of Siberia, and his successors reduced
the country lying on both sides of the Irtish.
About 1580 the Russian family of Stroganoff,
to whom the czar had granted lands on both
sides of the Ural mountains, applied to a Cos
sack chief, Yermak Timofeyeff, for assistance
against the khan Kutchum, who ruled the
country on the Tobol and Irtish rivers. Yer
mak invaded the country and made extensive
conquests. Other adventurers followed up his
successes, which resulted in 1587 in the sub
jection to Russia of the khanate of Sibir (called
after a town of that name, whence the name
Siberia). Tobolsk, Tiumen, Pelymsk, and Be-
rezov were soon after founded and settled by
Europeans. In 1604 Tomsk was founded, and
the Cossacks, pushing eastward, founded suc
cessively Kuznetsk, Yeniseisk, Irkutsk, Selen-
ginsk, and Nertchinsk, and at last reached the
shores of Behring strait. The conquest of the

entire country was effected in about 80 years.
The Amoor region was soon after visited by a
Pole and some other exiles escaped from Ye
niseisk, who built a small fort on the river;
but having quarrelled with the Tunguses, they
offered the conquest to the emperor of Russia,
and begged forgiveness for their former of
fences, while the Tunguses about the same time
applied to the emperor of China for assistance.
This led to disputes between the two govern
ments, but war was prevented, and the boun
dary between China and Siberia established,
by a treaty concluded at Peking in 1689. A
second treaty was made in 1727, confirming the
former and confining commercial intercourse to
Kiakhta and Maimatchin. The Amoor coun
try was finally ceded to Russia in 1858, and
in 1860 a treaty was concluded by which the
whole line of the frontier was thrown, open
for traffic. The transportation of criminals to
Siberia was begun by Peter the Great in 1710.
A well organized insurrection of Polish exiles
was promptly suppressed in 1866. In 1871 the
Russians took possession of the whole of the
island of Saghalien, which by a treaty conclu
ded in 1867 had been divided between Russia
and Japan, and in 1875 the Japanese govern
ment resigned all claims to it. See Atkin
son, "Oriental and "Western Siberia" (Lon
don, 1858); Pumpelly, "Across America and
Asia" (New York, 1870); and Kennan, "Tent
Life in Siberia" (New York, 1870).

SIBLE1, a S. county of Minnesota, bounded
S. E. by the Minnesota river ; area, about 500
sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 6,725. The surface is
undulating and the soil fertile. Lake Minne-
tonka, 30 m. long, is in this county. The chief
productions in 1870 were 237,706 bushels of
wheat, 142,060 of Indian corn, 221,416 of oats,
34,545 of barley, 32,659 tons of hay, 19,600
Ibs. of wool, and 310,217 of butter. There
were 1,726 horses, 3,531 milch cows, 5,952
other cattle, 3,666 sheep, and 3,990 swine.
Capital, Henderson.

SIBOIR, Marie Dominique Anguste, a French pre
late, born at St. Paul-Trois-Chateanx, Drome,
April 4, 1792, assassinated in Paris, Jan. 3,
1857. lie was educated at Avignon and at
Paris, was for a time professor in the semi
nary of St. Nicholas, du Charclonnet in Paris,
was next vicar to the parish of St. Sulpice and
to the chapel of the missions etrangeres, in 1822
became canon of the church of Mmes, in 1838
vicar general of that diocese, in 1840 bishop
of Digne, in 1848 archbishop of Paris, as suc
cessor to Affre, and in 1852 a senator. In
1857, while opening the yearly nine days 1 de
votion in honor of St. Genevieve in the church
of St. Etienne du Mont, he was stabbed to the
heart by a priest named Verger, whom he had
recently suspended. He was distinguished for
religious and charitable activity, and published
Institutions diocesains (2 vols., 1845).

SIBYL (Gr. aifUvTifai), a name applied to sev
eral women reputed prophetic in the ancient
mythical period. Some authors say there

SICARD

SICILIES (THE Two)

were four, others ten, viz. : the Babylonian,
the Libyan, the Delphian, the Cimmerian, the
Erythrasan, the Samian, the Cumsean (some
times identified with the Erythraean), the Hel-
lespontian or Trojan, the Phrygian, and the
Tiburtine. Counsel and help were sought
from them under the belief that they were
able to predict, to avert calamities, and to ap
pease the gods. The most famous of all was
the Cumsean sibyl, so called from Cumas, her
residence in Campania. According to an an
cient Roman legend, she offered to sell Tar-
quinius Priscus nine books, which the king
refused. Burning three, she offered the re
maining six for the same price that she had
asked for the nine ; refused again, she burned
three more, and still demanded the same price
for the remaining three. The king purchased
these, and the sibyl vanished. They were the
famous sibylline books, and were preserved
in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, in care
of two officers (duumviri), afterward 10 (de
cemviri), and finally 15 (quindecemviri), who
alone, directed by the senate, might inspect
their contents. Of these nothing definite is
known. The sibylline books having perished
when the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus was
burned in 83 B. C., a new collection was com
piled by ambassadors sent to the various sibyl
line oracles in Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor,
and was deposited in the new temple of Jupi
ter. In the reign of Augustus spurious pro
phetic books multiplied in private hands, and
the emperor ordered 2,000 of them to be
burned. Those volumes in custody of the
state, revised by Tiberius, were preserved in
two gilt chests in the temple of Apollo. Eight
books of apocryphal Christian literature, col
lected after the 2d century, entitled " Sibyl
line Oracles," and still extant, consist of a he
terogeneous mixture of heathen, Jewish, and
Christian poems. An edition of these books
was published by Gallseus in 1689 (4to, Am
sterdam), and fragments have been edited by
Angelo Mai (Milan, 1817) and Struve (Konigs-
berg, 1818).

SICARD, Roch Ambroise Cncnrron, abbe, a French
philanthropist, born at Fousseret, near Tou
louse, Sept. 20, 1742, died in Paris, May 10,
1822. He was educated at the university of
Toulouse, entered holy orders, received instruc
tion from the abb6de 1 Epee, opened the school
for deaf mutes at Bordeaux in 1786, and became
vicar general of Condom and canon of Bor
deaux. In 1789, on the death of De T^pee,
he was appointed his successor in the in
stitution at Paris. His former church pre
ferments caused him to be suspected, and on
Aug. 26, 1792, he was imprisoned, and barely
escaped death at the September massacre. His
lectures attracted many of the more eminent
literary men of Paris; but he incurred the
wrath of the directory, and was banished for
his strictures upon the government. He im
proved De 1 EpeVs method by the addition
of signs for metaphysical ideas. In 1815 he

visited England, taking with him his pupils
Massieu and Clerc. He published several
works on deaf-mute instruction. (See DEAF
AND DUMB, vol. v., p. 733.)

SICILIES, The Two (It., Regno delle Due Si-
eilie), formerly a kingdom of southern Italy,
including the island of Sicily, with various
smaller islands, and the kingdom of Naples.
At the time of its incorporation with the do
minions of Victor Emanuel in 1860, the area
was 43,225 sq. m., and the population 8,703,130.
It now forms six main divisions of the king
dom of Italy, viz. : the island of Sicily, with
seven provinces (see SICILY), and the conti
nental divisions of Abruzzo and Molise, Cam
pania (with Naples), Apulia, Basilicata, and
Calabria, with an aggregate of 16 provinces
(including Benevento, which formerly belonged
to the papal dominions) and somewhat over
one third of the population of all Italy. (See
ITALY.) The early history of the peninsular
part of the country, which in ancient times
comprised the divisions of Bruttium, Lucania,
Calabria, Apulia, Samnium, Campania, and a
part of Latium, is closely connected with the
history of Rome, and, through the Magna
Grsecian cities of Tarentum, Croton, Sybaris,
Thurii, Rhegium, Neapolis, and others, partly
also with that of Greece. After the fall of the
western empire the country was successively
under the power of the Goths, the Byzantine
exarchate of Ravenna, and the Saracens ; but
several small republics or duchies, as Naples,
Salerno, Amalfi, Gaeta, and Benevento, ulti
mately rose to independence. During the first
half of the llth century great numbers of
Norman adventurers served these" small states
as mercenaries, but soon began to wage war on
their own account ; and under the leadership
of William Bras de Fer, Drogo, and Robert
Guiscard, they conquered, the greater part of
Apulia, which they divided into 12 counties,
forming together a feudal confederation. In
1053 Pope Leo IX., at the head of German
and Italian troops, tried to expel the new con
querors ; but he was defeated at Civitella and
taken prisoner, and his captors obliged him to
recognize their conquests by formally holding
them as vassals of the holy see. Robert Guis
card established his power paramount over his
companions in arms, assumed the title of duke
of Apulia, and subdued Calabria, while his
youngest brother Roger made himself master
of the island of Sicily, previously occupied by
the Saracens. In 1127 the whole of the Nor
man acquisitions were united under Roger II.,
son of Roger I., the conqueror of Sicily, who
received in 1130, from the antipope Anacle-
tus II., the title of king of Sicily and Apulia.
The bull which conferred that dignity clear
ly established the paramount lordship of the
pope, and stipulated the annual tribute to be
paid by the new kingdom. Roger conquered
Capua and Naples. He was succeeded in 1154
by his son William I. the Bad, who left his
crown to William II. the Good (1166- 89) ;

SICILIES (TiiE Two)

the latter promoted public prosperity, and was
a stanch supporter of Pope Alexander III. and
the cities of Lombardy against the emperor
Frederick Barbarossa. William II. died with
out issue, and his kingdom was claimed by
his aunt Constantia, who had married the son
of Frederick Barbarossa. Her husband, Hen
ry VI., upheld her rights against the usurper
Tancred, and finally in 1194 united the king
dom of Naples and Sicily to the empire. On
his premature death in 1197, his Italian crown
passed to his son, afterward the emperor Fred
erick II. The exertions of this prince to an
nihilate the -Lombard league and to strengthen
his dominion over Italy drew upon himself and
his descendants the persecution of the papal
court ; and during the minority of Conradin,
his grandson, the Roman see took the king
dom. Manfred, a natural son of Frederick
II., the first regent for his nephew Conra
din, then king on the pretended death of
this young prince (1258), was finally defeated
and slain at the battle of Benevento (Feb. 26,
12(36), by Charles of Anjou, who had been
crowned as his successor by Pope Clement IV.,
and. who now usurped the power in the two
kingdoms. Conradin, the last of the Hohen-
staufen, was utterly defeated at Tagliacozzo,
Aug. 23, 1268, and beheaded at Naples, Oct.
29. The exasperation produced by Charles s
despotism finally culminated (March 30, 1282,
at the hour of vespers) in the revolt and mas
sacre at Palermo provoked by the licentious
brutality of a Frenchman, and the expulsion
of the French from Sicily, an event known
as "the Sicilian vespers," and Pedro III. of
Aragon, the husband of Constantia, Manfred s
daughter, became king. Charles strove in vain
to regain possession of Sicily. For more than
a century and a half the island (mainly ruled
by a younger branch of the house of Aragon)
and the continental kingdom were separated
from each other, and the sovereigns of both
parts styled themselves kings of Sicily. The
destinies of the house of Anjou at Naples, ob
scured during the later years of Charles I. and
the reign of his son Charles !!. the Lame,
brightened again under Robert the Wise (1309-
43), the patron of Petrarch ; but the reign of
his granddaughter, Joanna I., was marked by
all sorts of domestic crimes and disorders.
After her execution by order of the king of
Hungary (see JOANNA) in 1382, a bloody con
test raged between Louis I., the head of the
second house of Anjou, her adopted son, and
Charles of Durazzo, her lawful heir. The lat
ter finally triumphed, but was called to Hun
gary by discontented nobles in 1385, crowned
king, and murdered soon after. His son Ladis-
las, scarcely 10 years old, was overthrown by
the Angevine party, who called in Louis II. of
Anjou in 1389 ; but in 1399 he reascended his
throne, and crushed the adherents of his rival.
He was succeeded in 1414 by his sister Joanna
II., whose reign of 21 years was as shameful
and disastrous as that of Joanna I. After

adopting in succession Alfonso V. of Aragon
and Louis III. of Anjou, she finally, on the
latter s death, bequeathed the crown to his
brother Rene. After a few years war Rene
was expelled by Alfonso V., who received the
investiture of his new kingdom from Pope
Eugenius IV., and thus reunited the two parts
of the old monarchy. On his death in 1458
he left the kingdom of Naples to his natural
son Ferdinand I., who finally maintained his
rights against John of Calabria, son of King
Ren6, while Sicily as well as Aragon fell to his
brother John II. In 1494 the kingdom of
Naples was suddenly conquered by Charles
VIII. of France, and its possession was dis
puted by the French and Spaniards until Fer
dinand the Catholic became master of it in
1503, and was successively known as Ferdi
nand III. of Naples and Ferdinand II. of Sicily.
The oppressive rule of the Spanish viceroys
resulted in 1647 in the rising under Masaniello
at Naples, and in other commotions ; the distur
bances created by the former lasted for years,
though Masaniello was speedily assassinated
(July 16, 1647). During the war for the Span
ish succession the people sided with Philip V.,
the Bourbon king; but in 1707 they accepted
his competitor Charles of Austria, afterward
emperor of Germany as Charles VI., whose
title to Naples was confirmed by the treaty of
Utrecht in 1713, while Sicily was given to Vic
tor Amadeus of Savoy. The latter exchanged
Sicily in 1720 for Sardinia, and the two king
doms remained under the rule of Charles VI.
till 1734, when they were conquered by Don
Carlos, son of Philip V. of Spain, who was
crowned at Palermo in 1735 as Charles III.,
and acknowledged as king of the Two Sicilies.
In 1759, on his succession to the throne of
Spain, his son Ferdinand IV. became king of
Naples and Sicily. Under the influence of his
wife Queen Caroline and her favorite the prime
minister Acton, he joined the first coalition
against France, and in 1799 the French estab
lished the Parthenopean republic in the Nea
politan territory. This was overthrown after
a few months, and Ferdinand restored. He
retained the island of Sicily with the assistance
of England, but after his violation of the treaty
of Paris which in 1801 he had concluded with
France, Napoleon deposed the Bourbons, and
in 1806 gave the throne of Naples to his brother
Joseph, and in 1808 to Murat. In 1815, after
the overthrow of Murat, Ferdinand was re
stored; and on Dec. 12, 1816, he assumed
power over the two countries as Ferdinand I.
of the (united) kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
He abrogated the constitution which he had
granted while in Sicily. The rising under Pepe
in 1820 obliged him to adopt the Spanish lib
eral constitution of 1812, but with the aid of
Austria he soon suppressed it. On his death,
Jan. 4, 1825, he was succeeded by his son
Francis I., who had become popular by his
liberalism, but whose reign was notorious for
his subserviency to Austria. He died in 1830.

X 1 V KUS IT V 01

SICILY

His son and successor, Ferdinand II. (1830- 59),
was the most odious of all the Bourbon rulers
from his sanguinary repression of insurrections
in Sicily and Naples. His excesses aroused the
national spirit and paved the way for liberty.
His son Francis II. adhered to his despotic
system. In 1800 Garibaldi invaded Sicily, con
quered it, and crossed the strait of Messina.
On his approach in September toward Naples
Francis lied to Capua. There he rallied an
army, which was however compelled to sur
render with the fortress, Nov. 2, the court
retiring to Gaeta. The two kingdoms were
merged with Victor Emanuel s possessions, and
the flight of Francis from Gaeta and the sur
render of that stronghold to Gen. Cialtlini,
Feb. 13, 1861, removed the last obstacles to
national unity, and Victor Emanuel received
on Feb. 26 the title of king of Italy. See
Giannone, Storia civile del regno di Napoli (4
vols., Naples, 1723 ; new ed., 13 void., Milan,
1823 et seq.) ; Colletta, Storia del reame di
Napoli dal 1734 sino al 1825 (2 vols., Capo-
lago, 1834 ; English translation, 1858) ; and
Reuchlin, Qeschichte Necipels wdhrend der letz-
ten siebzig Jalire (Nordlingen, 1862).

SICILY (anc. Trinacria, from its triangular
shape, Sicania, and Sicilia\ the largest island
of the Mediterranean, forming part of the
kingdom of Italy, separated from Calabria by
the strait of Messina, between lat. 36 38 and
38 18 N., and Ion. 12 25 and 15 40 E. The
northern side is 180, the southwestern 171, and
the eastern 113 m. long; area, 11,291 sq. m. ;
pop. in 1872, 2,584,099. The extreme points
of the island are Capo di Faro or Cape Peloro
(anc. Pelorus) at the northeast, Cape Passaro
(Pachynus) at the southeast, and Cape Boeo
(Lilyfiwum) at the northwest. It is divided
into the provinces of Caltanisetta, Catania,
Girgenti, Messina, Palermo, Syracuse, and Tra-
pani. Capital, Palermo. The coast has nu
merous indentations, the largest of which are
the gulf of Castellamare on the northwest, the
gulf of Patti on the northeast, and the bay of
Catania on the east ; the best harbors are those
of Palermo, Messina, Agosta, and Syracuse. The
tides on the coast are slight and irregular. Of
the two principal currents of the Mediterra
nean, that from the Atlantic and that from the
Black sea, only the first is felt upon the shores
of Sicily, and in its set through the strait of
Messina it causes the whirlpool at the N. end
called by the ancients Charybdis. Most of the
mountains of Sicily are regarded as part of the
system of the Apennines. The northern part
of the island is generally high, the mountains
in several places coming close to the sea ; but
in the opposite direction they recede to a con
siderable distance, and the coasts are of mod
erate elevation. The celebrated volcano Mt.
Etna rises in solitary grandeur (upward of
10,800 ft.) from the E. coast, midway between
the N. and S. extremities of the island. (See
ETNA.) A range of mountains runs from Cape
Peloro, on the strait of Messina, to the S. W.,

following the E. coast to near Taormina, 30 m.
from Messina, where it is joined by a chain
from the west which keeps much nearer the
N. than the S. W. shore, and sends off spurs
to the coast in the former direction. The
first chain, now called Pelorian, was anciently
known as Neptunius Mons; the second is now
called Madonian, and was anciently known as
the Nebrodian. No part of this chain rises
above 6,300 ft., and in the west it becomes
much broken. About half way across the isl
and a chain of great hills breaks off from the
Madonian mountains, runs W. of the high pla
teau of Etna to the southeast, and is cut up by
numerous and precipitous ravines, but sinks
into a flat country as it approaches the S. E.
point of Sicily. The island is watered by nu
merous streams, the most important of which
are the Alcantara (anc. Taurominius) and Gia-
retta or Simeto (Symcetlius) on the E. coast,
the Salso (S. Himerd), Platani (Halycus), and
Belici (Hypsas) on the S. W., and the Termini
(N. Himerd) on the N. They are nearly all
mere torrents, dry or nearly so m summer,
but swelling into floods during the seasons of
heavy rains; and few of them are navigable
even at their mouths. The largest lake is that
of Lentini, near the E. coast, between Catania
and Syracuse; it is about 12 m. in circumfer
ence, but shallow and stagnant. Sicily contains
no strata corresponding to those of the Silu
rian, the old red sandstone, the carboniferous,
or the new red sandstone formation; granite
and. limestone are found in some places, and
near Etna a large tract is covered with volca
nic products. Different kinds of fine stone
abound, and amber is procured near Catania.
Small quantities of argentiferous lead, quick
silver, iron, copper, and antimony are found,
but they are seldom worked. The other min
erals include marble, petroleum, emery, alum,
rock salt, agates, and sulphur, the most impor
tant of all. The climate is temperate and agree
able. The thermometer rarely rises higher than
92 F. and seldom sinks below 36, and the
mean annual temperature at Palermo is about
64. The annual fall of rain is about 26 inch
es, nearly all during the winter months. In
summer the weather is settled, but after the
autumnal equinox it becomes for a time hazy
and boisterous. Thunder storms are violent
and frequent ; and the sirocco, or S. E. wind,
blowing for three or four days at a time, is very
distressing in some parts of the island. There
are two kinds of level ground in Sicily. Of the
first an example is found in the dreary wastes
along the S. shore, where the limestone rock
coming near the surface supports a scanty vege
tation ; and of the second in the fertile plains
of Palermo, Catania, and Castellamare, filling
up the curves of the mountains which recede
from the sea. The hilly regions are varied
with undulating slopes and bold crags, the
former of which are clothed with forests of
fine timber, or covered with excellent pastures.
In the fertile plains cultivation is general, and

SICILY

SICKLES

although the mode is rude and careless, the
crops are often remarkable for their luxuri
ance; the most important are wheat, maize,
barley, and pulse. Artificial grasses are grown
to a small extent, and hemp is raised in the
deeper and lower grounds. The vine and olive
are extensively cultivated, and often inter
mixed. The other productions include sugar,
barilla, cotton, sumach, saffron, manna ob
tained from a species of ash (fraxinus ornus),
and the mulberry, which is extensively applied
to rearing silkworms. Various kinds of fruit
abound. The most valuable kinds of timber
are ash, oak, pine, elm, and chestnut. Cattle
are not numerous, and are generally neglected.
Sheep are extensively reared, but the breed is
inferior, and in many places goats are preferred
to them. Snakes are common in the plains,
and wolves in the mountains. The population
is a mixture of many races, but the Sicanians
or Siculians seem to have been the aborigi
nes. Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals,
Goths, Herulians, Arabs, and Normans after
ward settled among them. The Sicilians are
of light olive complexion, middle stature, and
well made. The dialect differs considerably
from the Italian, being much mixed with Ara
bic and other languages. They are all Roman
Catholics, excepting a number of descendants
of modern Greek settlers, who adhere to the
Greek church. The unequal distribution of
landed property, the fatal rule of the Bour
bons, the total neglect of education, and other
untoward circumstances have produced great
misery in Sicily ; but the island is gradual
ly improving under Victor Emanuel, although
brigandage still prevails, especially under a
wide-spread organization known as the Mafia.
There are now elementary schools in the vil
lages and higher schools in the towns, and
Palermo has a celebrated university. Industry
is not much developed, and the manufactures
are limited chiefly to the larger towns. The
wines of the country are largely exported, along
with fruit, grain, oil, sulphur, silk, wool, su
mach, &c. The fisheries are among the most
productive in the Mediterranean. The first in
habitants of Sicily are supposed to have come
from the continent of Italy. The Phoenicians
early founded colonies there, including Panor-
mus (now Palermo) and Eryx. In the 8th
century B. C. the Greeks drove them into the
interior, and in that and the following two cen
turies established several colonies on the coasts,
such as Zancle or Messana (Messina), Syracuse,
Leontini (Lentini), Catana (Catania), several
towns called Hybla, Gela, Selinus, and Agri-
gentum (Girgenti), of which Syracuse and Mes
sana became the most celebrated. The Cartha
ginians invaded the island early in the 5th cen
tury and also established colonies, which, after
long contests with the Greeks, finally fell under
the power of Syracuse. (See SYEAOUSE.) Du
ring the first Punic war Agrigentum was the
principal stronghold of the Carthaginians, but
was conquered by the Romans, who subse

quently obtained possession of the whole isl
and, afterward their principal granary. On
the decline of the Roman empire Sicily was
overrun by barbarians. The Ostrogoths, who
conquered it at the close of the 5th century,
were expelled in 535 by the Byzantine general
Belisarius. The Saracens occupied it about
830, and made Palermo their capital. In the
llth century they were driven out by the Nor
mans, who established the feudal system, and
united Sicily to Naples, with which its subse
quent history is identified. (See SICILIES, THE
Two.) Among recent works on Sicily are:
UIH&toire de la Sidle sous la domination des
Norlands, by Bazancourt (2 vols., Paris, 1846) ;
Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, by Amari
(Florence, 1853); Compendio della storia di
Sicilia, by San Filippo (7th ed., Palermo,
1859); Neapel und Sicilien, by Loher (2 vols.,
Munich, 1864); Siciliana, by Gregorovius, in
cluded in his Wanderjahre in Italien (4 vols.,
Leipsic, 1874) ; " History of Sicily to the Athe
nian War," by W. Watkiss Lloyd (London,
1874) ; and GescJiichte Siciliens im Alterthum,
by Ad. Holms (3 vols., Leipsic, 1874 et seq.~).

SICMNGEN, Franz von, a German soldier, born
in the castle of Sickingen, Baden, March 1,
1481, died May 7, 1523. He was rich and dis
tinguished for valor and generosity. He en
couraged the reformation, protected Reuchlin
and Ulrich von Hutten, and offered an asylum
to Luther. In 1513 he declared war against
the city of Worms, and subsequently fought
against the duke of Lorraine, levied large
amounts of money upon Metz and other cities,
and laid siege to Mentz, when the quarrel was
adjusted by the emperor. In 1521 he invaded
Picardy with the count of Nassau, but was
forced by a stratagem of the chevalier Bayard,
and by sickness in his army, to abandon the
expedition. In 1522 a private dispute brought
him into war with the archbishop of Treves,
and he raised an army of 12,000 men and des
olated his territories. In 1523 he was besieged
in his castle Landstuhl near Kaiserslautern, and
surrendered after receiving a mortal wound.
He was one of the last nobles who maintained
in Germany the right of private warfare. His
descendants became counts of the empire;
only one branch of them now survives. See
JRitter Franz von Sickingen und seine Nach-
Itommen, by Schneegans (Creuznach, 1867).

SICKLE. See SCYTHE.

SICKLE-BILL. See CUELEW.

SICKLES, Daniel Ephraim. an American general,
born in New York, Oct. 20, 1822. He studied
at the university of New York, but did not
graduate, and was admitted to the bar in 1844.
In 1847 he was elected to the state legislature,
and in 1853 was appointed corporation attor
ney in New York city. In the latter year he
accompanied Mr. Buchanan to England as sec
retary of legation. He was elected to the state
senate in 1855 and to congress in 1856, and re-
elected to the latter in 1858 and 1860. In 1859
he shot Philip Barton Key in Washington for

SICYON

SIDNEY

an intrigue with his wife, and was tried for
murder, but acquitted. On the outbreak of
the civil war in 1861 he raised the Excelsior
brigade in New York, and was commissioned
colonel. In September his nomination as a
brigadier general of volunteers was rejected by
the senate, but on its renewal was confirmed ;
and in the battles of the Chickahominy cam
paign he commanded a brigade of Hooker s di
vision of the 3d corps. He succeeded Hooker
in the command of his division, which he led
in the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg.
He was commissioned a major general of vol
unteers Nov. 29, 1862, and commanded the
3d corps at Chancellorsville, May 2-4, 1863,
and at Gettysburg, July 2, where he lost a leg.
He was appointed colonel of the 42d infantry
regiment of the regular army, July 28, 1866,
and was commander of the second military
district (North and South Carolina) till Aug.
26, 1867. In 1869 he was appointed minister
to Spain, which office he resigned in 1874.
He married a Spanish lady as his second wife.

SICYON (now Vasilika), one of the most
ancient cities of Greece, in the Peloponnesus,
originally on a plain near the Corinthian gulf.
Having been destroyed, it was rebuilt by De
metrius Poliorcetes on a hill between the Aso-
pus and Helisson, about 10 m. N. W. of Cor
inth. The streets, laid out at right angles, are
still traceable. Its territory was called Sicyo-
nia. It was one of the Dorian states, and was
ruled by tyrants for about a century after 676
B. C. It joined the Persians in their wars,
was repeatedly assailed by the Athenians, and
favored the Spartans in the Peloponnesian
conflict. Aratus, its general, united it to the
Achaean league in 251. It was long a chief seat
of Grecian art, and had an eminent school,
founded by Eupompus and including Apelles
and Pamphilus, and was the model of taste
and fashion in dress for all Greece.

SIBDONS, Sarah, an English actress, born in
Brecknock, South Wales, July 5, 1755, died in
London, June 8, 1831. The eldest of the chil
dren of Roger Kemble (see KEMBLE), at 13
years of age she took principal parts in Eng
lish operas. At 18 she married Mr. Siddons,
a young actor in the Kemble company. She
first appeared at Drury Lane theatre Dec. 29,
1775, as Portia in the "Merchant of Venice,"
but failed to produce a decided impression,
apparently in great part from timidity, and at
the close of the season was dismissed. She
devoted herself anew to study, and, after great
successes at various provincial theatres, was
solicited to reappear at Drury Lane. On Oct.
10, 1782, she began this second engagement as
Isabella in " The Fatal Marriage," producing a
profound sensation. At once she stood at the
head of the British stage, and so continued till
her retirement from professional life, June 29,
1812. On this occasion she played Lady Mac
beth, and the moment the night scene was over
the audience rose and demanded that the play
should close. Mrs. Siddons was of medium

height, symmetrical and majestic, with corre
sponding voice and expression. Her counte
nance was of extraordinary flexibility. Her
genius at first inclined to pathetic characters,
as Isabella, Ophelia, Jane Shore, Belvidera, or
Euphrasia, but later to those of power and
majesty. In some other r61es she was but
moderately successful. Her private character
was highly esteemed.

SIDEREAL TIME. See DAY.

SIDI MOHAMMED, emperor of Morocco, born
in 1803, died Sept. 20, 1873. He succeeded to
the throne in 1859, as the elder son of Abder-
rahman, and soon afterward was engaged in
difficulties with France and in a serious war
with Spain, on account of the depredations
of the Rif pirates. The Spanish forces under
Prim and O Donnell achieved signal victories,
and the final treaty of April 27, I860, bound
the emperor to pay an indemnity to Spain of
20,000,000 piasters, and to cede her some ter
ritory, besides granting her other concessions.
He afterward strove to secure the good will of
Christian powers by introducing reforms and
making concessions to foreigners, which pro
duced such discontent among his subjects that
they nearly drove him from the throne in 1862.
Yet in 1864 he granted liberty of commerce
to all European traders in his dominions, and
the result was repeated insurrections. That
of 1867, the most formidable, he quelled by
attacking the insurgents in person at the head
of a powerful army. He was succeeded by
his son Muley Hassan.

SIBMOl T TH,"Lord. See ADDINGTON.

SIDNEY, Algernon, an English statesman, born
about 1622, executed on Tower hill, London,
Dec. 7, 1683. He was the second surviving
son of the second earl of Leicester of that
creation, by the eldest daughter of the earl
of Northumberland, and grandncphew of Sir
Philip Sidney. In 1632 he accompanied his
father to Denmark, where the latter was ac
credited as ambassador, and four years later
to France. In 1641 he served in Ireland as
captain of a troop of horse in a regiment com
manded by his father ; and at the outbreak of
the civil war, while on his way with his broth
er to join the king s forces, he was detained at
Liverpool by order of parliament. The king
believed this had been done through the con
nivance of the young men, who, resenting Ijis
distrust, at once declared for the parliament.
Algernon Sidney was commissioned a captain
in May, 1644, and fought with gallantry at
Marston Moor, where he was severely wounded.
In 1646 he was appointed lieutenant general of
horse in Ireland, and governor of Dublin. In
the same year he entered parliament for Car
diff, and in May, 1647, received the thanks of
parliament for his services in Ireland, and was
made governor of Dover castle. He acted as
one of the judges of the king, but refrained
from signing the warrant for his execution,
although he subsequently characterized it as
"the justest and bravest action that ever was

SIDNEY

done in England or anywhere else." His op
position to the protectorship of Cromwell com
pelled him to relinquish his legislative duties ;
and in April, 1653, he retired to his father s
residence at Penshurst. He resumed his seat
at the first meeting of the restored parliament
in 1659, and on May 13 was nominated one of
the council of state. On June 5 he was sent as
one of the commissioners to negotiate a peace
between Sweden and Denmark, and was ab
sent from England at the time of the restora
tion. Unwilling to return to his native coun
try while it remained under " the government
of a single person, kingship, or house of lords,"
he remained a voluntary exile for nearly 18
years. Intent upon establishing an English
republic, in 1665 he sought the assistance of
the Dutch government and the influence of
the French ministers toward that end . Fail
ing in both instances, he retired to the south
of France, where he lived till 1677, when, at
the solicitation of his father (a centenarian), a
permission for him to return home was ob
tained from the king. He soon became an ac
tive opponent of the court, but was defeated
in two attempts to obtain a seat in parliament.
He is charged with accepting 500 guineas for
favoring the intrigues of Barillon, the French
ambassador, who about this time was in clan
destine correspondence with prominent mem
bers of the popular party seeking to crush the
duke of York and the Roman Catholics, the
parliament, and the ministry. But it has been
alleged that, if true, the act was not criminal,
as it required no betrayal of his principles, and
as he needed the money and its acceptance was
not repugnant to the practice of the age. The
discovery of the Rye House plot, in June,
1683, gave the king an opportunity to exact
vengeance for years of restraint and humilia
tion; and Sidney, with his illustrious compan
ion in misfortune, "William Lord Russell, was
arrested on a charge of complicity with the
conspirators, and imprisoned in the tower. At
his trial, over which Jeffreys presided, but a
single living legal witness to the conspiracy
for an insurrection, the infamous Lord How
ard, could be produced; but garbled extracts
from a theoretical work on government in
manuscript, which had been found among Sid
ney s papers, were read in evidence against
him. These, though containing assertions of
the right of a people to depose an unworthy
sovereign, were unconnected by other evidence
with the conspiracy itself ; under the ruling of
the court, they were nevertheless deemed suffi
cient to convict. Sidney met his death " with
the fortitude of a stoic." His attainder was
reversed by the first parliament of William and
Mary. His " Discourses concerning Govern
ment" were published in 1698, and a fourth
edition, with additions by Thomas Hollis, in
cluding his " Apology," dated on the day of
his death, and a number of letters and miscel
laneous pieces, in 1772. His "Essay on Vir
tuous Love" was published in vol. viii. of the

Somers collection of tracts (1742). The frag
mentary distich,

. . . manus hfpc inimica tyrannis
Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem,

which he wrote in the university album at
Copenhagen, is perhaps the best remembered
extract from his writings. The report of his
trial, after Jeffreys had struck out whatever
he pleased, was published in 1684; it is also
given in " HowelPs State Trials." His life
has been written by George Wilson Meadley
(8vo, London, 1813), and by G. Van Sant-
voord (12mo, New York, 1851). See also Ar
thur Collins, " Memoirs of the Lives and Ac
tions of the Sidneys," prefixed to his " Letters
and Memorials of State," &c. (2 vols. fol.,
London, 1746), and Blencowe, "Sydney Pa
pers" (8vo, 1825).

SIDNEY, or Sydney, Sir Philip, an English au
thor, born at Penshurst, Kent, Nov. 29, 1554,
died in Arnhem, Holland, Oct. 7, 1586. His
father, a descendant of Sir William Sidney,
chamberlain to Henry II., was in his youth
the bosom friend of Edward VI., and during
the reign of Elizabeth held for many years the
office of lord deputy of Ireland. His mother
was the eldest daughter of the ambitious and
unfortunate John Dudley, duke of Northum
berland, and sister of Robert Dudley, earl of
Leicester. At the age of 12 Sidney was sent
to the grammar school of Shrewsbury, and in
1569 entered Christ Church college, Oxford.
He subsequently studied at Cambridge, and at
both universities was distinguished not less
for preeminence in manly exercises than in
mental accomplishments. In May, 1572, he
obtained a license from the queen " to go out
of England into parts beyond the seas," in or
der to perfect his knowledge of the continen
tal tongues. At the court of Charles IX. of
France he attracted the attention of the king,
who appointed him gentleman in ordinary of
his chamber ; but the spectacle of the St.
Bartholomew massacre induced him to depart
abruptly from Paris, and he travelled through
Germany, Italy, Hungary, Poland (where he
took some part in the skirmishes with the
Russians), and the Low Countries. Returning
to England at the expiration of three years,
he at once took his place among the foremost
of the accomplished Englishmen of the time.
The queen showed him special favor, and
called him "her Philip," in opposition, it is
supposed, to Philip of Spain, her sister Mary s
husband. In 1576 he was nominated ambas
sador to Vienna, ostensibly to condole with
the emperor Rudolph on the demise of his fa
ther, Maximilian II., but with the secret in
struction to cement an alliance of the Protes
tant states against Spain ; a mission which he
discharged successfully, gaining the esteem and
high praise of the prince of Orange. He re
turned in 1577, and for the next few years was
employed in no important public capacity, part
ly from his reluctance to give up his literary

SIDNEY

SIDON

occupations, and partly, it has been suggested,
through the machinations of Lord Burleigh.
But he defended successfully the character of
his father, whose administration in Ireland
had been misrepresented by enemies at court.
When admonished by the queen, in conse
quence of a dispute between himself and the
earl of Oxford, of the difference in degree
between earls and gentlemen, he replied that,
"although Oxford was a great lord by birth,
alliance, and grace, yet he was no lord over
him ; and therefore the difference of degrees
between freemen could not challenge any oth
er homage than precedency." Although the
answer was taken in good part by the queen,
Sidney deemed it prudent to retire for a while
from court ; and while residing at the seat of
his sister, the countess of Pembroke, he wrote
his pastoral romance of "Arcadia," which is
in prose, interspersed with short poems. It
never received the finishing touches and cor
rections of the author, and was moreover left
incomplete. After circulating in manuscript
for several years, it was published by the coun
tess of Pembro ke in 1590; and such was its
popularity, that previous to the middle of the
17th century upward of ten editions had ap
peared, and a French translation was pub
lished in 1G24. To this period also probably
belong the "Defence of Poesie," published in
1595, and originally designed as an answer to
the attacks of the Puritans, and the series of
amatory poems entitled " Astrpphel and Stella"
(1591), which recount the author s passion for
Lady Rich, sister of Lord Essex, to whom he
was at one time betrothed. In the intervals
of his literary occupations he participated in
courtly pageants and jousts, the most conspic
uous of all the brilliant circle who surround
ed the throne ; and in 1583 he married the
daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, and was
knighted. In 1585 he was nominated governor
of Flushing, and in the latter part of the year
appointed general of horse under his uncle the
earl of Leicester, who was sent with a body
of English troops to aid the Dutch in their
war of independence. Sidney was fast build
ing up a reputation as a skilful general when
his career was brought to an untimely close.
On Sept. 22, 1586, a small detachment of Eng
lish troops under his command unexpectedly
encountered 3,000 Spaniards who were march
ing to the relief of Zutphen, and a desperate
engagement was fought under the walls of the
fortress, in which the enemy were signally
defeated. Sidney, seeing the Spanish leader
going into battle lightly armed, was induced
by a chivalric spirit of emulation to imitate
his example ; and after a series of gallant
charges, in which he had a horse killed under
him, he received a musket ball in his left thigh.
While leaving the field, "being thirsty with
excess of bleeding," says Lord Brooke, "he
called for drink, which was presently brought
him ; but as he was putting the bottle to his
mouth, he saw a poor soldier carried along,

who had eaten his last at the same feast, ghast
ly casting up his eyes at the bottle. Which
Sir Philip perceiving, took it from his head
before he drank, and delivered it to the poor
man, with these words : Thy necessity is
yet greater than mine. " Ho lingered several
weeks in great agony, and met his death with
Christian serenity, solacing even his last hours
with literary composition. His body was
taken to London, and after lying in state was
interred in St. Paul s cathedral, Feb. 1C, 1587;
and a general mourning, the first on record in
England, was observed. Spenser has embalmed
their mutual friendship in a pastoral ode en
titled " Astrophel." Sidney left an only daugh
ter, who became fifth countess of Rutland, but
died without issue ; and his name is now-rep
resented in the English peerage by Lord De
1 Isle, a descendant of his brother Robert.
His "Complete Works" were published in 3
vols. 8vo (London, 1725), and his "Miscella
neous Works " were edited with a memoir by
W. Gray (Oxford, 1829; reprinted, Boston,
1860). The latest edition of his works is " The
Complete Poems of Sir Philip Sidney," edited
by the Rev. A. Grosart, in the " Fuller Wor
thies Library," printed for private circulation
(2 vols., 1873). His sister MAEY, countess of
Pembroke (died Sept. 25, 1621), is intimately
connected with his private history. He joined
with her in a translation of the Psalter V into
sundry kinds of verse," first printed in London
in 1823. She wrote an elegy on her brother,
a pastoral poem in praise of Astrasa (Eliza
beth), and a poem " On our Saviour s Passion,"
preserved in manuscript in the British muse
um, and published in 1862, besides translating
from the French the " Tragedy of Anfonie."

SIDON, or Zidon (Heb. Tzitlon, fishery; now
Saida), an ancient city of Phoenicia, on the
coast, 23 m. N. of Tyre. According to Jose-
phus, it was called Sidon after the first born of
Canaan, but the name probably has reference
to the first occupation of its inhabitants. From
its antiquity it was termed the metropolis of
Phoenicia. It seems to have been divided into
Great Sidon, on the sea, and Little Sidon, some
distance inland. The Phoenicians as a nation
often designated themselves as Sidonians, and
were generally called so by neighboring peo
ples. The period of the greatest prosperity of
Sidon, according to the classical historians,
was from about 1600 to 1200 B. C., during
which time, as appears from the Egyptian in
scriptions, it was more or less under the su
premacy of Egypt. At the time of the He
brew conquest of Palestine, the rule of Sidon
extended over the N. W. part of that country.
The ancient history of the town is in a mea
sure that of the whole of Phoenicia, at least
until the commencement of the supremacy of
Tyre. (See PHOENICIA, and TYKE.) It flour
ished under the Persians, but was destroyed
in 351 B. C., as a punishment for rebelling
against Artaxerxes III. Ochus. It was thence
forth a provincial capital, but retained its own

SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS

SIEGE

local government until the time of Roman su
premacy. Christianity early found an asylum
here (Acts xxvii. 3), and a Sidonian bishop is
mentioned as present at the Nicsean council of
325. On the rise of Moslem power it read
ily submitted to it. In 1108 it was invested
by the crusaders, and in 1110 it was taken
by Baldwin I. The Saracens captured it in
1187, but the Christians recovered it in 1197.
They abandoned it in 1291, and Sultan Malek
Ashraf ordered it to be razed. (See SAIDA.)

SIDOXIUS APOLLINARIS, Cains Sollins Modestns,
a Latin author and saint, born probably in
Lyons about A. D. 431, died at Clermont in
Auvergne, in 482 or 484. He was a diligent
student, and early acquired a high reputation.
He married a daughter of Flavins Avitus, after
ward emperor, accompanied him to Rome in
456, and pronounced his panegyric in verse be
fore the senate, for which that body erected a
bronze statue in his honor. He was prefect of
Rome when Avitus was dethroned by Majorian.
Sidonius pronounced at Lyons a public pane
gyric on the latter, by whom he was created a
count and sent to govern the Gallic province
of Aries. In 467 he went to Rome as ambas
sador of the Arverni, delivered a panegyric on
the reigning emperor Anthemius, was made a
patrician, and governor of the city a second
time, and was honored with a second statue.
In 472 he was elected bishop of Clermont
(Arvernum), though only a layman, accepted
the office reluctantly, fulfilled its duties faith
fully, and strenuously opposed the spread of
Arianism. lie left nine books of epistles of
considerable historical interest, which, with his
poems and panegyrics, were published in Milan
in 1498 by Sirmond (Paris, 1614; republished
by Labbe in 1652, the best edition), and by
Migne in vol. Iviii. of his Patrologie latine.
See Saint Sidoine Appollinaire et son siecle,
by Chaix (2 vols., Clermont-Ferrand, 1867- 8).

SIDRA, Gulf of. See SYRTIS.

SIEBOLD. I. Philipp Franz TOD, a German trav
eller, born in Wiirzburg, Feb. 17, 1796, died in
Munich, Oct. 18, 1866. He studied medicine,
natural sciences, and geography, and in 1822
went to Batavia as a physician and naturalist
in the Dutch service, and in 1823 to Japan as
a member of the Dutch embassy. In 1826 he
went to Yedo, and was involved in difficul
ties with the Japanese for procuring an official
map of their country. Finally acquitted, lie
returned to Europe in 1830, but from 1859 to
1862 resided again in Japan. He published
Nippon, Archw zur Beschreilmng von Japan
(20 vols., Leyden, 1832- 57) ; Fauna Japonica
(jointly with Temminck and others, 1833 et
seq.) ; Flora Japonica (1835 et seq.) ; B-ibli-
otheca Japonica (jointly with J. Hoffmann, 6
vols., 1S33- 41); and several other works on
Japan. II. Karl Theodor Ernst von, a German
physiologist, brother of the preceding, born in
Wtirzburg, Feb. 16, 1804. After teaching in
various places, he became in 1853 professor of
physiology,, comparative anatomy, and after

ward also of zoology, at Munich. His principal
works are Lehrbuch der vergleicJienden Anato-
mie der wirlellosen Thiere (Berlin, 1848 ; Eng
lish translation, London, 1854), and Beitrage
zur Parthenogenesis der ArtJiropoden (1871).

SIEDLCE. I. A W. government of Russia, in
the kingdom of Poland, bordering on the gov
ernments of Lomza, Warsaw, Radom, Lublin,
Volhynia, and Grodno ; area, 5,534 sq. m. ;
pop. in 1872, 543,392. It is level and fertile.
The chief river is the Bug, which forms the
E. and N". E. frontier. The principal towns
are Siedlce, Miendzyrzecz, and Wlodawa. The
government embraces the principal portions
of the former palatinate of Podlachia. The
more ancient Polish territory of the same
name, however, lay mainly between the mid
dle Bug and the Niemen. II. A town, capital
of the government, 51 m. E. S. E. of Warsaw,
with which it is connected by rail ; pop. in
1867, 10,013. It has a fine palace and town
hall, distilleries, sugar refineries, and manu
factories of agricultural implements. During
the wars between the Russians and Poles it
was repeatedly taken and retaken.

SIEGE (Fr. siege, seat), a protracted military
attack upon a fortified place. Such a place
may sometimes be taken by throwing in heavy
projectiles, explosive shells, incendiary balls,
&c. ; or by completely surrounding it, prevent
ing reception of supplies, the defenders may be
compelled to surrender ; or, advancing by reg
ular approaches, the besiegers may breach the
walls, and carry the place by assault. The
first is called a bombardment, the second a
blockade, and the third a siege, which term is
often also applied to the other two. In a strict
sense, the term siege signifies the process of
advancing toward a fortified place under cover
of earth thrown up from trenches, silencing
the fire from the work by a superior one, arid
breaching the ramparts, compelling a surren
der or carrying the place by assault. Sieges
are divided into ancient and modern, or those
carried on before and after the application
of gunpowder to military purposes. Ancient
Sieges. The ancients fortified a place by sur
rounding it with a wall of brick or stone, form
ing a continuous line around the city or town,
high enough to render escalade difficult, and
thick enough to offer considerable resistance
to the battering ram. Sometimes there were
two and even three of these walls, often con
nected by others to give them greater solidity.
Outside of the wall was a ditch, always filled
with water if circumstances permitted. The
inhabitants were the defenders ; and as their
lives, liberty, and property were involved, the
resistance in ancient sieges was more obsti
nate and persevering than that usually made
in modern times. The modes of attack were
by surprise, aided by treason or particular
knowledge of unguarded points ; by escalade,
having surprised the place ; by escalade in an
assault, having outnumbered and overpowered
the defenders ; by blockade, having deprived

SIEGE

them of supplies ; and by regular siege opera
tions. When the siege seemed likely to last
some time, the ancients were in the habit, if
they expected sorties from the place or an at
tempt to relieve it from without, of securing
their position by a double line of works, of
circumvallation and countervallation. These
were generally continuous lines constructed
of earth, wood, and sometimes of masonry,
flanked by towers. Annoying the besieged
with missiles thrown from all the artillery
known in that day, they pushed forward cov
ered approaches on the points of attack. These
were wooden frames, 7 ft. high, 8 ft. wide,
and 16 ft. long, mounted on wheels, with a
roof strong enough to resist the projectiles
thrown by the besieged. They were covered
with raw hides or turf, or protected by other
expedients from being set on fire. The ditch
when reached was filled with earth, logs, and
stones, upon which the battering ram could
be placed in position to breach the wall ; or
a descent was made into it for the purpose
of undermining the wall. The battering ram
was ordinarily placed in the lower story of a
tower and suspended by chains or other mech
anism. The tower was high enough to com
mand those of the place, and was filled with
armed men, who drove the defenders away
from that part of the wall in its front. They
were frequently aided by other towers pushed
along on the ground or on inclined planes.
The besieged, besides shooting lighted arrows
and throwing incendiary compositions against
the approaches, made sorties, which were usu
ally bloody in their results, for want of cov
ered ways or other exterior works beyond the
ditch. The battering ram being in position,
the besieged suspended beams of wood, stuffed
contrivances like huge mattresses, and other
devices, between the head of the ram and the
wall, to deaden its blows. They sometimes
used machines on the principle of the crane,
by means of which they caught the head of
the ram, or even the whole engine, and lifted
it from the ground or overturned it. Archi
medes devised such machines for the defence
of Syracuse when it was besieged by the
Romans, in 214-212 B. C. The wall being
breached by the ram, or thrown down by un
dermining, preparations were made to assault
the place through the opening. Often, while
the besiegers were engaged in removing the
ruins from the breaches, so that an assault
could be made, the besieged were building a
new wall in rear of the breach enclosing the
part attacked, and the whole operation of
moving forward the battering rams and breach
ing the wall had to be renewed. The surren
der or capture was generally due to the ex
hausted condition of the besieged, rather than
to the assaults. It was the custom for the
besieging army to demand a surrender before
they began the siege ; and usually the besieged
offered to capitulate before the final assault
was made, as a hopeless resistance entailed

death or slavery on all the defenders. Even
in modern times the lives of the garrison are
jeoparded if the besieged delay making terms
until the final assault is successful. Transi
tion Period. The introduction of gunpowder
in military operations led to the substitution
of earthen trenches for the wooden covers and
other ancient expedients, and also replaced the
battering ram by heavy cannon. In this pe
riod, owing to the imperfection of the artil
lery, the want of connection between the ap
proaches, and other deficiencies in the mea
sures of attack, the besieged were often able
to make a vigorous and prolonged defence,
and sieges became the most important military
operations of the time. Before 1741 there
were more sieges than battles; from 1741 to
1783 the proportion was 67 sieges to 100 bat
tles ; during the French revolution the propor
tion was about 25 to 100 ; and during the first
empire there were only 16 sieges to 100 bat
tles. In recent wars these proportions have
still further diminished. But the necessity for
sieges still exists, and the rules and practice
of taking a fortified place still hold a promi
nent position in the military art. The present
method of attacking a fortified place by regu
lar approaches is practically that organized by
Vauban. Previous to his time, the middle of
the 17th century, although many sieges had
terminated successfully, there was no uniform
system in the modes of attack. Vauban is
especially credited with the invention of rico
chet firing, the concentration of enfilading
batteries, and the systematic arrangement of
the parallels. Modern Sieges. Let it be sup
posed that siege operations are to be conducted
against a fortified place immediately upon the
theatre of war. As the operations against a
place fortified by any of the modern systems
are governed by the same general conditions,
and are practically the same until the besieg
ers reach the counterscarp of the ditch, the
methods used will be fully*explajned by con
sidering the mode of conducting an attack on
a place fortified by the bastioned system. (See
FORTIFICATION.) To simplify the explanation,
it is supposed that the front to be attacked
has the usual outworks and occupies a hori
zontal site, and that the cannon used by both
the besiegers and besieged are the ordinary
smooth-bore siege artillery. Irregularity of
site and the use of heavier calibre or rifled
cannon will only have the effect of increasing
certain distances and adding to the difficulties
of the siege, without affecting the principles
common to them all. As the scarp walls are
hidden from the besiegers view by masks of
earth, the object of the ciege works is to reach,
under cover, positions where openings in the
walls can be made either by breaching bat
teries or mines ; and under the shelter of these
approaches troops can be brought up to make
assaults through the openings. In this front,
in order to make a breach in the scarp by
artillery fire that will be practicable for the

SIEGE

assaulting column, the cannon must be placed
on the crest of the covered way, and to make
it accessible a descent into and passage of the
ditch are necessary. If it is proposed to make
an opening by mining, all the preliminary ope
rations as far as the glacis of the work are
identical. If the main work has outworks
from which a reverse fire can be had on that
part of the covered way where the breaching
batteries are to be placed, they must first be
taken. The accompanying plan will aid in
explaining practical siege operations. The at
tack is made on bastion A, and as the adja
cent demilunes D, D, those on the right and
left of A, place the covered way of this point

1. Half of Plan of regular Approaches against a Front of Attack.

A. Point of attack. B. Adjacent bastion. D. Demilune of front of attack. C. Collateral
demilune. E, F. Trench connecting first and second parallels. K. K. Demi-parallels.
M, M, M. Enfilading, counter, and mortar batteries. T, T. Troops, called guards of the
trenches, protecting the -workmen on opening the first parallel.

2. Section showing Slopes and Dimensions of Profile of Approach by simple Trench.

A bastion corresponding to B, demilunes to C and D, and approaches on the left of A,

are supposed to be indicated and to form the whole front of attack.

in a reentrant angle, these demilunes must be
taken before the bastion can be breached.
This bastion and the adjacent demilunes with
their outworks must be taken by breach or
assault, and the fire from the collateral de
milune G and bastion B shown in the plan,

and the corresponding ones on the left not j of the ground, and the facilities for transport-
shown, must be kept under by opposing bat- ! ing troops and supplies from the depots are
teries during these operations, to enable the | governing considerations in selecting the front

ho,sip&lt;TArs tr nnrrv nn -fhmi* Tirnvlr cnonocaf nllv rv-P a-H-oi-&gt;l- Solianfa nrfi nsnnllv tllA WAfllrASt

vent ingress and egress, the other those re
quired to gain possession of the place ; but for
convenience they are ordinarily classed into
three parts, called the first, second, and third
periods. The first period comprises the in
vestment and the encampment of the besieging
army around the place ; the second, all the
works from the opening of the trenches until
the completion of the third parallel ; and the
third, all subsequent measures until the place
is taken. The investment is performed by de
taching a strong corps, who, moving quickly
and secretly, suddenly surround the place,
seize all avenues of approach, cut off all com
munications, and secure everything that may
be of service to the
defence. The main
army follows and in
trenches in positions
around the place out
side of cannon range.
The intrenchments
ordinarily form two
lines, between which
the besieging army
places its camps,
and are called lines
of circumvallation
and countervalla-
tion. They may be
continuous or with
intervals, the out
er line being used
to prevent succors,
and the inner to re
sist the attacks of
the garrison. This
method of construct
ing lines and enclo
sing the army be
tween them was
used by the an
cients, and fell into
disuse during the
middle ages. It
was revived in the
16th century by the
princes of Nassau,
and has been prac
tised more or less

ever since. These lines not only enable the
besieging army to repulse detachments that
try to reenforce the place, but are also useful
where the besieging army is forced to take up
weak positions to complete the investment.
The strength of the besieged work, the nature

besiegers to carry on their work successfully.
Approaches are made on the three salients,
A, D, D, and these connected by parallels
to hold large bodies of troops to protect the
workmen and repel sorties. The siege opera
tions may be divided into two general parts,
one including all the measures taken to pre-

of attack. Salients are usually the weakest
points of a fortification ; low, marshy soil and
rocky ground present the greatest difficulties
in constructing siege works. The second pe
riod begins with the opening of the trenches,
which is done by digging a ditch or trench,
between 600 and TOO yards from the most

SIEGE

advanced point of the fortification, from 3 -to
4 ft. deep and 10 to 12 yards wide, and throw
ing up the earth in the form of a parapet
on the side toward the work. This trench
and all similar ones are constructed according
to the general rules for throwing up field
works ; that is, they must afford a shelter from
the enemy s fire, and permit those occupying
them to use their arms with effect. The trench
is extended far enough on each side of the
point of attack to embrace all the positions
required for batteries to keep down the fire of
the collateral works. From its being parallel
to or concentric with a line connecting the
most salient points of the work, it is called the
first parallel. At this distance, the fire of the
besieged upon the workmen in the obscurity
of twilight and darkness will not be trouble
some ; but the distance will be materially af
fected by irregularity of site and the size
and kind of cannon used. At Sebastopol in
1854 the French established their first paral
lels, one at nearly 1,000 and the other at 1,800
yards, and the English at 1,800 yards, from
the defences in their front. At Fort Wag
ner, Charleston harbor, in 1863, Gen. Gill-
more opened his first parallel at 1,360 yards
from the works. Accidents of the ground may
enable the besieger to place it much closer.
Communications are opened from the parallel
to the depots in the rear, by trenches of the
same general form, so arranged as to avoid an
enfilading fire from the fortifications. As the
besiegers desire to get as near as they can to
the point of attack with as little sacrifice of
life as possible, they make their advances by
means of trenches similar in form to the par
allel. These are pushed forward toward the
point of attack, running in zigzag directions,
crossing and recrossing the lines of the capitals
of the salients, and avoiding enfilading fires
from any point of the defences within cannon
range. The approaches, called by many wri
ters Ijoyaux or branches, are as a general rule
not longer than 100 yards, and, starting at the
first parallel with a front of 60 yards, are nar
rowed to 30 yards at the third parallel. In
this position along the capitals of the salients,
they are less in the way and less exposed.
These are shown in the plan, one to each
salient, or three in this particular case, but
there should be more if "the circumstances re
quire them. When advanced not quite half
way between the first parallel and the fortifi
cation, they are connected by a second parallel,
which in all essential particulars except in ex
tent is like the first. Being constructed within
destructive range of case shot, the flying sap
is used instead of the simple trench, as more
speedy cover for the workmen is obtained
by it, and differs from it only in having the
interior slope revetted with gabions. Being
nearer to the first parallel than to the forti
fication, it is protected from sorties made
against it in its unfinished condition, and its
object is to protect the approaches as they are

pushed forward from it. Vauban prescribes
that there shall be at least three of these par
allels. They serve as places of arms in which
troops are stationed to protect the workmen
and to resist sorties, as communications be
tween the approaches, and to keep these free
for the workmen and clear of troops. Only
three, and the demi-parallels K, K, are shown
in the plan, but there are often many more.
At Sebastopol the French constructed sev
en, and at Fort Wagner Gen. Gillmore used
five. Whatever the number, they should be
placed in good tactical relations with each
other, not so far in advance that the troops
occupying the one in the rear cannot come to
their support before they are reached by a
sortie from the fortification. The besiegers
place in front of the second parallel mortar,
ricochet, and counter batteries, which, firing
upon the work, break down the palisades, dis
mount the guns, and drive away the defenders.
The use of rifled guns will cause these batteries
to be placed further away from the Avork than
is here represented, probably from 2,000 to
3,000 yards, in which case they should be en
closed in small works with a sufficient number
of men in each to defend them. From the
nearness to the work, the advance from the
second parallel can only be made by means of
saps. These are the flying, single or full, the
double and half double saps, according to the
direction and amount of fire to which the ap
proach is exposed, and are constructed by en
gineer soldiers called sappers. When the foot
of the glacis is reached, from 60 to 30 yards
from the salient, the third parallel is con
structed, demi-parallels which are long enough
to contain troops to protect the workmen, and
short enough not to hinder the fire from the
batteries, having been made between it and
the second parallel. The second period ends
with the construction of the third parallel.
Thus far the advance and progress of the siege
have been made without any great degree of
difficulty or danger. This is now changed, and
if the defence is vigorous future progress must
be made under a murderous fire from the be
sieged, accompanied by many difficulties in the
construction of the necessary works for pro
tection. The advance on the nearest point of
the covered way from the third parallel is by
assault or by regular approach. The former
is more rapid and more brilliant, but is seldom
successful, and ought never to succeed if the
besieged are not entirely exhausted and make
even an ordinary resistance. It has been shown
in recent wars that a single trench, defended
by two ranks of infantry armed with the im
proved weapons of the present day, is almost
unassailable by main force. In an attack by
two divisions of infantry on a continuous
trench before Petersburg, Va., defended by a
single line of infantry, the number of the at
tacking force killed exceeded the total effective
strength of the defenders. If it be decided to
make the assault, the third parallel is arranged

SIEGE

SIEGEN

with steps on the inner side to allow a detach
ment of picked men to sally out at a given sig
nal with a front equal to that of the assaulting
column. They are preceded by engineer offi
cers, who mark out the lines for a trench four
or five yards from the crest of the glacis, and
extending around the salient place of arms,
and are followed by a detachment of engineer
troops to construct it. When everything is
in readiness, all the batteries open fire on the
place. At a given signal they cease, and the
column of assault rushes forward and takes
possession of the covered way. The engineers
immediately make the sap, into which the
troops retire if successful, and afterward con
nect it by suitable communications with the
third parallel. The execution of this trench
around the salient place of arms is called crown
ing the covered way. In 1708, at the siege of
Lille, the covered ways of two of the salients
of the front of attack were crowned by assault.
The attack was made at nightfall by 10,450
men, not counting the troops in the trench
es; they lost 2,000 killed and 4,000 wounded.
The best engineering authorities are opposed
to an assault except in case of urgent necessity,
when a day gained may decide the fate of the
besiegers themselves, or the time saved by it
compensates for the immense loss of life that
must accompany it. If the advance is to be
made by regular approaches, they are started
from the third parallel by saps, which when
within 30 yards of the salient are spread out
in a circular form to enclose it, and high
mounds of earth, called tre nch cavaliers, are
thrown up, by which a command over the
covered way is obtained. Protected by them,
the engineers advance their saps to the salients
and extend them to the right and left along
the faces, at least as far as the traverses, as in
the case when the assault was. made. As soon
as this is done, they proceed to establish coun
ter and breaching batteries to fire against the
demilune and bastion. The former are placed
around the salients so as to fire in the direction
of the ditches against the portion of the work
by which they are swept, while the latter are
placed near the counter batteries and nearly
opposite to the points where the breaches are
to be made. Underground galleries are also
constructed, by means of which a descent into
the ditch can be effected. A breach is con
sidered practicable for assault when the in
terior of the work is exposed for a width equal
to the front of the column of attack and the
debris forms a slope of easy ascent. If breaches
are to be made at several points, the operations
should be carried on and the assaults made
simultaneously. The breach in the demilune
will be carried by assault or by regular ap
proach, and in all essential things there will be
no difference in the mode of taking it from that
described for the covered way. As soon as the
breach is gained, it is crowned, or a lodgment
made by encircling it with a trench in which
troops are placed to prevent the besieged from

regaining possession of the work. The demi
lune being taken, advances are made against
the reentrant places of arms and salient of the
covered way of the bastion, if they have not
already been crowned. Other batteries are
established against the faces and flanks of the
bastion, and operations similar to those already
described are carried on against the main work.
A capitulation will ordinarily follow the crown
ing of the breach in the bastion, unless there
are interior retrenchments, in which case the
same method of attack will be followed until
there is no longer any defence between the
besieger and besieged. The breaches are sup
posed to have been made by battering the ram
parts with artillery fire. The other method is
by means of mines, which are rarely used be
cause of the slowness of the operation and the
uncertainty of the result. The explosion of
the mine gives no practicable slope for the use
of the assaulting column, and this must be
made by workmen before it can be used, which
is very difficult and dangerous. To resist the
approach of the besiegers, the defence make
use of mines ; to destroy these, and to advance
their works, the besiegers also employ them.
They will be most largely used between the
third parallel and the main work. The passage
of the ditch is a difficult and dangerous opera
tion, rendered doubly so when the besieged
have a wet ditch, or can make use of water in
their defence. In an actual siege, a daily rec
ord is made by the engineers of the amount
of work done and the time required, which
is transmitted to headquarters and preserved.
By comparisons of these records and the re
sults obtained in engineering schools, the time
necessary to complete all these works has
been calculated. This time has been used in
comparing the relative value of different sys
tems or methods of fortification, by submitting
them to a fictitious siege. It is of no value in
practice, for the duration of sieges depends on
laws which no method of calculation can de
termine. In order that the besiegers should
be successful, their numbers and their arma
ment should be in excess of those brought to
resist them, and no fixed rules can be stated
for this excess. As a general rule, supposing
the investment to be complete, the besiegers
should be about six times as numerous as the
besieged, and should be kept so by sending
the wounded and sick to the rear and replacing
them by fresh troops. As the defence have
not this resource, their numbers constantly
dwindle until they are exhausted or overpow
ered. Among the most celebrated sieges in
history are those of Babylon, Tyre, Syracuse,
Carthage, Numantia, and Jerusalem in ancient
times, and of Constantinople, Antwerp, Ber-
gen-op-Zoom, Stralsund, Candia, Lille, Buda,
Schweidnitz, Saragossa, Sebastopol, Vicksburg,
Strasburg, Metz, and Paris since the introduc
tion of gunpowder.

SIEGE.Y, a town of Prussia, in the province
of Westphalia, on the Sieg, 37 m. S. of Arns-

SIEGERT

SIERRA

berg; pop. in 1871, 11,070. It is the chief
seat of the tanning and leather industry of
Westphalia, and has large manufactories of
iron and steel ware, and of linen, cotton, and
woollen goods. It is rapidly increasing in
population. Rubens was born here.

SIEGERT, Karl August, a German painter, born
in Neuwied in 1820. He studied at Dtissel-
dorf under Hildebrandt from 1837 to 1841,
and subsequently at the academy till 1840,
travelled in various countries, and in 1851 be
came a professor of painting at Diisseldorf.
He excels in genre pictures. His recent works
include "Dinner Hour," "A Welcome Pause,"
" Sunday Morning," and " A Lay Brother dis
tributing Alms."

SIEMENS. I. Ernst Werner, a German inven
tor, born at Lenthe, near Hanover, Dec. 13,
1816. He entered the Prussian army in 1834,
became an artillery officer in 1838, busied him
self with researches in electro-metallurgy, and
took out in 1841 a patent for electro-plating
and gilding. From 1844 he had charge of the
government artillery works at Berlin, and also
devoted himself to perfecting the electric tele
graph. In 1848 he laid at Kiel the first sub
marine mines exploded by electricity. In 1849
he left the army and founded in Berlin the
telegraph-building establishment of Siemens
and Halske. Among the more important of
Siemens s inventions are : the method of de
termining the position of injuries in subter
ranean and submarine lines ; of examining in
sulated wires ; of charging subterraneous and
submarine conductors, in order to lessen the
disturbing influences of induced currents in
the cables. II. Karl Wilhelm, brother of the
preceding, born at Lenthe, April 4, 1823. He
studied at Gottingen, entered the Stolberg ma
chine works, and in 1843 settled in London
as a civil engineer. In 1858 he undertook
the management of a London branch of the
firm of Siemens and Halske of which he had
become a partner. With his brother Werner
he carried on investigations in electro-magnet
ism, and several important improvements in
the manufacture of submarine cables and the
mode of insulating with caoutchouc were made
by them jointly. Assisted by his younger
brother Friedrich (born Dec. 8, 1826), he insti
tuted in 1846 experiments looking to the dis
covery of a more perfect combustion of fuel.
The result was the regenerating gas furnace.
(See FURXACE, vol. vii., p. 543.) In perfecting
this invention all the brothers took part, al
though the chief merit belongs to Wilhelm.
In 1869 the Siemens steel works were erected
at Landore in Wales, in which nearly 1,000
tons of cast steel are produced weekly, partly
by the Siemens method directly from the ore,
and partly from cast and wrought iron. Oth
er inventions of Wilhelm Siemens are : the
bathometer, a hydrostatic instrument for mea
suring depths at sea; the hydraulic brake to
prevent the recoil of artillery on ships of war ;
a pyrometer (see PYROMETER), &c. He has
VOL. xv. 3

published dissertations "On a Regenerative
Condenser" (1850); "On the Conversion of
Heat into Mechanical Effects" (1853); "On
a Regenerative Steam Engine " (1856) ; and
" On the Increase of Electrical Resistance in
Conductors with Rise of Temperature, and its
Application to the Measure of ordinary and
Furnace Temperatures" (1871).

SIENA, or Sienna. I. A central province of
Italy, in Tuscany, bordering on Florence, Arez-
zo, Perugia, Rome, Grosseto, and Pisa; area,
1,465 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 206,446. It is
watered by the Ombrone, Orcia, and other
rivers. The N. E. portion is very mountain
ous. There are several lakes. A portion of
the soil is fertile, producing wheat, olive oil,
and wine ; a larger portion comprises forests,
prairies, and pasture grounds; much of it is
uncultivated. Cattle raising is a chief occu
pation. It comprises the districts of Siena
and Montepulciano. II. A city, capital of the
province, on two hills in a dreary plain, 31
m. S. by E. of Florence; pop. in 1872, 22,-
965. The streets are narrow, and many of
them too steep for vehicles. The cathedral,
built in the 13th century, is a fine specimen
of Italian Gothic, and there are several other
churches which are rich in works of art. The
university, which was flourishing in the mid
dle ages, has a library of 50,000 volumes and
5,000 manuscripts. Siena is an archbishop s
see, and has numerous academies of litera
ture, science, and the fine arts. The hos
pital of Santa Maria della Scala is one of
the oldest in Europe. The piazza del Campo,
celebrated in Dante s Purgatorio, contains the
loggia di San Paolo, the seat of a commercial
tribunal in the middle ages. Siena is a very
ancient place, as the remains of Etruscan w r alls
still visible testify. It was a bishop s see in
the 6th century. In the middle ages it was a
powerful republic, and rivalled Florence, with
which it was often at war. In the struggle
between the popes and emperors it sided with
the Ghibelline party, and its soldiers defeated
the Guelphs at Monte Aperto or Montaperti
in 1260. The council of Pavia, transferred to
Siena, lasted from June 22, 1423, to Feb. 26,
1424. A long period of civil war ended in its
capture by the troops of Charles V. in 1555,
and it was united with Tuscany in 1557.

SIERRA, a N. E. county of California, bound
ed E. by Nevada, and drained by the North
and Middle forks of the Tuba river ; area, 830
sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 5,619, of whom 810 were
Chinese. It is situated among the Sierra
Nevada mountains, and but little of it is less
than 3,000 ft. above the sea. There are several
isolated peaks, the most conspicuous of which
are Table mountain, more than 6,500 ft. high ;
Saddle mountain, a little lower ; and the Sierra
buttes, 8,300 ft. high. Nearly the whole county
is underlaid by auriferous slates, generally cov
ered by volcanic accumulations. It is one of
the chief gold-producing counties in the state.
The surface is covered with a heavy growth

SIERRA LEONE

SIEYES

of coniferous trees. The land suited to agri
culture or grazing is mostly confined to a few
small valleys and mountain flats. The climate
in winter is rigorous. The chief productions
in 1870 were 7,794 bushels of wheat, 8,250
of oats, 10,415 of barley, 8,451 of potatoes,
39,200 Ibs. of butter, and 7,466 tons of hay.
There were 464 horses, 887 milch cows, 2,257
other cattle, 402 sheep, and 437 swine ; 13 saw
mills, 1 machine shop, and 6 quartz mills.
Capital, Downieville.

SIERRA LEONE, a British colony on the W.
coast of Africa, forming one of the West Af
rican settlements. It occupies a small penin
sula terminating in Cape Sierra Leone, lat. 8
30 N., Ion. 13 18 E., and extending N. to
the estuary of the same name. Along the
N. bank of this estuary is a narrow strip of
territory belonging to the colony, which also
includes the district around the mouth of the
Sherbro river, about 70 m. down the coast ;
area, 468 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 38,936, of whom
107 were Europeans and 1,741 were native
Christians. The peninsula is mountainous,
some of the peaks rising to the height of 3,000
ft. above the sea ; but there are tracts of level
ground, and several small valleys, the whole
being well watered and for the most part
densely wooded. The lower districts are
purely alluvial, but in the more elevated parts
the geological formation is volcanic, and iron
ore occurs. Free Town is the capital, in addi
tion to which the colony contains several con
siderable villages. The climate is deadly to
Europeans. The wet season extends from May
to November inclusive ; the average annual
rainfall is 160 inches, and the mean temper
ature not far from 82 F. From February to
December, 1871, of the 98 Europeans resident
at Free Town, 24 died, a death rate far ex
ceeding any other in the British dominions.
This excessive mortality, however, is confined
to the coast ; the mountain villages, only 3 or
4 m. inland from Free Town, are described as
quite salubrious. The land breeze, which be
gins to blow in the evening, comes over swampy
ground laden with malaria, and the unwhole
some mists cling to the lower terraces. The
soil is not naturally very productive, but cassa-
da, cacao, maize, ginger, ground nuts, Guinea
corn, yams, plantains, sugar cane, and fruits are
all successfully grown. The principal exports
are palm oil, nuts, hides, and timber ; the total
value of the exports in 1871 was 467,755,
against imports to the amount of 305,849.
In the same year 411 vessels of 110,646 tons
were entered in the colony, and 409 of 110,-
919 tons were cleared. The established edu
cational system is inefficient. The colony has
two bishops of the church of England, and
there are 100 Christian ministers of all denom
inations, many of the most intelligent being
natives ; but the Mohammedan priests from
the interior have achieved tenfold the success
of the Christian missionaries in making con
verts. The colonial governor, who is appoint

ed by the crown and is officially known as the
chief administrator, is the executive of all the
West African settlements. He is assisted by
a legislative council, of which some of the
members are pure negroes. The revenue in
1871 was 80,486, collected partly by import
duties on spirits, tobacco, and gunpowder,
while the expenditure amounted to 76,130.
The settlement was originally formed in 1787
by Granville Sharp and other British philan
thropists, with the view of providing a suit
able home for destitute negroes from different
parts of the world, as well as promoting Afri
can civilization. The first foreign inhabitants
were destitute negroes from London, nearly
500 in number. These were followed in 1790
by more than 1,000 freed slaves who had been
collected in Nova Scotia, in 1800 by about 500
maroons from Jamaica, and in 1819 by a dis
banded West India negro regiment. In 1807
the Sierra Leone company, which was organ
ized by Sharp, Wilberforce, and others, and
had previously controlled the colony, trans
ferred all its rights to the British government.
From that time until recent years the popu
lation was largely augmented by the introduc
tion of the negroes taken from slave ships by
vessels of the British navy.

SIERRA MADRE. See MEXICO, vol. xi., p. 465.

SIERRA MORENA. See SPAIN.

SIERRA NEVADA. See CALIFOKNIA, ROCKY
MOUNTAINS, and SPAIN.

SIETES, Emmanuel Joseph, count, better known
as abbe, a French statesman, born in Frejus,
May 3, 1748, died in Paris, June 20, 1836.
After completing his studies in the university
of Paris, he took orders, received in 1775 a can-
onship in Brittany, and became in 1784 vicar
general and chancellor of the bishop of Char-
tres. The ministry having invited French wri
ters to present their views upon the summon
ing of the states general, he almost simultane
ously published three pamphlets : Vues sur les
moyens d? execution dont les representants de la
France pourront disposer en 1789; Essai sur
les privileges, a vindication of the rights of the
people ; and Qu est ce que le tiers etat ? The
answer to this question, which he summed up
in "the nation," made him famous as the
oracle of the revolution. He was elected dep
uty to the states general, where he moved that
the three orders should immediately meet in
general assembly to verify their powers in
common; and the privileged orders refusing
to comply with this motion, he insisted that
the third should declare itself the "national
assembly." He drew up the oath taken by
the deputies, June 20, 1789, and originated the
organization of the national guards and the
division of France into departments. In his
Apercu d une nouvelle organisation de la jus
tice et de la police en France, he proposed jury
trial in civil as well as criminal -cases. He
was elected president of the assembly in 1790.
After the flight of the king to Varennes, he
vigorously opposed the establishment of a re-

SIGISMUND

SIGNAL SERVICE

public. In September, 1792, he took his seat
in the convention, being elected by three de
partments at once. On the trial of the king,
he at first protested against the unlawful as
sumption of powers by the convention; but
yielding to the majority, he sat as one of the
judges, and silently voted for death without
appeal to the people. During the reign of
terror he gave up his priesthood and pension,
and skilfully avoided attention, but after the
fall of Robespierre regained influence among
the moderate party. Pie moved the restora
tion of the surviving Girondists to their seats
in the assembly, and had a large share in the
direction of foreign policy. On the establish
ment of the directorial government he was
elected one of the five directors, but declined,
contenting himself with being a member of
the council of 500. An unsuccessful attempt
was made to assassinate him in 1797. In 1798
he went as minister to Berlin, and secured the
neutrality of Prussia. In May, 1799, he suc
ceeded Rewbell as a member of the directory,
of which he soon became president. After the
coup d etat of the 18th Brumaire, of which he
was one of the originators, the liberal consti
tution prepared by him was altered so as to
suit the aspirations of the first consul ; and
while Bonaparte seized upon absolute power,
Sieyes, after having been one of the provision
al consuls, had to content himself with a seat
in the senate, the presidency of which he held
for a while. He also received as a compensa
tion the princely estate of Crosne, with a large
income. Although he figured among those op
ponents whom Bonaparte styled ideologists, he
was afterward made a count. In 1814, while
absent fi$&gt;m the senate, he, through Talley
rand s advice, adhered by letter to such mea
sures as were taken by that body against the
emperor, but was nevertheless made a peer
during the hundred days. He however stood
aloof, censured the "Additional Act to the
Constitution of the Empire," and appeared
neither at the meeting in the Champ de Mai
nor at the opening of the chambers. On the
second return of the Bourbons, he sought a
refuge at Brussels. After the revolution of
July, 1830, he returned to Paris. One volume
of his collected works, ^edited by Cramer, ap
peared in 1796. See Etude sur Sieyes, by E.
de Beauverger (Paris, 1851).

SIGISMUND, emperor of Germany, the last of
the Luxemburg line, born in 1368, died Dec. 9,
1437. He was the second son of the emperor
Charles IV., and became elector of Branden
burg, while his elder brother Wenceslas suc
ceeded to the empire in 1378. He was af
fianced to Mary, daughter of Louis the Great
of Hungary and Poland, and was designated
as successor in both kingdoms. But on the
death of Louis, in 1382, the Poles rejected
him, while an adverse party in Hungary raised
Charles the Little of Naples to the throne.
Charles was assassinated, and Sigismund, hav
ing espoused Mary, was crowned king of Hun

gary (1387). He fought the Turks, was rout
ed by Bajazet at Nicopolis in 1396, and fled
to Greece ; and when after several years he re
turned to Hungary, he had to contend against
a new rival, Ladislas of Naples, who finally
withdrew in 1403. In 1400 the incapable em
peror Wenceslas had been deposed and suc
ceeded by Rupert of the Palatinate, and on
the death of the latter in 1410 Sigismund and
his cousin Jodocus of Moravia contested the
imperial crown. The electors were at first
divided, but on the death of Jodocus in 1411
Sigismund was elected. He called a general
council at Constance, violated the safe-con
duct accorded to Huss, and provoked the great
Hussite war. He succeeded Wenceslas in Bo
hemia, received the Lombard crown in 1431,
and was crowned at Rome in 1433. He was
succeeded by his son-in-law, Albert II. of
Hapsburg.

SIGISMUND L, II., and III., kings of Poland.
See POLAND, vol. xiii., pp. 645- 6.

SIGMARINGEN. See HOHENZOLLEKN.

SIGNAL SERVICE. Organized signal services
existed in armies from very early periods.
Polybius (about 200 B. C.) mentions the won
derful skill acquired by the signal corps of his
day. In later years semaphores were used
ivith armies, and codes of flag signals became
common for fleets. The invention of the elec
tric telegraph greatly developed organizations
of this description. Telegraphic corps are
now attached to many armies, and field signals
are widely used. Messages of any description,
and in words or characters of any language,
can be sent by signals, by day or night, as far
as one man can by telescopes or other means
be made visible to another. The apparatus
can easily be carried in the hand on horseback
or on foot. To transmit any message by the
use of portable signal apparatus, a distance
of 10 in. would be now considered easy.
Ranges of from 16 to 20 m. are often reached
in ordinarily clear weather ; and on the west
ern prairies messages have been transmitted 30
m. by flags. In time of war systems of reports
are sometimes organized to cover extensive
sections of territory. In some instances com
munication can be had from stations on ele
vated points over the heads of an enemy.
The signal service of the United States army
is equipped to maintain communication by
signals, by telegraph, or by semaphores, be
tween officers or the different portions of an
army or armies, or between armies and fleets.
In time of peace it transmits intelligence in
reference to storms or approaching weather
changes by the display of signals of warning,
and by reports at the different cities and ports
of the United States. Maps showing the
weather conditions are exhibited at board of
trade rooms, chambers of commerce, and oth
er places of resort. Bulletins of data are also
prominently displayed, and are furnished with
out expense to leading newspapers. Signal
stations are established also in connection with

34:

SIGNAL SERVICE

life-saving stations, which are connected by
telegraph, and, in addition to displaying storm
signals and making the regular meteorological
reports, are required to make special reports
upon tempests at sea, the sea swell, currents,
temperatures, &c. They also summon assis
tance to vessels in distress, either from neigh
boring life-saving stations or from the nearest
port. Stations for river reports, to give notice
of dangerous floods or conditions of the rivers
affecting navigation, are established upon the
courses of the great interior rivers. The offi
cers and men of the signal service are instructed
for the different branches of the service at the
signal school of instruction at Fort Whipple,
Va., and at the central office in Washington.
They are taught the use of meteorological in
struments, the modes of observing, and the
forms and duties required at stations of obser
vation, and for the display of storm signals.
The force is also drilled with arms and in the
usual duties of soldiers. The field telegraph
trains of the signal service are organized for
use with armies, and are managed by soldiers
who are drilled to march with, manoauvre,
work, and protect them. The trains carry
light or field telegraph lines, which can be very
quickly erected or run out at the rate of two
or three miles an hour. They can be put in
use for any distance, and as rapidly taken down,
repacked, and marched off with the detach
ment to-be used elsewhere. For the duties
of the observation of storms, and for the dis
play of storm signals, all stations communicate
directly with the signal office in Washington
over telegraphic circuits arranged with the
different telegraph companies, or connecting
with the office at fixed hours each day and
night. Each station is supplied with the fol
lowing instruments : barometer, thermometer,
maximum thermometer, minimum thermome
ter, Robinson s anemometer with electrical at
tachment and self-registering apparatus, hy
grometer, wind vane, rain gauge, and, on
stations located on rivers, lakes, or seacoast,
thermometers designed for taking the temper
ature of water at different depths. The read
ings of these instruments, made three times
a day at fixed hours, are reported to the cen
tral office in cipher. The stations at which
cautionary signals are displayed are equipped
with flags and apparatus for exhibiting the
cautionary day or night signal. These stations
are established (with the exception of those
in the principal cities) solely with reference to
the importance of their position for meteoric
observations. Three graphic charts are pre
pared at the central office on the receipt of
each report, as follows: 1. A chart of baro
metric pressures, temperatures, and winds, to
gether with the wind velocities at the differ
ent stations, and the precipitation occurring ;
it exhibits the barometric pressures and the
temperatures in their relation to districts and
to each other by a system of isobaric and iso
thermal lines, and the wind directions by ar

rows at the different stations. 2. A chart of
the cloud conditions prevailing over the Uni
ted States, on which the different varieties and
amount of clouds visible at the different sta
tions appear by symbols; on this chart is also
indicated the weather as reported at each sta
tion, the direction and movement of upper and
lower clouds, and each morning the minimum
temperature of the preceding night, in relation
to districts of territory. 3. A chart showing
the relative humidities over territorial districts,
with the temperature at the several stations ;
this enables studies to be made for territorial
sections, the difficulties attending the study of
observations of this character being obviated
to a very considerable degree by the intercor-
rections of the* stations among themselves, and
by the great extent of the regions over which
the readings are simultaneously made. In the
study of the charts for the reports, the well
known rules and generalizations established by
the experience of meteorologists are used. The
published office report, based upon each gen
eral report of observations, consists of a synop
sis of the meteoric conditions existing over
the territory of tbe United States at the time
of the report, and a statement of the changes
likely to occur Avithin the next 24 hours. For
the purposes of convenient study and of con
densed description, the territory of the Uni
ted States is arbitrarily divided into districts.
The reports from the stations, extending over
territory reaching from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, and from the capes of Florida into
British America, are not unfrequently concen
trated at the central oflice in the space of 45
minutes. In military lines connecting frontier
posts and lines connecting life-saving stations
upon the seacoast, the telegraphic outies are
performed by the men of the signal service.
The reports are those of. readings of the dif
ferent meteorological instruments made as
nearly simultaneously as possible. The re
ports, made simultaneously from all the sta
tions and received at the central office thrice
daily, at intervals of about eight hours, are at
once entered graphically upon synoptic charts
(the weather maps), and from the study of
these charts a deduction is had as to probable
weather changes within the ensuing 24 hours.
This deduction is furnished to the press and
is telegraphed to 21 centres of distribution, to
be there published and distributed in bulletin
form for the use of farmers. The bulletins
are displayed at post offices in numerous vil
lages in the agricultural districts. In the case
of serious storms noticed as approaching the
lakes, or threatening any part of the seacoast,
cautionary signals are ordered from the cen
tral office to be displayed at the different lake
and sea ports and upon the coasts, as a warn
ing to mariners. The fortunate position of
the territory of the United States and its great
extent enable a service of this kind to be con
ducted with especial advantage. The move
ments of the storms over the continent can be

SIGNALS

traced upon the charts from report to report,
and the direction and rate of their progress
together with their intensity be noted in time
to give warning of their approach. Floods
occurring upon the western rivers can be
traced sometimes from the fall of rain with
in the respective watersheds, and along the
courses of the different confluent streams, un
til culminating in the dangerous flood of the
principal river. In nearly the same manner
that storms can be traced upon the charts,
approaching changes of temperature and rain
fall are foreseen, and notice is frequently given
in time to prevent injury to agricultural and
other interests. In the analyses of the official
deductions of the office, or the "probabili
ties," the percentage of verifications is found
to have been as follows: 1872, 76 8 per cent. ;
1873, 77-0 per cent, ; 1874, 84-4 per cent. The
cautionary signal is a red flag with a black
centre by day, and a red light by night. This
signal indicates a probability of stormy or dan
gerous weather for the port or place at which
it is displayed, or in that vicinity. While
storms of limited extent, such as squalls, tor
nadoes, &c., may spring up suddenly or pass
between stations in such a way that their
coming or courses cannot be foreseen, exten
sive and well defined disturbances can as a
rule be readily traced in time to forewarn the
coasts or districts threatened. Arrangements
have been made with the chiefs of meteoro
logical services in Europe, in accordance with
the recommendation of the Vienna conference
of meteorologists (1873), providing for the ex
change daily of one report taken at the same
instant over all the territories of the United
States, nearly all Europe, extending through
Kussian Asia to the Pacific coast, and in the
northern portion of Africa. These exchanges
are made every 15 days by mail. Besides the
daily bulletins and weather maps, the signal
office publishes a weekly review of the weather
which is furnished to the press, and a monthly
review, accompanied with charts showing the
isobaric and isothermal lines, the prevailing
winds, the tracks of low barometer, and a pre
cipitation chart for the month.

SIGNALS, Fog. See LIGHTHOUSE, vol. x., p.
457.

SIGNALS, Naval. Naval signals are frequently
mentioned by the classical writers, and recent
investigation has discovered the fact that the
system which prevailed during the naval su
premacy of Greece and Carthage bore a stri
king resemblance to our present army code,
invented by Gen. A. J. Myer, U. S. A. Sig
nal flags began to be used in the English navy
in the time of Elizabeth, or perhaps a little
earlier. In the reign of James II. their use
was somewhat systematized, and in 1790 or
thereabouts, under Earl Howe and Kempen-
felt, a regular code of day and night signals
was perfected. Besides flags during the last
century, arbitrary signs were used as signals,
which were well known to all seafaring peo

ple. The signal to unmoor ship, for example,
was the loosing of the maintopsail ; that to
prepare for sailing was loosing the foretopsail
and firing one gun. In general there are three
classes of signals : those for the day, made by
square flags and triangular pennants variously
colored of red, blue, white, and yellow ; night
signals, made with colored lights, rockets, &c. ;
and fog signals made by steam whistles, fog
horns, bells, or guns. By means of the " In
ternational Code of Signals for the use of all
Nations," all maritime countries use the same
kind of signal flags, and having the signal
book of each country printed in its own lan
guage, ships of different nationalities commu
nicate as readily with each other as ships sail
ing under the same flag. In most systems the
signal flags represent the numerals from 1 to
10, and in the signal book, corresponding to
the numbers from 1 up to several thousand,
are words and phrases most likely to be used
by ships. But in the code just referred to the
consonants of the alphabet were used in pref
erence to numerals, by which means it was
found that with 18 flags more than 78,000 dis
tinct signals could be made without displaying
more than four flags at a time. The number
of flags and their position are also significant.
Thus, when but two flags are shown, " danger "
or " urgency " is implied. If in a signal con
sisting of two flags a burgee (a swallow-tail
flag) is uppermost, it is known at once to be
an " attention " signal. If a pennant is upper
most, it is a compass signal. A square flag
above indicates an "urgent" signal. Three
flags in one hoist express "latitude, longitude,
time," and all ordinary signals required for
communications. Four flags indicate geograph
ical signals. The flags representing the alpha
bet are for spelling out words not found in the
vocabulary. With a pennant above, the name
of a ship of war is indicated ; with a square
flag uppermost, that of a merchant vessel.
Observing, then, the colors of each flag, we
seek in the signal book the same combination
of letters and the corresponding message. Let
us suppose, for example, that on the meeting
of two ships at sea one is observed to hoist
two flags. We know at once it is an urgent
signal, and on closer examination find the up
per one divided vertically, in white and red,
the lower one a red burgee. The upper flag
represents the letter H, the lower one the let
ter B. The combination H B in the signal
book stands opposite the sentence, " Want im
mediate assistance." Thereupon the second
ship hoists a white and red vertical flag (H),
and beneath a red pennant with white ball in
centre (F). II F in the signal book corresponds
to the sentence, " W r e are coming to your as
sistance." As each ship has a signal book
printed in the language of its country, this
code furnishes a kind of universal language.
If the ship first mentioned had found herself
on a strange coast, she might have made the
same signal to a shore station, and received

SIGOURNEY

SIKHS

the friendly aid of a life boat. Should the 1
distance between two points be too great to
distinguish colors, the shape alone indicates
the value of the signal, for which purpose a
ball, a long pennant, and a square flag are
used, known as "distance signals." In addi
tion to the above, each national marine has a
system of signals adapted to its own particular
wants, not only for holding free communica
tion among the ships of a fleet, the transmit
ting of orders, conveying of intelligence, &c.,
but to enable the comrnander-in-chief of a
naval force to signal orders to his ships for the
various evolutions of naval tactics. A com
plete naval signal book comprehends therefore
a system of evolutionary tactics. For night
signals, red, green, and white lights are used
to represent those colors in the flags of the
day signals, the green light taking the place of
the blue bunting. The night signals known as
the " Ooston lights" are the best in use. The
greatest improvement of recent times in sig
nalling is that made by Gen. A. J. Myer, al
ready referred to. For its perfect simplicity
and comprehensiveness it is now considered
indispensable to both branches of the public
service. The letters of the alphabet are repre
sented by combinations of the numerals 1 and
2 for spelling the words of a message. Each
word is punctuated by a comma represented
by the numeral 3 ; 1,2, and 3 being repre
sented by arbitrary signs. A, for instance, is
represented by 2-2, B by 2-1-1-2, by 1-2-1,
&c. ; 3 indicates the end of a word, 3-3 the
end of a sentence, and 3-3-3 the end of the
message. There are also abbreviations. The
signals commonly used to represent these num
bers are as follows : The signalman, facing his
correspondent, waves a flag (at night a light
ed torch) to his right to indicate 1, bringing
his flag to a rest in a vertical position ; to the
left to denote 2 ; and to his front for 3. By
waving his flag or torch to his right and left
he spells out the words of his message, using
frequent abbreviations, so that two expert
signalmen may transmit long communications
with great rapidity and exactness.

SIGOURNEY, Lydia Hnntley, an American au
thoress, born in Norwich, Conn., Sept. 1, 1791,
died in Hartford, June 10, 1865. In 1814 she
opened a private school in Hartford, and in
1815 published "Moral Pieces in Prose and
Verse." In 1819 she married Charles Sigour-
ney, a merchant of Hartford. In 1840 she
visited Europe, and recorded her reminiscences
in "Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands"
(1842). She published nearly 60 volumes of
poems, prose, and selections. Among her
works are : " Letters to Young Ladies " (1833) ;
"Pocahontas, and other Poems" (1841) ; "Past
Meridian" (1854); "The Man of Uz, and oth
er Poems " (1802) ; and her autobiography,
posthumously published under the title "Let
ters of Life " (New York, 1866).

SIGUENZA GONG0RA, Carlos de, a Mexican
scholar, born in Mexico in 1645, died there,

Aug. 22, 1700. He was chaplain to the arch
bishop of Mexico, and taught astronomy and
mathematics in the university of that city for
20 years. King Charles II. of Spain created
him royal cosmographer and mathematician.
He had several discussions on the nature of
comets with Father Kuhn, the colonizer of
California, and wrote histories of Texas and
the Chichimecas, an account of the recovery of
New Mexico after the revolt of 1680, and a
history of the university of Mexico. With
Juan de Alva Ixtlixochitl he prepared several
treatises on Mexican antiquities and early
American history, which perished with his
library in the great fire of June, 1692. He
was director of the military school of Mexico
for several years, and in 1693 was appointed
to accompany the expedition of Andres de Pes
against the French settlements in the gulf of
Mexico. He planned the fortifications of Pen-
sacola, and soon afterward published maps of
the bays of Pensacola (Santa Maria de Galve)
and Mobile, and of the Rio de la Palizada or
Mississippi. His name was subsequently given
to one extremity of Santa Rosa island and to
the fort erected there. He entered the society
of Jesus in 1693. His principal works are:
Vcr Indicum, Poema sacro-epicum (8vo, Mexi
co, 1668; 4to, 1680); Expos itio PhilosopMca
adversus Cometas (1681); TriumpJius Parthe-
nicus (4to, 1684); Libra Astronomica et Philo
sopMca (1690) ; Infortunia Alfonsi Ramirez
circum per Orb em euntis (1693) ; Mercurius
wlans et Novum Mexicum restauratum prcc se
ferens (1693); Descriptio Sinus Sanctce Marias
de Galve (1693); and a topography of Mexico
and its neighborhood, enlarged and republished
by Alzate in 1786.

SIIION, a name applied by some geographers
to the Sir Darya or Jaxartes. (See JAXAKTES.)

SIKHS (Hind, sikh, a disciple), a people of
India, chiefly inhabiting the Punjaub. They
were originally a religious sect, the founder
of which was Nanak, a Hindoo of the warrior
caste, born in 1469 near Lahore, who was a
deist, advocating the worship of God without
regard to form as an essential, universal tol
eration, and a fusion of Brahmanism and Mo
hammedanism, on the basis of a pure mono
theism and of human brotherhood. He died
in 1539, and was succeeded by his son Angad,
who wrote commentaries upon his father s sys
tem, which underwent considerable change at
the hands of his successors Amardas and Ram-
das. Arjoon, the son of Ramdas, compiled the
Sikh doctrines in a volume called Adi- Granth,
established himself at Amritsir in 1581, and
organized his followers, who had hitherto been
only a religious community, into a confedera
tion possessing also a political character, of
which he became the sole chief. As the Sikhs
rejected alike the Koran and the Vedas, they
drew down upon themselves the hatred both
of Moslems and Brahmans ; and notwithstand
ing the peaceable increase of the sect up to
that period, Arjoon was imprisoned by the

SIKHS

SILENUS

Mussulman government, tortured, and put to
death in 1606. His son, Har Govind, to avenge
his death, led the Sikhs against their Moham
medan foes ; but they were driven from the
region which they occupied about Lahore, and
forced to find refuge in the mountains in the
north. In 1675 Guru Govind, a grandson of
Har Govind, became their tenth theocratic
chief, gave them a code of laws, and organized
them as a state. He added to their sacred
books by writing the biographies of his nine
predecessors. He abolished caste, established
absolute equality, and introduced a peculiar
dress, such as the wearing of blue, peculiar
customs, such as allowing the hair and beard
to grow long and uncut, and peculiar require
ments, such as that every man should be a
soldier and always carry steel. He recom
menced the struggle against the Mogul em
perors, but without avail, and was defeated
and finally murdered by a private enemy. His
successor, a chief named Banda, renewed the
contest early in the 18th century, devastating
the eastern Punjaub and Sirhind with such suc
cess that Bahadoor Shah himself took the field
against the Sikhs, and partially repressed their
rising power. In 1716 they were overwhelm
ingly defeated and almost annihilated. Their
religious fervor decreased, and for many years
they did not recover from this blow ; but they
finally united their roving bands and drove
the Afghans from the Punjaub in 1764. For
the following 30 years they were divided into
12 small confederations, called misals, which
were governed by sirdars or petty chiefs, of
whom Maha Singh was the most powerful.
After his death in 1794, his son Runjeet Singh
brought the other sirdars into subjection, and
reduced the Punjaub to his sway. (See RUN
JEET SINGH.) When this distinguished Sikh
chieftan died, in 1839, his dominions, known
as the kingdom of Lahore, included all the
principal Sikh states except those E. of the
Sutlej. They soon fell into anarchy, the pow
er of the army became supreme, and war with
the English broke out in 1845. Battles were
fought and victories won by the British, un
der Sir Hugh Gough, at Moodkee, Dec. 18 ;
at Ferozeshah, Dec. 21 and 22; at Aliwal,
Jan. 28, 1846; and finally at Sobraon, Feb.
10, where the Sikhs lost" 10,000 men. The
contest then terminated, in a treaty by which
the greater part of their territory and almost
their entire government was ceded to the East
India company. This treaty soon led to new
complications, and to a second war between
the British and the Sikhs, beginning in 1848.
Mooltan was invested in the autumn of that
year, and taken in January, 1849 ; but the
British, under Gough, were repulsed and nar
rowly escaped disastrous defeat at the battle
of Chillianwallah, Jan. 13, when they lost
2,446 killed and wounded. A subsequent vic
tory at Guzerat, in Febru-ary, concluded the
war ; the Sikh army surrendered, and the Pun
jaub was incorporated into the British domin

ions. The only portion of the Sikh territories
remaining independent is comprised in the nine
small states of Sirhind. The Sikhs were faith
ful troops during the sepoy mutiny of 1857,
and aided materially in its suppression. In
1868 the number of Sikhs in British India was
officially stated at 1,129,319. Their ethnologi
cal affinities are with the Jats. In spite of the
destruction of their commonwealth, they main
tain their national characteristics, being tall,
thin, dark, and active, excellent soldiers and
horsemen, frank, sociable, and pleasure-loving.
Amritsir is their spiritual capital.

SIKKIM, a native state of British India, on
the S. slope of the Himalaya range, bounded
N. by Thibet, E. by Bhotan, S. by Bengal, and
W. by Nepaul, between lat. 27 and 28 10
K, and Ion. 88 and 89 E. ; area, 2,544 sq. m. ;
pop. about 7,000, principally mountaineers.
The surface consists of a series of ranges of
the Himalaya mountains, which on the south
rise abruptly frem the plains to the height of
from 6,000 to 10,000 ft., and increase toward
the north and northwest, where Kintchinjun-
ga, long believed to be the loftiest point on
the surface of the globe, attains a height of
more than 28,000 ft. above the sea. The
mountains are separated by precipitous ra
vines, nowhere wide enough to form plains.
The drainage belongs to the basin of the Gan
ges, toward which it flows by the Teesta, which
rises in Thibet, and pursues a winding course
through Sikkim. The mountains are covered
with vegetation to the height of 12,000 ft.,
and at the lower levels it is often very luxuri
ant. Sikkim abounds in fine timber, produ
cing oak, walnut, chestnut, and cherry at ele
vations of from 6,000 to 8,000 ft., and saul and
sissoo further down. Copper is the chief min
eral product. The soil consists mostly of a
rich black mould ; and the principal crops are
millet, maize, and rice, the last of which has
been cultivated to the height of 8,000 ft. above
the sea. The aboriginal inhabitants have
Mongolian features, and speak a Thibetan dia
lect. The Gorkhas conquered Sikkim in 1789,
and it bccime tributary to them ; but during
the Nepaul war of 1814 the rajah cooperated
with the British, and in 1817, after peace was
concluded, his independence was guaranteed,
and his dominions were increased by the grant
of certain tracts of ISTepaulese territory. In
1836 the rajah ceded Darjeeling to the Brit
ish, for an annual grant of 300, subsequently
increased to 600. In 1849 he countenanced
some outrages on British subjects, which led
to a temporary forfeiture of this allowance,
and a further loss of territory. In 1861 he
opened his dominions to British trade without
restriction, and in 1872 his allowance was in
creased to 1,200. His capital is Tumloong.

SILENUS, in Greek and Roman mythology, a
satyr prominent in the retinue of Bacchus.
He is differently called the son of Mercury
and of Pan, and is represented as a jovial old
man with a bald head, a pair of goat s ears,

SILESIA

SILICON

and a fat, sensual face, always intoxicated, and
either mounted upon an ass or carried by sa
tyrs. In the contest with the giants Bacchus
was assisted by Silenus, who slew Enceladus.
Silenus is also represented as an inspired
prophet, and a sage who despised the gifts of
fortune. When he was drunk and asleep, any
one could compel him to prophesy by sur
rounding him with a garland or chain of flow
ers. There was a temple sacred to him at
Elis. Several poems and works of plastic art
introduced more than one Silenus at a time,
representing the older satyrs.

SILESIA (Ger. ScJilesien\ Austrian, a duchy
comprising that part of Silesia which remained
to the house of Austria after the peace of 1763,
bounded by Prussian Silesia, Galicia, Hungary,
and Moravia; area, 1,988 sq. m. ; pop. in 1874,
544,459, of whom about 14 per cent, were Prot
estants, 1 per cent. Jews, and the remainder
Roman Catholics. Fully one half of the pop
ulation are Germans, 29 percent. Poles, and
over 19 per cent. Czechs. The Carpathian
mountains pass through it in the southeast,
and the Moravian in the northwest, and it is
watered by the upper Oder, the Vistula, which
rises in the province, and other rivers. About
one third of the territory is covered with for
ests. It is one of the most important grazing
provinces of Austria. The mining and weav
ing industries are important. Before 1849 it
formed with Moravia a single administrative
province, and then became a separate crown
land under the name of the duchy of Upper
and Lower Silesia. Until 1866 it was one of
the 11 Austrian states belonging to the Ger
man confederation, and since 1867 it has been
one of the 14 Cisleithan provinces represent
ed in the Reichsrath. The principal towns
are Troppau, the capital, Teschen, Bielitz, and
Jagerndorf.

SILESIA, Prussian, the S. E. province of Prus
sia, bounded N. by Brandenburg and Posen, E.
by Russian Poland and Austrian Galicia, S. by
Austrian Silesia and Moravia, and S. W. and W.
by Bohemia, the kingdom of Saxony, and the
Prussian province of Saxony; are^p 15,556 sq.
m. ; pop. in 1871, 3,707,167, of whom 1,760,-
341 belonged to the Evangelical church, 1,896,-
136 were Roman Catholics, and 46,629 Jews.
It is divided into the districts of Breslau, Lieg-
nitz, and Oppeln. It is separated from the
Austrian dominions by the Sudetic chain of
mountains, which consist of long well wooded
ridges with isolated peaks. There are two
principal groups, the Riesengebirge in the N".
"W. part of the range and the Glatz mountains
in the opposite direction; the most elevated
peak of the former, the Schneekoppe, is up
ward of 5,000 ft. high, and of the latter, the
Great Schneeberg, nearly 5,000 ft. There are
fertile valleys of considerable extent. The
Oder flows through the province in a general
N. W. direction, and divides it into two nearly
equal portions, that on the left of the river
being mountainous, and that on the right flat.

This level portion is sandy, with extensive
tracts of heath and stagnant pools. A small
portion of the S. E. corner is drained by the
upper course of the Vistula. The mineral
wealth of Silesia is confined principally to the
upper or S. E. part of the province. Gold
and silver are procured in small quantities ;
copper, lead, and zinc are found ; and coal and
iron are abundant. Quarries of limestone, mar
ble, and sandstone are worked. Large num
bers of cattle and sheep are raised, the wool
of Silesia being of superior quality, and form
ing next to linen the chief export. The prin
cipal manufactures are of linen, cotton, and
woollens, iron, paper, leather, glass, porcelain,
castings, and sheet iron. Among the principal
towns, besides Breslau, the capital, are Glogau,
Liegnitz, Oppeln, and the fortresses Schweid-
nitz, Ncisse, Glatz, and Kosel. Silesia became
subject to Poland in the 10th century, and in
1163 it was ruled by three independent Polish
princes. It was afterward subdivided into
numerous petty states, which in detail became
tributary to the king of Bohemia, and fell to
Austria in 1526. The claims of Frederick the
Great upon the former duchies of Liegnitz,
Brieg, Wohlau, and Jagerndorf, founded on
an old treaty of inheritance, gave rise to three
wars for the possession of Silesia, the first in
the years 1740- 42, the second in l744- o, and
the last in !756- 63 (the seven years war).
By the treaty of Hubertsburg in 1763 the
province was finally secured to Prussia, except
the part now known as Austrian Silesia. A
part of Lusatia was added to it by the treaties
of 1815.

SILICA. See SILICOX.

SILICATES, Soluble. See GLASS, SOLUBLE.

SILICON, or Silieinm, the essential constituent
of silex or flint. It is obtained in a dull brown
amorphous powder by passing the vapor of
chloride of silicon over heated potassium or
sodium contained in a glass tube. It may also
be obtained from the aqueous solution of the
gaseous fluoride of silicon. Neutralized with
solution of potash, this affords a silico-fluoride
of potassium, which when well dried is mixed
in a glass or iron tube with -fa or -fa of its
weight of potassium or sodium and heated.
The silicon set free partially combines with
the excess of the alkali, from which it is finally
removed by washing in water. When heated
in air or oxygen, it* burns vividly, and with
such intense heat as to fuse the external crust
of silica. In its chemical properties silicon
exhibits striking analogies with carbon and
boron. When strongly heated in a close plati
num crucible, it becomes darker and of great
er specific gravity; it loses its affinity for oxy
gen, so that it will not ignite even if heat
ed by the blowpipe and immersed in oxygen,
and is not attacked by pure hydrofluoric acid.
If aluminum be substituted for the sodium
of the above experiment, silicon is obtained
in a crystalline condition. Two methods are
employed to prepare crystalline silicon : 1,

SILICON

SILISTRIA

fuse a mixture of 5 parts pulverized glass, 10
parts cryolite, 1 part aluminum, and wash the
product with hydrochloric and hydrofluoric
acids; 2, fuse 15 parts silico-rluoride of sodi
um, 20 parts granulated zinc, 4 parts sodium,
and wash with hydrochloric and nitric acids.
Amorphous silicon was discovered by Berze-
lius in 1824, crystalline by Deville in 1855.
Crystalline silicon forms brilliant black scales
having a lustre like that of specular iron ore,
sometimes prismatic, at others octahedral, foli
ated, graphitic, with a specific gravity of 2 -49.
The symbol of silicon is Si ; atomic weight, 28.
It is a poor conductor of electricity, fuses at
a temperature between that of cast iron and
steel, is harder than glass, and is insoluble in
all acids excepting hydrofluoric and nitric.
There were at one time supposed to be three
modifications of silicon, the amorphous, gra-
phitoid, and crystalline, but the graphitoid is
now regarded as somewhat problematical.
Silicon belongs to the class of tetrads, being
equivalent in its most usual combinations to
four atoms of hydrogen. There is but one
anhydrous oxide of silicon, commonly known
as silicic acid or silica; its formula is SiO 2 .
Silica, or silicic anhydride, occurs in nature
dimorphous : 1, in hexagonal prisms with ter
minated pyramids, as quartz, rock crystal, smo
ky quartz, amethyst, &c. ; 2, in wedge-shaped
crystals, with sharp angles, or hexagonal tables,
or in twins (called tridymite), colorless and
clear as water. The former has the specific
gravity of 2-6, the latter of 2 3. Its only sol
vent among the acids is the hydrofluoric, by
means of which it is decomposed, and a gaseous
compound is obtained of its base with the acid.
"When passed into water this combination is
broken up, and silica is reproduced in the
form of little bubbles and white flocculi, which
by washing and igniting become perfectly pure
and snow-white silica. Pulverized silica, when
mixed with an alkaline c^bonate and fused,
dispels the weaker carbonic acid, and itself
combines with the alkali, thus exhibiting its
properties as an acid. But these are too feeble
to act upon test paper. An excess of silica in
the alkaline mixture determines the produc
tion of glass, which is insoluble in water or
common acids ; Hut if no more silica be added
to the melted mass after this ceases to effer
vesce on its introduction, the product after be
ing cooled may be dissolved in water. When
silica is separated from its alkaline combina
tion by hydrochloric acid, it appears before
evaporation as a jelly, which is a hydrate of
silica, soluble in a large excess of water ; but
once deprived of water by heat, it can no more
be dissolved. Silica of this character is met
with in several mineral compounds. It con
stitutes the opal, in which the proportion of
water varies from 3 to 10 per cent., and also
great deposits of a white silicious earth made
up of infusorial remains. The zeolites are hy-
drated silicious compounds, which when finely
pulverized and treated with hydrochloric acid

swell up into the transparent jelly. Silica is
an important element in the composition of
the grasses, and forms in chief part the hard
external coat of the reeds. It combines with
bases and forms silicates, among which are
found a large proportion of the minerals.
Their variety is multiplied by the number of
bases, as lime, alumina, magnesia, protoxide of
iron, and several of the other metals, and by
the diversity in the relative proportions of the
different silicates, the substitution of one base
for another. They comprise the hydrous and
anhydrous silicates, the former including, be
sides those already named, the talcs, serpen
tines, and chlorites, and the latter the augites,
garnets, micas, and feldspars. They are for
the most part fusible, and those melt easily
which consist largely of fusible oxides. They
are decomposed by vegetable acids, and grad
ually even by the carbonic acid gas of the
atmosphere ; but at high temperatures in a
furnace the silica, not being volatile, takes the
place of most other acids, expelling even sul
phuric acid from its combinations. Diatoma-
ceous or infusorial silica, of which large de
posits have been found in Nevada, New Jersey,
and Virginia, is now employed in the arts for
a great variety of purposes, among which are :
as a polish for metals under the name of tri-
poli or electric silicon ; as a non-conductor in
refrigerators and fire-proof safes; as an ab
sorbent of nitre-glycerine in the manufacture
of dynamite ; in the manufacture of glass, en
amel, pottery, and soluble glass. Chloride of
silicon, SiCh, is a transparent, colorless liquid,
with a pungent, acid, irritating odor. It is
very volatile and fumes strongly in the air,
and is prepared by the action of -chlorine on a
heated mixture of silica and charcoal. Fluo
ride of silicon, SiF 4 , is a colorless gas of a
peculiar, pungent acid odor, which is evolved
when equal parts of finely powdered fluor spar
and silicious sand or powdered glass are mixed,
in a capacious flask or retort, with 12 times
their weight of oil of vitriol. The gas was
converted into a liquid by Faraday. When a
stream of gaseous fluoride of silicon is trans
mitted through water, it is partially decom
posed and partially dissolved. Two atoms of
water react on three of fluoride, and produce
silico-fluoric or hydrofluosilicic acid, which is
dissolved, while one third of its silicon is de
posited as silica. Efforts have been made in
metallurgical operations to economize the flu
oride of silicon and hydrofluosilicic acid hith
erto wasted, and to employ the latter in the
beet-sugar refinery and for chemical uses.

SILISTRIA (Turk. Dristra}, a fortified town
of European Turkey, in Bulgaria, on the right
bank of the Danube, 57 m. N. N. E. of Shumla
and 230 m. N. N. W. of Constantinople; pop.
with the garrison about 20,000. The river is
here more than 1,200 ft. wide, and studded with
numerous islands between the town and the
Wallachian shore. There are several mosques,
a large Greek church and convent, capacious

SILK

barracks, public baths, and a custom house
with magazines for storing grain and flour. It
has no important manufactures, and the chief
trade is in wood and cattle. It is a very an
cient place, and near the city are remains of
fortifications erected during the Byzantine em
pire. In 971 the emperor John Zimisces here
routed the Russians under Sviatoslav. It was
besieged by the Russians in 1773, and again
in 1779, when they suffered a severe loss. It
capitulated to them in 1810. In 1828 they
besieged it for several months, and were ob
liged to retire; but in 1829 it was reduced by
them, and held for some years as a pledge for
the payment of an indemnity by the Porte,
but was eventually returned. In 1849- 53 the
fortifications were greatly strengthened by the
addition of 12 detached forts, of which that
on the hill commanding the town is one of
the best military works of the time. In May,
1854, it was invested by Gortchakoff, and af
terward by Paskevitch ; but after bombarding
it for 39 days the Russians retreated with a
loss of about 12,000 men and most of their
armament. During the siege the town was
laid in ruins by the Russian batteries and mines.
SILK, a fibre obtained chiefly from the co
coons of the caterpillar of the mulberry tree
moth (boml)yx mori). The fibre produced by
other species of the genus bombyx and by other
genera of the same family is inferior to that of
B. mori. For an account of these silk-produ
cing insects, see SILKWORM. The spider s thread
resembles silk in character, but the rearing of
spiders is so difficult, and the produce of each
individual so small, that all attempts to convert
the fibre into textile fabrics have been aban
doned. The byssus of the pinna nobilis, a
shell fish inhabiting the Mediterranean, consists
of long, silken filaments, which have sometimes
been woven into fabrics, but rather for curi
osity than for use. The manufacture of silk
doubtless originated in China. It is asserted
by Chinese historians that the wife of the em
peror Hwang-ti (about 2600 B. C.) was the
first who unwound the silkworm s cocoon.
As early as the time of Aristotle silken fab
rics were woven in the island of Cos, but the
fibre there employed appears to have been im
ported from the country of the Seres (Chinese).
Later the product of the Coan looms was fa
mous throughout the Roman empire as Coa
vestis, a transparent gauze. The silkworm was
unknown to Europe prior to the reign of Jus
tinian (A. D. 527-565), when some " grains"
or eggs of the insect were brought to Con
stantinople by two Persian monks, the intro
duction of the white mulberry following soon
after. The silk manufacture made rapid prog
ress, its chief centres being Thebes, Corinth,
and Argos. In 1147 many inhabitants of
Grecian cities who were skilled in this art were
taken prisoners by Roger, king of Sicily, and
carried to Palermo. The silk industry soon
spread into Italy, and Venice, Milan, Florence,
and Lucca were distinguished for the excel

lence of their fabrics. The Moors at an early
period introduced the manufacture into Spain,
and a flourishing silk trade was already es
tablished at Granada when that city was cap
tured by Ferdinand the Catholic. Louis XI.
of France in 1480, and Francis I. while the
French occupied Milan in 1521, introduced
workmen from there for the purpose of es
tablishing the production of silk in France;
but the attempts were not successful till 1564,
when a gardener at Nimes had cultivated the
white mulberry trees and prepared suitable
food for the worms. The silk manufacture
had a rapid development in the south of
France, and England began to import thence
costly fabrics, such as she had previously im
ported from Italy and China. The manufac
ture of silk goods made great progress in Eng
land during the reign of James I., and it is
said that in 1C66 the trade had become so im
portant as to give employment to 40,000 per
sons. In 1685 a large body of silk weavers,
driven from France by the revocation of the
edict of Nantes, took refuge in England and
settled in Spitalfields, London, where they
established several new branches of the art.
In 1783 the value of the silk products was rated
at 3,350,000. James I. early sought to estab
lish silkworm culture in the American colonies.
He himself forwarded eggs to Virginia, and
high rewards were offered with the hope of
placing the culture upon a permanent footing.
But it was all in vain ; tobacco superseded silk.
In Louisiana the cultivation of silk was intro
duced in 1718 by the " Company of the West."
Government grants were made to the settlers
in Georgia, to encourage the cultivation of the
mulberry tree. Artisans were sent to that
colony in 1732 from different parts of Europe
to direct the management of the worms and
winding of the silk, and trees, seed, and silk
worm eggs were abundantly furnished. In
1734 the first expert of raw silk, amounting
to 8 Ibs., was made to England. More was
sent the next year, and being manufactured
into organzine by Sir Thomas Lombe, it was
much admired. At the German settlement of
Ebenezer, on the Savannah river, the produc
tion in 1749 had amounted to over 1,000 Ibs.
of cocoons, and the silk was s*o well reeled that
it commanded in London the highest prices.
In 1751 the trustees of the Ebenezer settle
ment erected in Savannah a public filature or
silk house, to instruct in the management of
private filatures. At the end of 1754 the ex
ports of raw silk for the four preceding years
amounted in value to $8,880, and for the next
18 years the annual exports averaged 546 Ibs.
The cocoons delivered at the filature in 1757
were 1,050 Ibs. ; in 1760, 15,000 Ibs. ; and in
the next eight years they amounted altogether
to nearly 100,000 Ibs. But when parliament
in 1766 reduced the price of cocoons from Bs.
(one half of which had been in the way of
bounty) to Is. 6^., the production rapidly de
clined from 20,000 Ibs. of cocoons in 1766 to

SILK

290 Ibs. in 1770. The business was entirely
broken up by the revolutionary war. In South
Carolina silk growing was practised before the
revolution by the Swiss settlers at Perrysburg,
and also by the French, who wrought it up
with wool into fabrics. In 1765, 630 Ibs. of
cocoons were raised upon a plantation in St.
Thomas parish ; but though some progress con
tinued to be made in the business, it was at
last brought to an end by the same causes that
broke it up in Georgia. In Connecticut the
culture of silk was also undertaken at an early
period, and was encouraged by the home gov
ernment as in the other colonies. Dr. Aspin-
wall succeeded in establishing the business in
Mansfield, Conn., where it is still carried on,
and before the revolutionary war it was already
in a very promising condition. In 1789 about
200 Ibs. of raw silk, worth $5 a pound, were
made at Mansfield ; it was mostly manufactured
into stockings, handkerchiefs, ribbons, buttons,
and sewing silk worth $1 an ounce. In 1790
about 50 families in New Haven were engaged
in the business, and in Norfolk about 30 fam
ilies raised and spun 1,200 "run of silk." In

1839 the product of Mansfield and its vicin
ity is reported to have been about five tons of
raw silk. In Massachusetts attention was also
directed to the silk culture in the latter part of
the last century. The town of Ipswich was
noted in the manufacture of silk and thread
lace. A filature was opened in 1770 at Phila
delphia, and 1771 from June to the middle of
August it received 2,300 Ibs. of cocoons. In
some of the interior towns of Pennsylvania,
as Washington in the S. W. part, silk is still
produced to a moderate extent, and not only
converted into sewing silk, but also woven. In
Ohio, the E. parts of Kentucky and Tennessee,
and N. Georgia, the production has proved well
adapted to the soil and climate, and many have
anticipated for it a great success in this portion
of the country. There seem in fact to be no
natural obstacles to the prosecution of the busi
ness over all the middle and southern portion
of the United States. Several species of mul
berry, quite as well adapted for feeding the
worms in the early stages of their growth as
the white mulberry, grow wild from Pennsyl
vania southward, and are easily cultivated in
other districts. The foreign species of the tree
have also been introduced, and are now almost
as well known as the native sorts. The total
product of silk raised in the United States in

1840 was reported at 61,552 Ibs., worth about
$250,000. In 1844, according to the report of
the commissioners of the census, it was 396,790
Ibs., worth $1,400,000 ; but in 1850 it was only
14,763 Ibs. The United States census of 1870
gives no statistics of native silk culture ; neither
is there any mention of American silk in the
u Report of the Silk Association of America"
for 1875. The growth and manufacture of
silk have been successfully attempted in Cali
fornia. Just before the breaking out of the
Franco-German war, French cooperation had

been secured for the establishment of a silk
colony in San Bernardino co. ; but the project
failed, owing to the disastrous termination of
that conflict. There was in San Jose in 1875
one cocoonery with about 1,000,000 silkworms,
and a silk manufacturing company has been
organized in San Francisco. In the same year
Sonoma co. had an association for the pro
motion of silkworm culture. SILK MANUFAC-
TUEE. The cocoons consist of the sheath of
loose filaments attached to the twigs that sup
port the whole, and beneath this the external
coat of soft flossy silk, within which is the
compact oval ball, or cocoon proper. The
thread, as laid by the worm in successive
coats in his constantly diminishing tenement,
is not wound regularly around the inside of
the hollow ball, but is passed back and forth
in one place after another in such manner
that many yards may be wound off without
turning over the ball. It is produced through
two orifices in the nose of the worm, and
the two fibres on issuing forth are secured
together by the glutinous matter which accom
panies them and forms nearly one quarter of
their weight. The average size of each one of
the primary fibres is about ?TJ Vo of an inch.
Raw silk consists of any number of the double
filaments slightly twisted and agglutinated to
gether to form one thread, called single. This
is commonly of a golden yellow color, of spe
cific gravity T3, and is the strongest of all
fibres used for weaving, threads made of it
being three times stronger than those of the
same size made of flax, and twice as strong
as those of hemp. Some of the best cocoons
are kept for breeding; the remainder are clas
sified, each sort being worked by itself. Be
fore the chrysalis matures and the moth can
begin to eat his way out, the cocoons are ex
posed to a moderate degree of heat, either in
an oven, or in a steam bath, or in water heated
to about 200 F. The floss covering being
opened at one end, the cocoon is slipped out,
and is then ready to be unwound. The co
coons are placed about five together in each one
of four compartments in a sort of trough or
basin holding hot water, which is kept at the
necessary temperature by a steam pipe. The
gummy matters are softened by the water, and
the fibre is thus released. The ends are caught
up by a little sort of broom with which the
cocoons are stirred, and those from each com
partment being brought together are passed
through an eyelet, which strips off a portion
of the gum, and still more is rubbed off by
causing the threads formed by each bundle of
fibres to cross and rub against each other, as
they are conducted diagonally through a suc
cession of eyelets toward the reel, just pre
vious to reaching which all are united in one
thread. The reel is set at some distance from
the trough, to allow the gum to harden, and
prevent the threads from sticking together;
and it has a slight lateral motion, so that the
threads are laid in spirals, and do not come in

SILK

SILK SPIDER

contact while fresh from the bath. When a
thread breaks, or a cocoon gives out, a fresh
cocoon is substituted ; and as the inner fibres
are always much finer than the outer, new co
coons are added before the first lot have been
unwound. These finer filaments, as also the
immediate envelope of the chrysalis, constitute
with the floss silk what is known as waste.
The raw silk taken off from the reels is in China
made up into bundles, called books, for expor
tation, and elsewhere the hanks are simply
twisted so as to hold snugly together. They
are then ready for the factory of the silk throw
sters, where are conducted the operations con
nected with the throwing, a term variously
used to express the putting a twist into fibres.
For bandanna handkerchiefs the only prepara
tion of the silk is winding the hanks and clean
ing ; bleaching is added for silk intended for
gauze and similar fabrics. Winding, cleaning,
and throwing prepare it, under the name of
thrown singles, for ribbons and common silks.
If simply doubled before throwing, it is known
as tram, and is used for the woof or shoot of
gros de Naples, velvets, and flowered silks.
The twisting of each strand before doubling,
as well as afterward, converts it into organzine,
a strong thread suitable for warp. The wind
ing is done from light six-sided reels called
swifts, upon which the hanks, first washed in
soap and water, are extended, and rows of
which are set upon long shafts in an iron frame
and connected each with its own bobbin, upon
the top of the frame. The revolution of the
latter carries around the reel beneath, and the
movement is properly checked and regulated
by appliances to the reel. The next process is
that of cleaning the threads, whkjh is effected
upon the cleaning, drawing, or picking ma
chine. The full bobbins are set horizontally
upon plain spindles, from which each thread
is conducted over an iron or glass guide rod,
thence through an adjustable opening between
two upright iron blades of an instrument called
the cleaner, and then to the empty bobbins,
which by their revolution wind it off from the
full ones. Knots and other irregularities are
stopped by the cleaner, and if not brushed off
they stop the movement of the bobbin until
they are removed by hand. The spinning or
rather twisting process is conducted by means
of machines similar to those used for the same
purpose in cotton spinning. Doubling is the
process of bringing two or mo-re of the twisted
threads into one and winding this. The bob
bins of doubled thread are next twisted at the
spinning frames, which* completes the prep
aration of silk thread whether for sewing or
weaving purposes. The American machines
for doubling and twisting are much superior
to those used in England, but for winding the
same are employed in both countries. The
thread is colored by dyeing after the gum has
been removed from it by boiling for three or
four hours in soap and water. It loses about
one quarter its weight by this operation, but

recovers nearly half the loss in the dye stuff it
absorbs. Waste silk is prepared for spinning
by first hackling in the same manner as flax is
hackled, and with the same sort of hand instru
ment. This is followed by machine hackling
upon the filling engine, which more effectually
combs out the filaments and removes the im
purities. The sliver of parallel fibres is then
chopped into lengths of about IJin., which after
scutching, as in the treatment of cotton, are
converted into a sort of fine down. This is put
into bags and boiled, first with soap and water
for an hour and a half, and afterward with
pure water. It is then powerfully squeezed
under a Brainah press, dried by artificial heat,
and again scutched. The succeeding opera
tions of carding, drawing, and roving by the
fly frames, and spinning by the spinning mill
and throstle frames, are similar to those prac
tised in the manufacture of cotton yarns. The
product is adapted for the manufacture of
shawls, bandanna handkerchiefs, and similar
fabrics. In the year ending Dec, 31, 1874,
there were in the United States 180 silk man
ufactories, employing 141,479 operatives of
both sexes, distributed as follows : New Jersey
42, with 5,414 operatives ; New York 70, with
3,378; Connecticut 21, with 2,651; Pennsyl
vania 23, with 1,541; Massachusetts 11, with
1,249; California 3, with 100; Ohio 3, with
40 ; Illinois 2, with 35 ; New Hampshire, Ma
ryland, Vermont,- Missouri, and Kansas, each
1. The total capital invested was $14,708,184 ;
total value of production, $20,082,482. Of
this sum, thrown and spun silks amounted to
$3,863,325; sewing silks and machine twist,
$5,766,684; broad goods and ribbons, $6,154,-
313; laces, braids, and trimmings, $4,298,196.
The importations of silk into the United States
for the year ending June 30, 1 875, were as fol
lows: raw silk, 1,101,681 Ibs., costing at the
foreign, port of shipment, $4,504,306; sewing
silk, $30,389; silk, satins, crapes, pongees,
plushes, ribbons, &c., $19,226,672; gloves and
hosiery, $71,053; mixed goods, $3,482,369;
total, $27,314,787. There were imported be
sides 398,012 Ibs. of cocoons. The silk crop
of Europe in the year 1874- 5 was 9,000,000
Ibs., of Avhich Italy supplied 6,300,000, France
1,600,000, and Spain about 310,000. The im
port from Asia amounted to 11,500,000 Ibs.

SILK SPIDER (nepJiila plumipev, Koch), a
geometric spider of the family epeiridce, first
brought to notice by Dr. B. Gr. Wilder in 1865 ;
he discovered it on the sea islands off the coast
of South Carolina. The female is 1-1 in. long,
with a longitudinal spread of legs 2| in., and
a lateral extent of 3f- in. ; the cephalo-thorax
is black above, mostly covered with silvery
hairs ; abdomen olive brown, with yellow and
white spots and stripes ; eye spots black and
eight in number ; it received its specific name
from the closely set stiff brushes of hairs on
the legs. They are found in forests, building
strong viscid webs, 3 to 4 ft. in diameter, and
usually over 10 ft. from the ground. The web

.V It \

SILKWOEM

XI V Kirs [TV

Silk Spider, Male and Female, one
half the natural size.

is made of a dry, inelastic, silvery gray silk,
and of a very elastic, viscid yellow silk ; the
former is the supporting radiating framework,
and the latter forms the concentric entangling
circles. It sucks out the gum of its old web
for making a new one ; this is a circle minus

its upper sextant,
consisting of a
continuous spiral
viscid line laid
upon the numer
ous radii. The
spider remains
quiet in its web,
head downward,
and is very active
upon it when a
fly is entangled ;
it is slow on the
ground, and likes
the full glare of
the sun. The
web is never
vertical, but in
clined at an an
gle of 70 ; when
it is touched, it
shakes its web violently. Like most if not all
geometric spiders, though well provided with
eyes, it can distinguish only light ; if the in
sect caught happens to be on a radius beyond
her reach, she cannot see it, and returns to the
centre to shake the web and ascertain what
radius holds the weight ; two spiders will often
approach each other till their legs interlock
before they are aware of their proximity.
Hearing and touch are acute. The males are
only a quarter of an inch long, with the legs
spreading laterally and longitudinally about
three fourths of an inch ; the body and legs
are dark brown ; they make no webs, unless
when very young, and seem to hang on to that
of some female, or to some part of her body.
Prof. Wilder had an idea that the silk of this
spider might be useful in the arts, and devised
several ingenious ways to procure it. He found
that from one pair of spinners came white and
from another yellow silk, which he was enabled
to wind separately by a simple machine to the
extent of nearly two miles, at 170 revolutions
a minute, in less than five hours of winding
time ; he could not reel more than 300 yards
at one time; the diameter varied from -^-5-
to xoVo of an inch, and its strength was very
great. For details see the " Popular Science
Monthly" for April, 1875.

SILKWORM, the larva of a lepidopterous in
sect of the moth division, family bombycidc?,
and genus lomlyx (Schrank). Of all the silk-
producing larvee, that of the common silkworm
(B. mori, Schr.) is the most important, as
from it is obtained all the European and most
of the Chinese silk. The moth is about an
inch long and 2 in. in alar extent, of a whitish
or pale yellowish color, with two or three ob
scure streaks and a lunate spot on the upper

wings ; the trunk is very short ; the superior
wings decumbent, and the inferior extending
almost horizontally beyond them; the anten-

Larva, Pupa, Cocoon, and Moth of Bombyx niori.

nse of the males are pectinated ; the males fly
swiftly in the evening and sometimes by day,
but the females are inactive ; the latter live but
a few hours after the eggs are deposited on
the mulberry trees. The eggs are about the
size of mustard seeds, and the young emerge
in a few days if the weather or air of the
breeding room is warm and dry ; when first
hatched they are one or two lines long, of a
dark color, and very soon begin to eat vora
ciously, with short intervals of abstinence du
ring the moultings, until full grown, when they
are about 3 in. long, light green with darker
marks, with blackish head, and fleshy protuber
ance on the last joint but one ; there are 12
segments to the body, 9 stigmata or breathing

Silkworm Moth, Male.

holes on each side, and 16 legs, of which the
anterior 6 are hooked, and the others, inclu
ding the 2 on the last segment, end in disks ;

SILKWORM

the mouth has a vertical opening, with strong
and serrated jaws ; the stomach is very large,
as would be expected in such a voracious lar
va. It lives exposed in the wild state, but
none of the Chinese or European worms are
allowed to incur the risks of life in the open
air. According to the experiment of Count
Dandolo, 100 newly hatched silkworms weigh
1 grain, after the first moult 15, after the sec
ond 94, after the third 400, after the fourth
4,628, and at full size 9,500 grains; each con
sumes an ounce of mulberry leaves during
these stages, about 60,000 times its primitive
weight, and its length increases from 1 to 40
lines during the same period; by calculation
the product of an ounce of eggs eats upward
of 1,200 Ibs. of leaves, and should furnish
120 Ibs. of cocoons. Like most other cater
pillars, it changes its skin four times, at in
tervals depending on the temperature and on
the quantity and quality of the food ; if kept
at 80 to 100 F. it moults in half the time re
quired at ordinary temperatures. As usually
treated, the first moult takes place on the 4th

Silkworm Moth, Female.

or 5th day after hatching, the second begins on
the 8th, the third takes up the 13th and 14th,
and the last happens on the 22d or 23d day ;
after this the fifth age lasts 10 days, making
about 32 days for the whole process to matu
rity. The appetite increases with the size till
after the fourth moult; during the last 10
days the silk gum is elaborated, the appetite
diminishes, and the larva begins to spin its
cocoon. The spinning apparatus is near the
mouth and connected with the silk bags, which
are long, slender, and convoluted, contain
ing a liquid gum ; they are closed below, and
end above in slender tubes, one on each side,
which unite to form the single spinning tube ;
the gum from which the silk is produced on
contact with the air is elaborated by the long
glandular organs; every thread of silk is
made up of two strands. It is customary
to supply to the worms a piece of rolled
paper or some hollow substance into which
they can retire, or a convenient twig, for the
formation of the cocoons. They first make
an outer covering of floss silk to keep off the

rain ; within this they spin fine silk, bending
the head and body up and down and cross
ing to every side, entirely surrounding the body
as a protection against wind and cold; and
within this is a more delicate silk, glued firmly
together for the inner chamber, resisting both
cold air and water. After building the cocoon
the larva is transformed into a chrysalis, and
comes forth a moth, easily bursting through
the case, the silk, and the floss. The cocoon
resembles a pigeon s egg, and is from 1 to 1-^
in. long, and bright yellow ; the moth emerges
from it in from 15 to 56 days, according to
temperature, the former being the time in the
southern United States; 18 to 20 days is the
time in Connecticut, three weeks in France,
and five to six weeks in England ; the cocoon
is made in from a few hours to three days,
and is more pointed at one end than the other ;
the silk is not interwoven nor the glue applied
at the pointed end, toward which the head is
always placed. The chrysalis has no spines
nor serrations on the edge of the abdominal
rings, has a leathery skin, and the stomach
filled with a yellowish nutritive fluid ; the or
gans of the moth are gradually developed, and
in two or three weeks the skin of the chrysalis
gives way, the moth escapes into the cocoon
chamber, and readily sets itself free, leaving
within the remains of its former covering.
In the wild state the cocoon is made about the
middle of June. The silk from the cocoons
containing males is finer and more tenacious
than that from the female cocoons. It is for
tunate that the threads do not adhere as they
do in the cocoons of many other larvce, else the
operation of unwinding would be very difficult
if not impracticable ; even in the B. mori the
silk is sometimes coarse and adherent, when
the quality of the food has not been good.
Like other caterpillars, the silkworm some
times makes mistakes, and two or three are
occasionally shut up in a single cocoon, in which
they undergo metamorphosis perfectly well.
The usual way of throwing the cocoons into
boiling water kills the chrysalis ; but merely
steaming them over boiling water softens the
glue sufficiently to allow the unwinding of the
silk, and permits the moth to come forth alive
from the interior layer and deposit the eggs or
prepare for a new brood. The whole secret
in raising the silkworm consists in securing for
it warmth, dryness, plenty of proper food, and
pure air. The mulberry tree, the leaves of
which constitute the food of the silkworm,
requires for its perfect growth long continued
dry and warm weather, and suffers in the rainy
seasons of England and France ; it is said to
have no insect feeding upon it but the lom byx ;
it exhausts the earth where it is planted, as far
as any other vegetation is concerned ; one tree
of the M. multicaulis, it is computed, will feed
as many silkworms as would produce annually
7 Ibs. of silk. Silkworms are very tender and
liable to perish from slight changes of temper
ature and dampness, from foul air, and im-

SILLIMAN

proper or insufficient food ; the periods of the
moultings are times of sickness and danger ;
great destruction is caused by a disease called
muscadine, which is a minute fungus (botrytis
Bassiana) occupying the interior of the body
and bursting through the skin. The disease
called the "reds," manifested by red stains
and blotches on the skin, is ascertained to be
due to some acid, resulting from disordered
digestion ; the larvae seem cramped and stupe
fied, the rings dry up, and they look like mum
mies. The larvae of several large moths of
the genus saturnia (Schr.) form cocoons from
which silk is obtained ; among these are the
arrindi silkworm, 8. [Samia] Cynthia (Schr.),
of India, and the S. mylitta (Schr.), whose
moths have an alar expanse of about 8 in., and
appear to be the wild silkworms of the East.
The 8. mylitta abounds in Bengal, and yields
much coarse and dark-colored silk, highly prized
by the Hindoos ; it cannot be domesticated ;
the natives catch the caterpillars, put them on
the asseem trees, and guard them from birds
by day and bats by night ; the natural food is
the rhamnus jujuba. The 8. Cynthia, is do
mesticated in the interior of Bengal, on leaves
of the castor oil plant (ricinus communis or
palma Christi) and of the ailantus glandulosa ;
the cocoons are generally about 2 in. long and
3 in. in circumference, whitish or yellowish, of
soft and delicate texture. There are eight or
ten species of American silkworms; the cal-
losamia Promethea and 0. angulifera feed on
the lilac and wild cherry; others are platysa-
mia Euryale, P. Columbia, P. Cecropia, and
tropcea lima ; but practically the larva of telea
Polyphemus is the only important one. This
feeds on the leaves of the oak, maple, elm,
willow, and several other trees. For descrip
tions and figures of this species, in all its stages,
and the method of rearing the larvae, see
"American Naturalist," vol. i., 1867.

SILLIMAtf. I. Benjamin, an American physi
cist, born in North Stratford (now Trumbull),
Conn., Aug. 8, 1779, died in New Haven, Nov.
24, 186-4. He graduated at Yale college in 1796,
was appointed tutor in 1799, and was admitted
to the bar in 1802. He accepted the new chair
of chemistry at Yale college in 1802, and passed
a part of the next two years in Philadelphia,
as a student with Dr. "Woodhouse. In the win
ter of 1805 he gave his first full course of lec
tures, and shortly after sailed for Europe. He
visited the mining districts of England, attended
lectures in London and Edinburgh, and resumed
the duties of his professorship after an absence
of 14 months. He published in 1810 " Journal
of Travels in England, Holland, and Scotland
in 1805- 6" (2 vols. 8vo; enlarged ed., 3 vols.
12mo, 1820). Not long after his return he
made a geological survey of a part of Connec
ticut. In December, 1807, a meteorite of great
size and splendor passed over New England,
and threw off large fragments with loud ex
plosions in the town of Western, Conn. Profs.
Silliman and Kingsley visited the town and

procured some fragments ; and Silliman made
a chemical analysis and published the earliest
and best authenticated account of the fall of a
meteorite in America. He afterward assisted
Dr. Robert Hare in his experiments with the
oxyhydrogen blowpipe, to which he gave the
name now commonly used of " compound blow
pipe." In 1813 he published in the "Me
moirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and
Sciences" an account of his experiments with
this instrument, by t which he had greatly ex
tended the list of bodies known to be fusible.
In 1812 he secured to Yale college the then
unrivalled mineralogical and geological collec
tion made by Col. George Gibbs in Europe.
In 1822, while engaged in a series of observa
tions on the action of a powerful voltaic de-
flagrator on the model of Dr. Hare, he first
established the fact of the transfer of particles
of carbon from the positive to the negative
electrode of the voltaic apparatus, with the
corresponding growth of the negative electrode,
and the retransfer when the charcoal points
are shifted. In 1818 he founded the "Ameri
can Journal of Science and Arts," better known
both in Europe and America as " Silliman s
Journal," of which for 20 years he was sole,
and for eight years more senior editor. He
was one of the earliest American lecturers on
scientific subjects to miscellaneous audiences,
and delivered courses in the principal cities.
He published an account of a journey between
Hartford and Quebec (1820), an edition of
Bakewell s " Geology" (1829), and a text book
on "Chemistry" (2 vols., 1830). In 1851 _he
again visited Europe, and published "A Visit
to Europe in 1851 " (2 vols. 12mo, New York,
1853). In 1853 he resigned his professorship,
and was made professor emeritus ; but at the
request of his colleagues he continued to lec
ture on geology till June, 1855. His life has
been written by Prof. George P. Fisher (2 vols.,
New York, 1866). II. Benjamin, jr., an Amer
ican physicist, son of the preceding, born in
New Haven, Conn., Dec. 4, 1816. He gradu
ated at Yale college in 1837, became an instruc
tor there in chemistry, mineralogy, and geolo
gy, and in 1846 was appointed professor of
chemistry applied to the arts in the scientific
school of the college, now the Sheffield scien
tific school. He became associate editor of the
"American Journal of Science" in 1838, and
since 1854 has been associated with Prof. J. D.
Dana as editor and proprietor. From 1849 to
1854 he was professor of medical chemistry
and toxicology in the university of Louisville,
Ky. ; and in 1854 he succeeded his father as
professor of general and applied chemistry in
Yale college, which post he still holds (1876).
In connection with C. R. Goodrich he prepared
the "Illustrated Record" and the "Progress
of Science and Art" published in connection
with the international exhibition of 1853 in
New York. He was for several years secre
tary of the American association for the ad
vancement of science, and had charge of the

SILLOWAY

SILURIAN

publication of its " Proceedings." He is also
a popular lecturer. Besides numerous papers
in the "American Journal of Science," he has
published "First Principles of Chemistry," a
popular text book (Philadelphia, 1846; revised
ed., 1856), and "Principles of Physics r (Phila
delphia, 1858 ; revised ed., 1868). -

SILLOWAY, Thomas William, an American ar
chitect, born in Newburyport, Mass,, Aug. 7,
1828. He began to practise his profession in
Boston in 1851, and in the 20 years following
more than 200 church edifices were built or
remodelled under his superintendence. He de
signed the new capitol, Montpelier, Vt. (1859),
Buchtel college, Akron, O. (1872), &c. While
pursuing his profession as an architect, he act
ed as a Universalist preacher from 1852, and
was ordained a clergyman in 1862. He has
published " Theognis, a Lamp in the Cavern of
Evil " (Boston, 1856) ; " Text Book of Modern
Carpentry " (1858) ; " Warming and Ventila
tion" (1860); "Atkinson Memorial," a series
of 18 discourses (1861) ; " The Conference Mel
odist" (1863); "The Cantica Sacra," a book
of church service (1865) ; and " Service of the
Church of the Redeemer" at Brighton (1867).
With George M. Harding he edited an improved
edition of Shaw s " Civil Architecture " (1852).
SILPHIUM (Gr. aityiov, the ancient name of
some resin-bearing plant), a genus of coarse,
robust, perennial plants of the composite fami
ly, which have a copious resinous juice and
large heads of flowers, resembling those of the
sunflower, but quite different in structure. In
ailphium the numerous ray flowers are pistil
late and fertile ; those of the disk, though
they are apparently perfect, are sterile ; the
broad flat akenes are
winged and without
pappus. The genus
comprises about 20
species, all North
American ; some are
very abundant on
the western prairies,
while others are
peculiarly southern.
The best known
species is S. lacini-
atum, called rosin
weed ; it has a large
thick root, from
which arise numer
ous radical, long-pe-
tioled leaves, from
12 to 30 in. long;
they are very thick,
and rough with
bristly hairs ; their
general outline is
ovate, but they are deeply pinnately cut and
parted, and the divisions themselves often
cut-lobed; the stem, usually 8 to 6 ft. high,
sometimes reaches 11 ft., and bears near its
base numerous leaves similar to those from
the root, and fewer leaves above. The flower

Rosin Weed (Silphium lacinia-
tum).

heads, borne in a kind of raceme at the upper
part of the stem, are 3 to 5 in. across, and, as
in all the other species, yellow. The resinous
juice of this and others exudes either sponta
neously or from the puncturing of insects, ap
pearing in small translucent tears upon the
stem and foliage. This resin and the plant it
self have been regarded as useful remedies in
asthma and similar diseases of horses. A tinc
ture of the root and leaves is sometimes used
as a domestic tonic and diaphoretic. The erect
leaves of this plant, when growing in the open
prairie, commonly stand with their edges point
ing north and south ; hence it has been called
compass plant, pilot weed, and polar plant.
This species occurs from the prairies of Mich
igan southward and westward. A closely re
lated species, found from Ohio west and south,
called prairie burdock or prairie dock, is S.
terebinthinaceum, having also large and coarse
leaves, which are not cut, but only serrate on
the margins, and rough and scurfy especially
on the under surface; the tall stems are smooth,
and the heads of flowers are smaller than in
the preceding. This species produces resin
abundantly, the leaves being often sprinkled
with it. One of the most striking species is
8. perfoliatum, called the cup plant ; its square
stem bears opposite leaves, a foot or more
long ; these are united by their bases around
the stem, and form a concave disk, which after
a rain contains a considerable quantity of wa
ter. This has a similar geographical range to
the preceding, but having long been cultivated
in gardens on account of its curious leaves, it
has been introduced much further east.

SILURIAN, the name of one of the geologic
ages, the age of mollusks and other inverte
brates. The name is derived from that of the
ancient Silures, who inhabited that portion of
England and Wales where these rocks abound.
The formation lies upon the Cambrian of Sedg-
wick, according to some classifications, and im
mediately below the .Devonian. Murchison in
cludes in it the upper Cambrian of Sedgwick.
The subdivisions of the Silurian age differ in
Europe and America, and also in different parts
of the same continent. In North America the
transition of the rocks and life from the lower
to the upper Silurian is abrupt. In Great Brit
ain the transition in life is gradual, although
the rocks are unconformable in stratification.
In Bohemia there is no break in the rocks, but
there is marked change in the life. Dana has
adopted the subdivision into periods and epochs
derived from the succession of rocks in the
state of New York, where the strata are well
displayed, and have been carefully studied.
In this arrangement the lower Silurian, begin
ning from below, includes the primordial or
Cambrian, the Canadian, and the Trenton peri
ods; the upper Silurian embraces, in the same
ascending order, the Niagara, Salina, lower
Helderberg, and Oriskany periods. The Oris-
kany formation was until recently placed as the
lowest period of the Devonian age ; but from

SILVER

the relations of its fossils it has been trans
ferred to the Silurian. The Cambrian period
has two epochs, the Acadian and the Potsdam.
The Canadian period has the calciferous, the
Quebec, and the Chazy epochs. The Trenton
period embraces the Trenton, Utica, and Cin
cinnati epochs ; the Niagara period, the Me
dina, Clinton, and Niagara epochs; while the
Salina, lower Helderberg, and Oriskany periods
have each one epoch, correspondingly named.
The lower Silurian animal fossils are sponges,
radiates, mollusks, and articulates ; among the
last are numerous trilobites, a species of which
found near Braintree, Mass., in the Acadian
formation, was 20 in. long. The caloiferous
and Quebec epochs of the Canadian period are
remarkably rich in fossils and economic pro
ducts, the latter including copper and silver
ores. In Newfoundland the Quebec forma
tion reaches a thickness of 6,600 ft., the upper
half being sandstone and shales and the lower
half mostly limestones. The Trenton period,
abounding in fossils and economic products,
among which is petroleum, has its formation
along the Appalachians and over a large part
of the Mississippi basin, including the galena
limestone of Wisconsin and other states. Tren
ton limestone has been found in the arctic re
gions, upon King William s island, North Som
erset, and Boothia. The Niagara formation in
North America covers a large part of the inte
rior of the continent, and the arctic and other
parts of British America, and also contains pe
troleum. At Niagara falls 85 ft. of limestone
rest on 80 ft. of shale, and near the falls the
shale is covered with 165 ft. of limestone. The
Salina period includes the rocks which yield
the salt brines of central New York. Through
the Mississippi basin the Salina formation is
for the most part absent. This formation con
tains numerous beds of gypsum, which are not
stratified like the other rocks, and have been
formed by the action of sulphuric acid upon
limestone, the sulphuric acid being derived from
sulphur springs. The Oriskany period contains
no land plants in New York, but at Gaspe, prov
ince of Quebec, a small species of lycopodium
or ground pine has been found. The most com
mon animal fossils are bivalve mollusks. In
Maryland there are five species of crinoids, but
in New York they are rare. The rocks of both
the lower and upper Silurian are widely dis
tributed over the globe, although the lower are
the most extensive. The upper Silurian in Eu
rope, besides invertebrate fossils, contains the
vestiges of the earliest fishes, some of which
are of the shark tribe ; so that although the
Devonian is the age of fishes, they really origi
nated in the Silurian. It was formerly thought
that the Silurian formation contained the ear
liest vestiges of organic life, but organic re
mains have recently been found in older for
mations. (See GEOLOGY, vol. vii., p. 694, and
PALEONTOLOGY, vol. xii., pp. 811, 813, 816.)

SHAKli, one of the precious metals, distin
guished by its whiteness, its brilliant lustre
VOL. xv. 4

when polished, its malleability, and its indif
ference to atmospheric oxygen. It is one of
the most widely distributed of metals. Since
it occurs frequently in a native state (though
never chemically pure, being invariably alloyed
with gold or copper, and sometimes antimony,
arsenic, bismuth, quicksilver, or iron), and is
easily fusible, it naturally became known to
mankind in the earliest ages. The alchemists
called it Luna or Diana. The Greek name
apjvpog is from apydg, white, and is the source
of the Latin argentum. Silver is one of the
first metals named in the Old Testament, being
included among the enumerated riches of Abra
ham. At that period, as in later times, it was
used as a medium of exchange and as a mate
rial in the arts. In Solomon s reign it is said
to have been so abundant as to be nothing
accounted of, and the king had made it to be
as stones in Jerusalem. Among other ancient
nations it was also abundant. Polybius says
the tiles upon the roof of the temple at Ecba-
tana were of solid silver, and the beams and
pillars of the temple were covered with plates
of silver and gold. These metals were obtained
from Nubia, Ethiopia, Attica, Epirus, and the
distant countries of eastern Asia. The rich
Spanish silver mines were developed at an ear
ly day, and furnished the main supply of the
metal for Phoenicia, Carthage, and Eome.
Pliny speaks of a mine opened by Hannibal,
which supplied him with 800 Ibs. of silver daily,
and was worked by adits reaching a mile and
a half into the mountain. This was at Guadal
canal, at the foot of the Sierra Morena, in the
modern province of Seville. Pure silver, in its
massive state, is the whitest of metals. It takes
by burnishing a brilliant lustre, though inferior
to that of its white alloys with copper. When
granulated by falling molten into water, it ac
quires a rough but exceedingly beautiful sur
face. Reduced from the chloride in the hu
mid way, it appears as a gray, spongy powder.
It crystallizes in cubes and octahedrons when
allowed to cool from the molten condition or
precipitated from solution for instance, by
copper or zinc. Sometimes it is precipitated
black by the galvanic current or by zinc. In
hardness and strength it is superior to gold
and inferior to copper ; a slight alloy of cop
per hardens and strengthens it. In malleability
and ductility it is inferior to gold only. (See
METAL.) Leaves less than T^OTTO f an " lcn
thick can be obtained by beating, and wires may
be drawn out of extreme tenuity. Its chemical
symbol is Ag, its equivalent 108. According
to G. Rose, the specific gravity of cast silver is
10-505, of pressed or hammered silver 10*566.
Other authorities give for the former 10-474,
and for the latter 10-510. Lengsdorf found
the specific gravity of silver wire which had
been repeatedly drawn to be 10*47 before heat
ing and 10-43 afterward. The specific heat of
silver is given by Regnault as 0*057. Its heat-
conducting power is greater than that of any
other metal, as is also its power of reflecting

SILVER

light and heat when highly polished ; but its
radiating capacity in the same condition is very
small. By virtue of these properties vessels
of silver are best adapted to retain the heat
of liquids. It melts at a full red heat, about
1000 C. (1832 F.). It shrinks in cooling,
and hence fills but imperfectly the moulds in
which it is cast. At a very high temperature
it is volatile. Melting silver mechanically ab
sorbs 20 volumes of oxygen, which in solidify
ing it expels, sometimes with sufficient force
to throw off particles of metal. Alloyed with
1 or 2 per cent, of copper or with gold, it ap
parently loses this property. Silver is oxidized
neither by exposure at ordinary temperature
to dry or moist air, nor by heating in air ; but
it burns to an oxide when melted upon char
coal in the oxyhydrogen flame, or when ex
posed to a galvanic current of great intensity,
or to ozone. Chlorine, bromine, and iodine
act upon it at ordinary temperatures. It has
strong affinity for sulphur (with which it can
be easily fused to a sulphide), and is hence
readily tarnished by sulphuretted hydrogen,
which is present in small quantities in the or
dinary air of cities. To protect silver vessels
not in use, they may be wrapped in paper satu
rated with wax, which keeps out the impure
air, or in paper painted with white lead, which
decomposes sulphuretted hydrogen. Articles
of food, with the exception of eggs and salt,
scarcely affect silver, and it is therefore a fa
vorite material for table ware. The discolora
tion from eggs is due to sulphur ; that from
salt, to chlorine, which forms argentic chloride.
This may be removed by rubbing with a linen
rag moistened with aqua ammonia). The caus
tic alkalies in solution or fusion do not attack
silver as they do platinum, and it is conse
quently employed for the evaporation of such
solutions, and for crucibles in which minerals
are fused with potassium or sodium hydrate.
Silver foil is sometimes used in blowpipe anal
yses, for detecting sulphur and the sulphides of
the metals. Melted with carbonaceous matter,
silver forms a carburet, white like the metal.
This is also formed when compounds of silver
oxide are decomposed by organic acids. Silver
may be easily alloyed by melting with most
metals. The alloys with base metals are in
general not useful enough to counterbalance
the cost of the silver. The alloy with copper,
which in subordinate quantity enhances the
valuable qualities of the silver, is an exception.
The alloys with lead and zinc, serving an im
portant purpose in metallurgy, will be men
tioned further on. An alloy of 100 parts of
aluminum with 5 of silver gives a handsome
white malleable compound, susceptible of high
polish. A small quantity of iron, chromium,
cobalt, or nickel imparts great hardness to
silver. Steel may be made to retain about
5-^ of its weight of silver, which is said to im
prove its quality; the alloy is called silver-
steel. Combined with mercury, silver forms
a most brilliant amalgam for mirrors. An

alloy of 20 to 30 parts of silver with 30 of
nickel and 50 of copper is said to be equal in
all respects to the ordinary standard silver,
which is 9 parts of silver with 1 of copper.
Small coins have been made in Switzerland of
an alloy of silver and copper with 10 per cent,
nickel. Two parts zinc and one part silver
give a ductile, white, fine-grained alloy. Three
parts of silver to one of tin give a hard, and
one part of silver to two of tin a soft alloy.
Bismuth, antimony, and arsenic yield brittle
alloys. The alloys of silver and copper are
the most important of all, being used both in
coinage and in the arts. The copper alloy is
harder than pure silver, takes a finer polish,
and wears better; and the white color of sil
ver may be retained if the contents of copper
do not exceed a certain proportion, while even
those alloys containing a larger proportion of
copper may be so treated by "pickling" in
acid as to deprive them of copper on the sur
face, and thus restore their silver-white color.
The standard silver for coinage, on the conti
nent of Europe and in the United States, is a
compound of 9 parts of silver to 1 of copper ;
in England, of 37 silver to 3 copper. For
plate the legal fineness varies in different
countries, or is, as in the United States, left to
the choice of the manufacturer. In North
Germany the usual fineness is inferior to that
of coin. Silver does not dissolve in any hy-
drated acids by taking the place of the hydro
gen ; on the contrary, hydrogen displaces it
from the solutions of its salts and precipitates
it in metallic form. Concentrated sulphuric
acid oxidizes silver at boiling heat, forming
argentic sulphate and sulphurous acid. Nitric
acid, even when diluted with an equal bulk of
water, acts rapidly upon silver, and at high
temperature with great violence, argentic ni
trate and nitric oxide being formed. A solu
tion of chromic acid changes silver to a red
argentic chromate. Muriatic acid, even at a
high temperature, has little effect upon silver.
Argentic oxide combines at high temperatures
with silicic acid ; hence, silver heated or melt
ed with glass or other silicious compounds be
comes oxidized and colors the mass yellow.
All of the more easily oxidizable metals and
many compounds susceptible of higher oxida
tion (so-called deoxidizing substances), as well
as many organic substances, precipitate silver
from solution. Silver forms three oxides: a
suboxide, Ag4O ; argentic oxide, AgaO ; and
a peroxide (probably Ag 2 2 ), which does not
combine with acids. The second of these is of
special interest as the basis of the salts of the
metal. It is separated from the nitrate, or
any soluble silver salt, by adding an alkaline
solution, as a brown hydrated oxide, which
parts with its water at 60 C. (140 F.), and
with its oxygen at a red heat. Its solution
in ammonia deposits on exposure to the air
a black micaceous powder supposed to be
a compound of silver oxide and ammonia
(Ag 2 O, H 3 N), or amidide of silver (AgHaN),

SILVER

or nitride of silver (Ag 3 N). It is terribly ex
plosive, and is hence called fulminating silver
(Berthollet s). This most dangerous compound
may also be unintentionally produced by pre
cipitating an ammoniacal solution of argentic
nitrate by the addition of caustic potash. The
chlorate of this oxide is likewise very explo
sive, as is also the fulminate proper (Brugna-
telli s). (See EXPLOSIVES.) The sulphate is
formed by treatment of the metal at a high
temperature with concentrated sulphuric acid.
Upon this reaction is based one method of
separating silver and gold. (See GOLD.) The
nitrate (AgNO 3 ) is the most important salt
of silver. (See NITRATES, vol. xii., p. 463.)
It is employed in the preparation of other
compounds of silver, the most important of
which is the chloride, produced by adding to
the nitrate solution chlorine or a soluble chlo
ride, such as common salt. It is a dense white
flocculent precipitate, which under exposure
to light turns first violet, then black, proba
bly by partial reduction to subchloride. Chlo
rine restores the white color. The chloride
is slightly soluble in boiling concentrated mu
riatic acid, more readily in strong solutions
of chlorides, ammonia, alkaline cyanides, and
hyposulphites; insoluble in water and dilute
acids; scarcely affected by any oxygen acid,
even concentrated sulphuric ; reduced to metal
by zinc, iron, copper, or any metal more oxi-
dizable than silver, heated hydrogen, organic
compounds containing hydrogen, alkalies and
alkaline earths, and by heating upon. charcoal
before the blowpipe. The insolubility of the
chloride in oxygen acids permits the precipita
tion of silver from solutions of almost all its
salts by the addition of hydrochloric acid or
of other chlorides, thus giving a convenient
means of determining its presence or separa
ting it from other metals. On the other hand,
the solubility of the chloride in brine or so
dium hyposulphite constitutes an important
means of silver extraction by the humid meth
od of metallurgy described below. This salt
occurs in nature as an ore. It is used in pho
tography, and its ammoniacal solution is em
ployed to color mother-of-pearl. The bromide
(AgBr) and the iodide (Agl) also occur in na
ture, the latter rarely. Their chemical rela
tions are similar to those of the chloride, but
the bromide is but slightly dissolved in dilute
aqua ammonise, and the iodide scarcely at all.
They likewise have the property of darken
ing by exposure to light. (See PHOTOGEAPHT.)
The Metallurgy of Silver. Silver is obtained
partly from true silver ores, partly from other
ores containing silver as an accidental or varia
ble constituent. To the former class belongs
the native metal, which is usually more or less
alloyed with gold, and sometimes with other
metals, as above remarked. The occurrence
of gold and silver in variable natural alloy is
so general that they may almost be said to con
stitute but one mineral species, ranging from
silver with a slight trace of gold to gold with

a slight trace of silver. Native silver is found
in masses and in arborescent and filiform
shapes in veins of quartz, calcite, &c., or as
segregations accompanying other silver ores.
The masses are sometimes crystalline, show
ing cubical and octahedral forms. Very pure
silver occurs with the native copper at Lake
Superior. The most famous masses of native
silver, several of which exceeded 500 Ibs., have
been found at the mines of Kongsberg in Nor
way, of Freiberg, Schneeberg, and Johann-
Georgenstadt in Saxony, and in the Bohemian,
Hungarian, Peruvian, and Mexican mines. In
the silver mines of Nevada, Idaho, and Utah it
is not uncommon, though it has not been found
in large masses. Silver amalgam occurs in
small quantities in some European mines, and
contains 26 to 35 per cent, of silver, the re
mainder being mercury. The variety known
as arguerite, from Coquimbo in Chili, is an
important ore in that region, and contains 43
to 63 per cent, of silver. The antimoniuret
and the telluret of silver are comparatively
rare. The most important silver ores are the
chloride, the sulphide, and the combinations of
sulphide of silver with other sulphides. The
chloride of silver, or horn silver (AgCl), is a
common ore in Chili, Peru, Mexico, and the
western regions of the United States, particu
larly in certain districts of Nevada, and in the
Owyhee district of Idaho. It has been met
with in small quantities in many of the Euro
pean mines. When pure, its composition is
silver 75 2, chlorine 24 - 8. It has a waxy ap
pearance, resinous lustre, and pearl-gray, green
ish, whitish, or bluish color, turning brown in
the air; hardness 1 to 1 5; sp.gr. 5 3 to 5 5.
It occurs chiefly near the outcrops of argen
tiferous deposits as a product of the decom
position of other ores. In Chili and Peru, for
instance, it is found in cubical crystals in the
ferruginous gossan known as pecos and colo-
rados. The bromide and iodide, which also
occur in nature, closely resemble it, but are far
more rare. The sulphide of silver (Ag a S, sil
ver glance, vitreous silver, or argentite), con
taining 87*1 silver and 12 9 sulphur, is, next
to the native metal, the richest ore. It has a
blackish lead-gray color, metallic lustre, and
shining streak ; H. 2 to 2 5 ; sp. gr. T 196 to
7 365 ; is easily cut with a knife, and readily
melts on charcoal before the blowpipe. It
forms a considerable portion of the ores of the
silver mines of Saxony, Bohemia, Hungary,
Mexico, Peru, and the United States. It is
commonly associated with other argentiferous
minerals, and sometimes is finely disseminated
through the gangue or the accompanying ores.
The double sulphides of silver and antimony
constitute a very valuable class of ores, of
which the chief are: stephanite (Ag 5 SbS 4 ),
with 68 -5 per cent, of silver and sometimes
small quantities of iron, copper, and arsenic,
having metallic lustre, iron-gray color, black
powder, H. 2 to 2 5, sp. gr. 6 to 6 27, occurring
in Saxony, Bohemia, Hungary, Mexico, and

SILVER

Nevada, particularly in the Comstock lode ;
miargyrite (AgSbS 2 ), with 36 9 silver, steel-
gray to iron-black, metallic lustre, dark cherry-
red powder, 11. 3, sp. gr. 5 2, occurring in Sax
ony, Spain, and Mexico; pyrargyrite (Ag 3 Sb
S 3 ), dark ruby silver or antimonial silver blende,
with 59 silver, sometimes a little arsenic, black
or by transmitted light deep red, H. 2 to 2 5,
sp. gr. 5-759, occurring in Saxony, Baden,
Cornwall, Norway, Mexico, South America,
and Nevada; and polybasite (Ag 9 SbS 6 ), with
from 64 to more than 72 silver, the antimony
being partly and sometimes wholly replaced
by arsenic, and the silver partly by copper or
to less extent iron and zinc, color iron-black,
streak black, H. 2 5, sp. gr. 6 2, occurring in the
Hartz, Saxony, Hungary, Mexico, and Nevada.
Proustite, or light ruby silver (Ag 3 AsS 3 ), simi
lar to pyrargyrite, except that the color is
lighter and the antimony is replaced with ar
senic, occurs in the same localities, but more
rarely; it contains 65 4 silver. Copper silver
glance or stromeyerite (CuAgS), with 53 sil
ver and 31 copper, iron-black, black shining
powder, II. 2 75, sp. gr. 6 -2, occurs in Silesia,
Chili, and elsewhere. The foregoing are the
principal true silver ores. The chief argentif
erous ores of other metals are those of lead,
copper, and zinc. Iron pyrites and arsenical
pyrites, as well as bismuth, cobalt, and nickel
ores, may be argentiferous, but it is usually
by reason of finely disseminated silver ores
throughout their mass. Galena is always more
or less argentiferous. In the United States,
the galena of the Appalachian range and of
the Mississippi valley is usually poor in silver,
while that of the Rocky mountains and the
interior basin to the Sierra Nevada is highly
argentiferous. Oxidized ores are usually poor
in silver, but the carbonate, &c., occurring in
the limestone of New Mexico, Utah, and the
Eureka district, Nevada, are exceptions, being
smelted in large quantities for lead and silver.
The peculiar ore known as stetefeldtite, which
occurs abundantly in Nevada, is an oxidized
but massive mineral containing antimony and
other base metals, and often very rich in silver.
The variable mineral or class of minerals
known as tetrahedrite (Fahlerz, argentiferous
gray copper, freibergite, tennantite, hennesite)
seems to be a , combination of metallic sul
phides with sulphides of antimony and arsenic,
or a sulphide of antimony and copper, in which
the antimony may be partly replaced by ar
senic, and the copper by iron, zinc, silver, and
even, as in freibergite, lead, or, as in hermesite,
quicksilver. The percentage of silver varies
from a mere trace to 32 per cent. Pure zinc
blende is usually poor in silver, but is frequent
ly found in intimate association with true sil
ver ores or native silver, and particularly with
argentiferous galena ; and in some notable in
stances the blende is richer than the galena.
The mechanical concentration of silver ores
by water is attended with heavy loss, by reason
of their usual association with base ores of

nearly the same specific gravity, and their prop
erty of cleaving when crushed into fine scales
and splinters or dust, which are usually carried
away by the current. The yield of silver ores
is generally rated in this country in ounces
troy to the ton of 2,000 Ibs. avoirdupois, or
29,167 oz. troy. About 1 per cent, of silver
would be equivalent to 292 oz. to a ton. A
yield of a little less than 3 oz. is represented
by the decimal 0001 or -01 per cent. This
small proportion will not pay for the mining
and reduction of the ores ; but where lead is
produced containing *01 per cent, of silver,
the latter can still be extracted and saved by
refining processes. (See LEAD.) The pig lead
(variously called work lead, crude bullion, and
base bullion), mainly produced from argen
tiferous galena, carries from 20 to 200 oz. of
silver to the ton. The methods of producing
silver from ores and furnace products may be
divided into three classes : smelting, amalga
mation, and humid extraction. The smelting
processes are mostly based upon the capacity
of metallic lead, as well as its oxide and sul
phate, to separate silver under fusion from
its combinations, the liberated silver alloying
itself with an excess of lead and accumulating
in the metallic bath in the hearth of the fur
nace. The following chemical equations indi
cate the typical reactions of the lead smelting
processes : Ag 2 S + Pb + :rPb=Ag 2 ,zPb-|-PbS ;
Ag 2 S + PbO=AgPb + SO 2 ; Ag 2 S + PbSO 4 =
Ag 2 Pb + 2SO 2 . (See METALLLTEGY.) From the
argentiferous lead thus produced the silver is
obtained directly by an oxidizing fusion (cupel-
lation), transforming the lead into litharge and
leaving metallic silver upon the cupel ; or the
! argentiferous lead is first submitted to treat :
ment in a battery of melting kettles, in which
at a low temperature a portion of the liquid
mass crystallizes, while another portion, rich
in silver, remains liquid ; and the crystals being
ladled from each kettle to the next, and there
submitted to remelting and recrystallization,
while the liquid is passed down the series in an
opposite direction, the contents of silver are at
last chiefly concentrated into a small quantity
of so-called rich lead, which is then cupelled
(the Pattinson process) ; or the silver is ex
tracted from the molten lead by means of the
superior affinity between silver and zinc, me
tallic zinc being added to the bath and the
zinc-silver alloy rising to the surface and being
skimmed off and submitted to further treat
ment by means of smelting, liquation, or dis
tillation (the Parkes process, with the modifi
cations of Cordurie, Flach, and others). In
smelting argentiferous copper ores, the silver
is often concentrated in a copper matte or black
copper, which may then be smelted with lead,
or treated in the humid way. The liquation of
argentiferous copper consists in alloying it with
a certain quantity of lead, and afterward heat
ing the alloy above the melting point of lead,
but below that of copper. The lead " sweats "
out, carrying the silver with it, and leaving

SILVER

behind the spongy copper. This process has
almost everywhere given way to humid meth
ods. (See COPPER, LEAD, and METALLURGY.)
The method of amalgamation, invented in
Mexico in 1557 by Bartolome de Medina, led to
the enormous production of silver there and
in South America during the next 200 years,
and has remained substantially in extensive use
ever since. The Mexican, known as the patio
process, is suited to ores which contain native
silver or silver chloride (bromide, iodide) and
sulphide, and are measurably free from other
sulphides and from arsenides and antimoniu-
rets. The ore is first crushed and then ground
fine in arrastras. If gold is present, 50 or 60
per cent, of it may be saved by introducing
silver or copper amalgam into the arrastra.
Ores containing pyrites, antimony, or arsenic
are incompletely roasted, to break up the com
bination of silver with these elements. The
presence of silver sulphide does not necessitate
roasting as a preliminary for patio amalgama
tion. The fine paste from the arrastra is spread
on the patio floor (of stone, calked boards, or
asphaltum) in round heaps (tortas) about 0*3
metre high and 10 to 16 metres in diameter,
containing each from 5,000 to 100,000 kilos ;
average, about 60 tons. The paste having stiff
ened by the evaporation of its water, from 2
to 10 per cent, of impure salt is added, accord
ing to the contents of silver in the ore. This
is intermixed with shovels and subsequently by
the treading of mules or men, and occasionally
by means of kneading machines, with travel
ling wheels, set up in the torta. After one or
two days the magistral is added ; this is copper
vitriol and salt, or rich oxidized copper ores
mixed with pyrites which has been roasted with
salt, or simply copper pyrites which has been
so roasted. The quantity of magistral required
varies according to the season, the tempera
ture, and the quantity of the ore ; it usually
ranges from ^ to 1 per cent. Its function is
to cause certain reactions with the salt and the
sulphide of silver and promote the formation
of amalgam. Too much of it causes too high
a temperature in the mass, particularly in win
ter ; hence cold weather and poor ores require
the smallest amount. After another tread
ing, quicksilver is sprinkled over the torta by
squeezing through a leather or canvas bag.
The quantity used is six to seven times the
weight of silver in the ore, sometimes much
more. It is rarely added all at once ; the usual
practice is to give fresh quicksilver every alter
nate day, treading the mass for six to eight
hours on each intervening day. The termina
tion of amalgamation is observed by panning
samples (see GOLD) from the torta, and exam
ining the amount and condition of the quick
silver and amalgam. The period required for
the whole operation down to this point varies
from 5 to 80 days; average, about 19 days.
Various theories have been proposed concern
ing the chemical reactions of the patio. Too
]ow a temperature stops the reactions, and may

be remedied by more frequent treading or by
additional magistral. The amalgam is collected
in settlers, which are circular vats of wood or
masonry, about 9 ft. in diameter and 8 ft. in
depth, in which the mass, thinned with water,
is stirred and allowed to deposit its heavy amal
gam, while the lighter portion is drawn off.
The amalgam, being concentrated still further,
is at last collected in a leather or canvas bag,
where it is freed by squeezing from free mer
cury, which passes through, carrying a little
silver with it, while the mass remains in a co
herent, plastic condition. The former is used
again on the patio ; the latter is moulded into
30 Ib. blocks, piled on an iron plate, covered
with a large iron bell, and heated by means
of a charcoal fire around the bell. The mer
cury is vaporized, and (the joint at the edge
of the bell being carefully luted) passes down
through a pipe in the iron plate into a cistern
of water. The bell furnace is less economical
of fuel and mercury than muffle or retort fur
naces ; it loses 8 per cent, of mercury. The
silver, found in solid masses when the bell is
raised, is cast into ingots of 80 or 90 Ibs. By
the patio process the usual product of silver is
50 to 66 per cent, of that contained in the ore ;
the most docile ores, under favorable circum
stances, have yielded 90 per cent. The loss of
quicksilver is given by Kerl as 3 to 5 per cent,
of the quantity used ; earlier accounts make it
considerably greater. This loss is due to the
formation in the torta of soluble mercury di-
chloride (calomel), which is afterward washed
away. The cazo process, used in Mexico and
Chili, is a hot amalgamation in kettles. The
ore (in Mexico chloride, in Chili sulphide) is
placed, in the form of a watery pulp, in a
vat w T ith copper bottom and wooden or stone
sides. Here it is heated and stirred with salt
and quicksilver, copper vitriol being added in
the treatment of sulphides. The process is
rapid and effects a tolerably complete extrac
tion of silver, but involves great loss of quick
silver (2 to 2 -5 times the weight of silver)
when applied to sulphide ore. Silver ores free
from sulphides of other metals are amalgama
ted at Guanajuato, Mexico, in arrastras, by sim
ple grinding and mixing with quicksilver and
water. Pan amalgamation, called the Washoe
process, consists in rubbing together in pans
(usually of cast iron) the watery mixture of
crushed ore (pulp) with quicksilver, with or
without the audition of other chemicals. The
simplest form of it may be thus described :
The ore suitable for this process (usually con
taining silver sulphide or chloride and native
silver, with little antimony, arsenic, base sul
phides, in a gangue of quartz) is first crushed
in a stamp mill, similar in most respects to
that employed for gold-bearing quartz. (See
GOLD.) The screens which regulate the size
of the crushed particles are of wire cloth with
40 to 60 meshes to the inch, or of Eussia
sheet iron, perforated with holes ^ to -^ in.
in diameter. The pulp reduced to this fineness

SILVER

is ground and amalgamated in pans, of which
there are numerous forms. The charge for a
pan is 800 to 1,500 Ibs. ; the very large pans,
treating tailings which have heen already ground
fine, can take 3,000 to 4,500 Ibs. To maintain
a proper temperature, steam is introduced into
the pulp or into a steam chamber under the
bottom, and a wooden cover is usually kept on
the pan. The pulp is generally ground for
one or two hours; then the quicksilver is
sprinkled in (usually 60 to 70 Ibs. to a charge
of 1,200 or 1,500 Ibs.), and, the mullers being
raised to avoid too much grinding, which would
" flour " the mercury, stirring is continued for
two or three hours longer, after which the
pulp is diluted and drawn off into a settler.
The modification of the AVashoe process in
vented by Mr. Henry Janin, consisting in the
use of large quantities of copper vitriol (blue
stone) and salt, has proved very successful in
the reduction of refractory ores not otherwise
amalgamable. The quicksilver, charged with
amalgam, is washed, skimmed, and strained
through a canvas bag, which retains the amal
gam. This is then distilled in cast-iron retorts,
the mercury being collected under water, while
the "retort bullion" remains behind. About
one sixth of the charge retorted, or 200 Ibs. of
bullion from 1,200 Ibs. of amalgam, is usually
obtained from the retort, to be broken up,
melted, and cast into ingots ; it loses 2 to 3 per
cent, in melting. The ingots are assayed, and
their fineness in thousandths of gold and sil
ver is stamped upon them. The coin value of
the Oomstock bullion is $1 Y5 to $2, one third
of which is due to the gold it contains. The
pulp escaping from the apparatus in which the
amalgam is collected is called "tailings." The
tailiiigs are often concentrated upon blankets
or otherwise, or are simply allowed to settle
in reservoirs, for reworking. The "slimes"
or " slums " comprise that part of the ore
which is crushed under the stamps to an im-
palpably fine condition, and escapes in the bat
tery water without ever getting into the pans.
Since many silver ores yield much fine powder
in crushing, the slimes are often far richer
than the tailings, the value of the latter being
largely in the particles of quicksilver and amal
gam which they contain. The chemistry of
the Washoe process is summed up by Mr. Ar
nold Hague as follows : that the ore submit
ted to it consists chiefly of native gold, native
silver, and argentiferous sulphurets, associated
with varying proportions of blende and galena;
that the action of sodium chloride and copper
sulphate in the pan produces copper chloride,
while the presence of metallic iron causes the
formation of copper dichloride ; that both the
chlorides of copper assist in the reduction of
the ore by chloridizing the sulphurets of sil
ver and decomposing the sulphurets of lead
and zinc; that sulphate of copper enhances
the amalgamating energy of mercury, by caus
ing the formation of a small quantity of copper
amalgam, and also tends to expel the lead ; but

that the quantities of chemical agents usually
added in the Washoe process are too small to
be effective, and that the principal agents in
the reduction are in general mercury and the
iron of the pan, aided by heat and friction.
The essential condition in the amalgamation is
the keeping of the mercury bright and pure,
that it may come into direct contact with the
iron and sulphide of silver. The consump
tion of mercury in the Washoe process may be
considered chiefly a mechanical loss, and only
to a limited extent a chemical one. The pan
amalgamation of slimes and refractory ores,
with the addition of large proportions of cop
per sulphate and salt, involves a greater loss
of mercury. Refractory ores, not suitable for
"raw" amalgamation by the Washoe or the
patio process, are treated in many localities by
the Freiberg process, consisting in the chlori-
nation of the ore by roastipg with salt, and its
subsequent amalgamation. At Freiberg in
Saxony, where this method originated, it has
been abandoned, the ores formerly amalga
mated being now treated by smelting. But
in districts where fuel is scarce and labor dear,
and lead ores for smelting are not at hand
(which is the case in many parts of Nevada,
for instance), the Freiberg system is still suc
cessfully employed, though greatly modified as
to apparatus. The ore is crushed in stamp
mills, without water, and the fine powder is
further dried, usually by spreading on the top
of the arch or the dust chambers of the roast
ing furnace. Either in the battery, during
crushing, or on the drying or the charging
floor, 6 to V per cent, (for rich ores, up to 20
per cent.) of salt is mixed with the ore. The
mixture is then roasted, to chloridize the silver ;
this was done abroad in reverberatory furnaces,
which have been used in Colorado and Nevada
also, but are now generally replaced in the west
by Stetefeldt s showering furnace or Bruck
ner s cylinder. From the roasting furnace the
ore is conveyed to the pans, where it under
goes an amalgamation similar to that of the
simple Washoe process, except that less grind
ing is necessary. The Freiberg amalgamation
was performed in revolving wooden barrels,
which are still employed at some places in
the United States. Each apparatus has its par
tisans. A peculiar method of amalgamation
pursued in Chili avoids the chloridizing roast
ing, substituting a humid chlorination by means
of copper dichloride (Kroncke s process). It
is highly praised, but not yet widely employed.
The use for this purpose of copper chloride,
which is of earlier origin, involves a loss of
quicksilver as calomel. The processes of hu
mid extraction of silver are of two classes.
Either the silver is converted into a soluble
compound and separated by leaching and pre
cipitation, or the baser metallic constituents of
the ore are rendered soluble and removed by
leaching, leaving an auriferous and argentif
erous residuum for further treatment. The
methods of the first class convert the silver

SILVER

into chloride or sulphate, the former by a
chloridizing, the latter by an oxidizing roast
ing. The chloridizing roasting is essentially
that of the Freiberg amalgamation process,
and is effected by mixing salt with the charge.
The silver chloride is extracted from the mass
by lixiviation with hot brine (old Augustin
process), cold brine (Hungarian improvement),
sodium hyposulphite (Patera process), or cal
cium hyposulphite (Kiss process in Hungary
and Russia, Hofmann in Mexico). The latter
extracts also gold chloride if it is present,
which brine will not do, unless it has been, as
Patera recommends, impregnated with free
chlorine gas. Experiments conducted at "VVy-
andotte, Mich., by Messrs. Courtis and Halm,
indicate the availability of other chlorides than
common salt (particularly calcium chloride, or
a solution obtained by treating common lime
stone with muriatic acid) as a solvent for the
silver chloride. The novel and important re
sults of these investigations are given in the
" Transactions of the American Institute of
Mining Engineers." From its hyposulphite
or chloride solution the silver is precipitated
with metallic copper, as cement silver, which
is washed, pressed, melted, and cast into bars.
Ziervogel s method of extracting silver by
roasting the sulphuretted ore to produce sil
ver sulphate, leaching this with hot acidula
ted water, and precipitating with copper, is
the simplest and cheapest of all ; but it re
quires very skilful and delicate roasting, and
ores comparatively free from lead, antimony,
arsenic, and zinc. The three latter tend to
cause volatilization of silver ; the sulphide of
antimony and lead cause a sintering of the
roasting charge ; copper dioxide, or too high a
temperature in the furnace, leads to the for

mation of metallic silver, instead of the desired
sulphate. Hence the application of this pro
cess is limited. Its best field is the treatment
of the copper mattes of Mansfeld, containing
70 to 72 per cent, of copper, and 33 per cent,
of silver. The so-called acid extraction is prin
cipally used upon cupriferous furnace pro
ducts, which contain too much lead, antimony,
arsenic, &c., to permit treatment by the Au
gustin or the Ziervogel method. In this pro
cess, the base metals are dissolved out by
treatment with sulphuric or muriatic acid, and
the residuum, containing gold and silver, is
further reduced by smelting, or in rare in
stances by humid methods. For full discus
sions of all the foregoing processes, see Percy s
"Metallurgy," and Bruno Keii s Metallhittten-
Jcunde. The details of American practice, and
critical comparisons of different American and
foreign methods, are given in the reports of R.
W. Raymond, United States commissioner of
mining statistics, and in the "Transactions of
the American Institute of Mining Engineers."
The principal uses of silver have been men
tioned already in this article; see also COINS,
GALVANISM (section on electrotyping), MINT,
and PLATED WARE. The real value of silver
as compared to gold has varied in different
ages from one eighth to less than one six
teenth ; but the mint rates have often been
arbitrarily established by government for the
profit of the treasury, in spite of the market
price of the metals. At present it is lower
than at any previous ^ period. The averqge
ratio of value of silver* to gold in the London
market for the year ending Dec. 81, 1874, was
1 to 16-27. The following table shows the es
timated product of silver at various periods
in the present century :

COUNTRIES.

o s S

ill.
1^11

| 2

l|2

is&lt;2

Its

N&lt;

w^2

-Sg d

II s
P*

Pig

ls 2

"o S o

S^fis

.g^2
S*S

Weight,
Ibs. troy.

Value,
sterling.

Weight,

Ibs. troy.

Value,
sterling.

Value,

U. S. coin.

Weight,
Ibs. troy.

Value,
U. S. coin.

Russian empire...

58 150

167 S31

60 000

171 817

$928 000

55 0QO

$700 000

Scandinavia

C 32 346

20400

35007

828 000

15000

Great Britain
Ilartz . )

109,989

48,500
j 31 500

100,000

1,120,000
j 480^000

eo soo

28 000

Prussia j

138,022

j 2lV)0

j- 188,022

( 480*000

6s oOO

Saxony
Other German states
Austria

- 141,000

193,200
282 654

63,600
2,500
87000

198,200
286 971

960,000

48,000
1 440 000

80.000
2.500
92000

8,600,000

France . .

5000

80000

18000

Italy

7444

25 000

Spain. . . .

|_ 227 499

125 000

440 210

2 000 000

110000

Australia . . j

British America. . .
Chili
Bolivia . .

18,300
271 800

297.029
4(50 1 ( )1

10,000

238,500
130 000

297,029
460 I ll

128,000

4.000.000
2 OSO 000

9,500

299.000
136 000

20,000

]

Peru

401 850

1 OOo ofeS

303150

1 000^583

4800000

299 000

u 0000 000

New Granada
Brazil

5,000
1 200

42.929
2 003

13,000
675

42,929
2227

208.000
11 200

15,000
1 500

Mexico

1 440 600

3 457 020

1 650 000

6 383 333

28 000 000

1 700 000

10 000 000

United States
East Indies

l 864

56 205

17,400

73,532
56 205

352,000

1,000,000

15,500,000

Africa..

l o5&lt;3

1 056

Various other countries

33,000

Total

2 337 300

6 5159 9 5

2 S 9 7 425

8 788 416

$47 443 200

4,017 000

$53 80 000

Approximate value in U. 8.
coin

$36,250,000

$31,537,000

$43,853,000

$42,536,000

$47,443,300

$62,303,000

$53,820,000

SILVER

The following estimate of the world s product
of silver in 1873 is based upon returns for Ger-
.many, Austria, France, Great Britain, Spain,
and the United States, and for other coun
tries upon the most recent available accounts :
Great Britain and colonies, $1,000,000; Swe
den and Norway, $250,000 ; Russia, $500,000 ;
Austro-Hungarian monarchy, $1,600,000 ; Ger
man empire, $3,000,000; France, $2,000,000;
Spain, $2,000,000; Italy (Sardinia), $500,000;
Mexico, $20,000,000 ; Central and South Amer
ica, $8,000,000; Canada, $900,000; United
States, $36,500,000; total, $76,250,000. Ac
cording to Humboldt and Danson, the value
.of silver produced in Mexico and Peru from
1492 to 1803 was $4,152,650,000. The pro
duction in Europe during the same period was
about $200,000,000. For the period from
1804 to 1848 Danson gives $1,244,380,794 as
the production of Mexico and South Ameri
ca, that of Europe and Asiatic Russia for
the same period having been about $325,000,-
000. For the period from 1848 to 1868, Prof.
W. P. Blake, in his " Report on the Produc
tion of the Precious Metals," gives the fol
lowing estimate of the silver product: United
States, $73,000,000 ; Mexico, $380,000,000 ;
South America, $200,000,000 ; Australia, $20,-
000; Europe and Asiatic Russia, $160,380,-
000 ; total, $813,400,000. From 1868 to 1875
the product of silver, may be approximately es
timated at $163,000,000 for the United States,
$140,000,000 for Mexico, $56,000,000 for South
America, and $63,000,000 for the rest of the
world. (N"one of these estimates include the
produce of Japan, China, and central Asia, of
which nothing is known.) We have then, as
the grand total of the silver product from the
discovery of America to the present time,
$7,150,000,000. Mines. The silver produced
in Great Britain is extracted from an argen
tiferous lead, to the amount of 550,000 to 700,-
000 oz. annually (in 1872, 628,000 oz.). The
celebrated Kongsberg mines in Norway, dis
covered in 1623, have been worked almost
continually since. The ore occurs in parallel
belts of rock, intercalated in gneiss and crys
talline schists, and impregnated with sulphides
of iron, copper, zinc, and sometimes lead, co
balt, and silver. Fissure veins traverse these
belts occasionally, and are argentiferous at
the intersection only. Beautiful specimens
of native silver occur. The total product of
the Kongsberg mines from 1624 to 1864 was
1,817,510 Ibs. troy of silver, of which 1,332,-
185 Ibs. was produced before 1805 and 463,-
498 Ibs. after 1815, the intervening period
being one of discouragement. The yield for
the 30 years preceding 1865 averaged $350,-
000 annually. The silver mines of Sweden
are at present insignificant, and the total pro
duct in 1871 was officially reported at but 975
kilos. The silver mines of the Austro-Hun
garian monarchy are principally comprised in
Hungary, Transylvania, and Bohemia. The
Schemnitz district in Hungary (the seat of a

celebrated school of mines, founded in 1760
by Maria Theresa) is traversed by a group of
veins in porphyry, associated with syenite,
&c. The ores comprise numerous argentifer
ous minerals, of which silver glance and galena
are the chief. The Schemnitz mines were first
opened more than 800 years ago, and have
been worked to a depth of more than 1,200
ft. Near Schemnitz are the mining districts
of Kremnitz and Neusohl. The Joachimsthal
mines in Bohemia are very ancient, very deep
(nearly or quite 2,000 ft.), and have been
very productive, but now yield an insignifi
cant amount of silver. This district belongs
to the Erzgebirge, a chain of mountains com
posed of crystalline rocks, on the border of
Saxony, in which kingdom it includes the
four mining districts of Altenberg (tin), Frei
berg, Marienberg, and Schwarzenberg. The
official statistics of Saxony show that the to
tal product of silver in these districts in 1872
was 48,753 Ibs., and in 1873 43,354 Ibs. The
Freiberg district is by far the most impor
tant, containing nearly 100 mines, many of
which are more than 1,400 ft. deep, producing
almost the whole of the above amounts. Pre
vious to the 10th century it was a wilderness.
The lead ores were discovered in the tracks
made by wagon wheels, and in 1169 the veins
were opened. They are very numerous, but
comparatively small. In 1873 only 24 mines
were producing silver ore, and of these only
6 paid dividends. The Ilimmelfahrt, which is
now the leading mine, in 1873 yielded 11,912
metric tons of silver, copper, and lead ores,
valued at about $430,000. In 1874 it pro
duced about 7,100 tons of dressed ores, sold
to the furnaces for about $328,000. The total
yield of this mine to the end of 1874 had been
527,103 kilos of silver (worth about $23,000,-
000), besides lead, copper, zinc, sulphur, ar
senic, and nickel. The chief other productive
mines near Freiberg, with the value of their
total product (including lead, &c.), as paid by
the smelting works, for 1873, are as follows:
Himmelsfurst, $202,500 ; VereinigtFeld, $114,-
750 ; Churprinz, $74,000 ; Alte Hoffnung,
$61,000 ; Gesegnete Bergmannshoffnung, $60,-
750; Alte Hoffnung Gottes, $52,750; Junge
hohe Birke, $45,450; and Beschert Gluck,
$34,600. The principal silver mines of Prus
sia are in the Hartz, formerly belonging to
Hanover. The product of Prussian smelting
works in 1872 was 162,553 Ibs. of silver,
worth about $3,600,000; in 1873, 231,920 Ibs.,
worth about $5,000,000. The total product of
silver from the smelting works of all Germany
was as follows in the years named :

YEARS.

Centner.

Value in round numbers.

1850

101,443
124.103

185,847

$2,234,000
2,7(54,000
4,162,000

I860

1870

A considerable portion of this increase is due-
to the importation of rich silver ores from

SILVER

North and South America for metallurgical
treatment, and another portion to the im
proved processes of extraction. The product
from German ores is probably not more than
$3,^00,000. France is not a silver-ore pro
ducing country ; but the separation of silver
from argentiferous lead ores is carried on to
a considerable extent. In 1865 it produced
31,997 kilos of silver, worth $1,414,000; in
1869 (the year before the war), 46,299 kilos,
worth $2,020,000. No Spanish silver mines
were specially important after the middle ages
down to 1825, except those of Guadalcanal and
Gazalla, N. E. of Seville, which were profit
ably worked by the government in the 16th
century, producing altogether 400,223 marks
of silver ; afterward they passed into private
hands, and in the beginning of the 17th centu
ry are said to have produced 170 marks daily.
They were finally abandoned, and allowed to
fill with water. In 1825 mining was revived
in Spain; in 1839 the famous silver mines of
the Sierra Almagrera (N. and S. veins in slate,
carrying argentiferous galena, with some sil
ver chloride), in the province of Almeria,
were discovered, and in 1843 those of Hien-
delaencina (narrow E. and W. veins of silver
sulphide and chloride, without lead), in the
province of Guadalajara. The Herminia mine,
in the Sierra Almagrera, in 1874 produced
18,940 quintals of ore, containing 342,325
Ibs. of lead and 41,670 Spanish oz. (3,205 Ibs.
troy) of silver. The product of the mine in
the early part of 1875 was at the rate of about
10,000 Ibs. troy per annum. The average
value of the work lead is about 20 oz. troy per
ton avoirdupois. The product of the mines
of Hiendelaencina from January, 1847, to July,
1866, was 7,578,536 oz. troy. They have de
clined in yield since 1858. By tho application
of the Pattinson process to the argentiferous
galenas of the numerous lead mines of Spain,
the production of silver has been increased.
The export of lead in 1874 was 86,802,271
kilos, valued at 47,034,022 pesetas. This in
dicates a value of about $1,700,000 for the
silver in the lead. The product of Russia in
1871, from 21 mines of argentiferous galena,
was 1,740 tons of lead and 29,000 Ibs. of silver.
The conquest of Mexico by Cortes in 1519- 21
was soon followed by the development of the
wonderfully rich silver mines of that country.
The metal was known to the ancient Aztecs,
and was worked by them into numerous orna
mental and useful articles ; but among the
treasures of Montezuma the quantity of silver
was small compared with that of gold, and
gave little promise of the unbounded resources
of the argentiferous mines of his territories.
During the 16th century these were opened
and extensively worked by the Spaniards in
Guanajuato, Zacatecas, and other neighboring
districts; and in the 17th and 18th centuries
their production was greatly increased by rea
son of the greater abundance of quicksilver and
its more general employment in separating the

| metal from its ores. At the time of the visit
I of Humboldt operations were carried on in
| from 4,000 to 5,000 localities, which might all
be included in about 3,000 distinct mines.
These were scattered along the range of the
Cordilleras in eight groups, the principal of
which, known as the central group, contained
the famous mining districts of Guanajuato,
Catorce, Zacatecas, and Sombrerete, and fur
nished more than half of all the silver pro
duced in Mexico. The mines of Guanajuato,
opened in 1558, are all upon the great vein,
known as the veta madre, in the range of por-
phyritic hills the summits of which are from
9,000 to 9,500 ft. above the sea, but only about
3,000 ft. above the high plateau of central
Mexico upon which they stand. The great
vein is contained chiefly in clay shite, and
crosses the southern slope of the hills in a
N. W. and S. E. direction, dipping with the
slates (the range of which it follows) from 45
to 48 toward the S. W. It is of extraordinary
thickness, often more than 150 ft. across, and
is said to have been traced for about 12m.;
but the productive portions are chiefly upon a
length of about 1 J m. The vein is made up of
quartz, carbonate of lime, fragments of clay
slate, together with large quantities of iron
pyrites, and sulphurets of lead and zinc with
some native silver, sulphuret of silver, and red
silver. Near the surface they are partially de
composed and colored red, whence they are
termed colorados. In their unchanged condi
tion below they are designated negros or black
ores. These are the main dependence of the
mines. The vein has been penetrated to the
depth of about 2,000 ft,, but not much below
the level of the plateau. For the two years
ending in July, 1873, 115 mines in this district
produced 202,125 kilos of silver ($8,045,425),
36 haciendas and zangerros being employed
in reduction. In 1873 the number of miners
and laborers was 8,979, and the amount of ore
raised was 1,815 tons weekly; average con
tents of silver, about 34 oz. troy to the ton
avoirdupois. The mine of Valenciana, opened
in 1760, upon a rich portion of the vein, aver
aged for many years a product of $1,600,000,
or about T V of the total product of the 3,000
mines of Mexico, and a quarter of that of the
whole of the veta madre. It declined in pro
ductiveness at the beginning of this century,
was suspended in 1810 on account of the war
of independence, reopened in 1822 by the An
glo-Mexican company, and abandoned after
much expenditure to the Mexican owners. It
is the deepest mine in the country, and the
lower workings are now flooded. In 1873 it
employed 1,950 laborers, and yielded about
195 tons of ore weekly. The mines of Zaca
tecas, opened in 1548, are also upon a single
vein called the vetagrande, averaging in thick
ness about 30 ft. The formation is of green
stone and clay slate, the former the most pro
ductive. The veins of Catorce are in limestone
supposed to be of carboniferous age. The

SILVER

greatest proportion of silver in every mining
district of Mexico is obtained from the sul-
phuret of silver, an ore of gray color dissem
inated through the quartz matrix in minute
particles, and more or less combined with oth
er metals. The other varieties of argentiferous
ores are numerous, but comparatively small in
quantity ; they are the chloride of silver, ruby
silver, native silver, argentiferous pyrites, and
argentiferous galena. The comparative quan
tities of these at the different mines are very
variable. Until the present century the ores
were extracted altogether by the rude meth
ods of the native Indians. They brought them
upon their backs up the long flights of thou
sands of roughly formed steps, in loads of
240 to 380 Ibs. each, while exposed all the
time to the great heat of the mine. In 1821
the Mexican government offered facilities for
foreigners to become interested with the na
tives in the mines. English mining compa
nies were formed, and operations were un
dertaken with powerful machinery ; but the
adventures were almost universally unsuccess
ful, the nature of the country being extreme
ly unfavorable for the introduction of heavy
machines, as well as for keeping them in op
eration and repair. From the opening of the
Mexican mines in the 16th century their pro
duction of silver has exceeded that of all other
countries. A great stimulus was given to it by
the amalgamating process devised by Medina
at that early period in Mexico, and it soon at
tained an annual rate of from $2,000,000 to
$3,000,000. This continued to increase till in
the 18th century it rose to $23,000,000, which
was about the production for the first ten
years of the present century. After 1850 it
increased, till for some years it exceeded the
yield of all past periods. The total product,
from the first working of the mines by the
Spaniards to their expulsion by the Mexicans
m 1821, was $2,308,952,000. A very prom
ising field for silver mining is found in the
state of Sinaloa and along the western slope
of the Sierra Madre of Durango and Chihua
hua. The port of Mazatlan is the base of sup
plies. Sinaloa is well wooded and watered;
the ores are largely true silver ores, which can
be treated by the Freiberg or the modified
Washoe process. Some of the mines in the
interior are exporting rich silver ores to Eu
rope ; others are reported to be earning good
profits with stamp mills. Central America has
no silver mines that are worked to much ex
tent ; but rich ores are known to exist in Hon
duras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The famous
mines of Potosi in Peru (now in Bolivia) were
discovered in 1545 by an Indian hunter, Diego
Hualca, who, according to Acosta, accidentally
exposed native lumps of the precious metal in
the roots of a bush which he pulled from the
ground. For 20 years succeeding 1557 the
annual production of the mines of this region
was about $2,200,000, and the total product
up to the present time is rated at aver $1,300,-

000,000. The mines, like so many others in
Mexico and South America, are now reported
to be flooded in their depths. In the Cerro
de Fernando at Hualgayoc, near Micuipamba N
rich ores were discovered in 1771, and now,
it is said, about 1,400 pits are opened in the
hill. Other mining districts in Peru are Gua-
lanca in the province of Huamalies, Pasco,
Lucanas, and Huantajaya. Cerro de Pasco
has been especially famous for its large pro
duction. A town is built upon the site of
the mines, and the openings to many of them
are through the houses of the miners. The
production of Peru until within a few years
was very small, probably not more than $2,-
500,000 annually, and it is a very difficult
field for mining. Roads, mules, labor, and
fuel are all wanting. The ores (except the
pacos or ferruginous earths of Cerro de Pas
co), being complex sulphurets, are exceeding
ly refractory. In the absence of better fuel,
llama dung is employed for roasting at sev
eral establishments. But the country is full
of undeveloped veins, and coal has been dis
covered in abundance, while railroads are rap
idly extending into the interior. In Bolivia,
besides the mines of Potosi, are those of Por-
tugalete in the province of Chichas, celebrated
for the richness of their ores, which produce
six to eight times as much silver to the ton
as those of Potosi. Other mines are worked
in the same district. The mines of Lipes have
been very productive, and those also of La
Plata, Porco, Carangas, and Oruro. The earlier
silver mines worked in Chili were in the prov
ince of Santiago and in the mineral district of
Arqueros, about 17 leagues from Coquimbo.
The production was not large, and almost
ceased upon the opening of the rich mines near
Copiapo in the province of Atacama. Within
a circuit of 25 leagues from this city there are
19 silver-mining districts, of which those of
Chaiiarcillo and Tres Puntas are the most im
portant. The metal is found in a variety of
combinations, as a sulphuret, chloride, chloro-
bromide, and iodide ; it is also associated with
arsenic, antimony, and mercury, and is some
times abundant in a native state. The mines
are in a country difficult of access, quite un
productive even in the timber and fuel re
quired for mining, almost entirely destitute
of water, and cold and dreary. A new and
rich district has been developed at Caracoles,
where the ores, like most of those of Co
piapo, are chlorides, and easy to reduce.
Silver mining in the western United States,
apart from the early operations of the Span
iards in New Mexico and perhaps Arizona,
dates from the discovery in 1859, on the E.
flank of the Sierra Nevada, in the present
state of Nevada, of the now famous Comstock
lode. (See NEVADA.) No equally important
argentiferous deposit has since been discov
ered ; and, in view of the most recent expo
sures of vast bodies of ore at great depth on
the Comstock, it may be doubted whether its

SILVER

SIMBIRSK

equal was ever known before. There is no
other authentic record of the extraction in a
single year of more than $23,000,000 in gold
and silver from one vein, which was the pro
duct of the Comstock in 1874. And the total
estimated product of this lode from 1861 to
1874 inclusive was more than $169,000,000,
or about the same as the yield of the score of
veins at Potosi for the first 15 years after their
discovery in 1545. The bullion from the Coin-
stock lode has averaged about one third gold
in value, or say - 02 in weight. As a conse
quence of the excitement (almost equal to that
attending the discovery of gold in California)
which followed the success of the Comstock
mines, the districts of Nevada, Idaho, Mon
tana, Arizona, and finally Utah and Colorado,
were overrun with prospectors. The mining
districts of Owyhee in Idaho, and Unionville,
Reese River, Belmont, Pioche, White Pine,
and Eureka in Nevada, have been the scenes
of successive excitements, and are still produc
tive. In Eureka district, as in the principal
districts of Utah, and some of those in Mon
tana, Colorado, New Mexico, and California,
argentiferous cerussite and galena are smelted,
to produce work lead containing silver. This
industry has suddenly grown to large dimen
sions in the west, as may be seen from the fol
lowing table of the product of work lead :

The "Washoe (Comstock) ores and those of
Pioche and Owyhee, as well as of many minor
districts, are treated by the Washoe process ;
those of Reese river, Belmont, and Union
ville, in Nevada, and of Georgetown, Colo
rado, receive a preliminary chlorinating roast
ing. From Colorado and Utah considerable
quantities of rich ore are shipped to American
and foreign smelting works. Silver mining
in Arizona, near the Gila vein, has been ren
dered unprofitable hitherto by Indian warfare,
now apparently ended. The total product of
the United States since 1848 is estimated by
R. W. Raymond, commissioner of mining sta
tistics, as follows :

1848-1 858, inclusive,
$50,000 per ann.., $550.000

1859 100,000

1860 150.000

1861 2,000.000

1862 4.500.000

1863 8.500.000

1364 11,000,000

1865 11.250,000

1866 10,000,000

1867 $13,500.000

1868 12,000,000

1869 13.000,000

1870 16.000.000

ls71 22.000,000

1872 25,750,000

1873 36.500,000

1874 38,200,000

Total $225,000,000

native copper of Lake Superior is not con
siderable ; but over $2,000,000 has been ob
tained at the smelting works in Wyandotte,
Mich., from the ores of the Silver Islet mine,
on the island of that name, on the N. side of
Lake Superior. The galena of the Mississippi
valley is usually poor in silver, and that of the
Atlantic slope is but moderately argentiferous,
with an occasional exception, as in the recently
discovered deposits near Newburyport, Mass.

SILVERSIDE, or Silver Fish, the common name
of the small marine spiny-rayed fishes of the
family atherinidcv, characterized by a protrac
tile mouth, without notch in upper jaw or
tubercle in lower, small crowded teeth on the
pharyngeals, the first branchial arch with long
pectinations, two dorsals most commonly dis
tant, and ventrals behind pectorals ; the eyes
are very large. In the genus atfterina (Linn.)
the body is elongated, and a broad silvery
band runs along each side. The dotted silver-
side (A. notata, Mitch.) is from 3 to 5 in. long,
greenish brown with black points on the edges
of the scales, and the fins translucent ; the
dorsals are contiguous, the second reaching as
far back as the anal ; it is found from New
England to South Carolina. It accompanies
the smelt in spring and autumn into our riv-

WHERE
PRODUCED.

1873.
Tons.

Gold, silver,
and lead,
value.

1874.

Tons.

Gold, silver,
and lead,
value.

Nevada
Utah

12,512

9,506

$5.043.285
2,901,191

11,516

15,474

$3,865,419
4.332 720

California
Montana, Colorado,
&c. (estimated)..

4,000
300

920,000
144,000

5,095
875

1,630,000
180,000

Total

26678

$9 008 46

%o 460

$10 058 139

The Atlantic and Mississippi states produce
little silver. The amount found with the |

Dotted Silverside (Atherina notata).

ers, and is popularly called capelin. Several
other species, about 4 in. long, are found in
the waters of the southern states and West
Indies. More than 20 other species are de
scribed by Cuvier and Valenciennes in vol. x.
of the Histoire naturelle des poissons (1835);
they are much valued as articles of food ; they
swim in shoals, and are easily taken in nets ;
the flesh resembles that of the smelt, whence
the A. presbyter (Cuv.) is often called sand
smelt; many species, salted, are sold as sar
dines, and some are called anchovy.

SIMBIRSK. I. An E. government of Euro
pean Russia, bordering on Kazan, Samara,
Saratov, Penza, and Nizhegorod; area, 19,108
sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 1,205,881. The surface
consists generally of a plain, with hills toward
the east. The government is drained in the
east by the Volga, and in the west by its tribu
tary the Sura. Gypsum, alabaster, limestone,
sulphur, and naphtha are found. The soil is
fertile, producing grain, hemp, flax, hay, and
tobacco. Leather, woollen and linen cloth,
tallow, potash, and glass are manufactured.
The inhabitants belong chiefly to the Greek
church, but there are a few other Christians,
and a large number of Mohammedans. II. A
city, the capital of the government, on the

SIMCOE

SIMMS

right bank of the Volga, 105 m. S. S. "W. of
Kazan, and 435 m. E. S. E. of Moscow; pop.
in 1867, 24,607. It stands in the midst of a
wide and fertile plain, and contains 16 church
es, two convents, and a monument to the
historian Karamsin. It has manufactories of
soap and candles, and an important trade in
grain and fish.

SIMCOE, Lake. See ONTARIO, vol. xii., p.
635.

SIMCOE, a W. county of Ontario, Canada,
bounded 1ST. E. by the Severn river, N. W. by
Georgian bay, and S. E. by Lake Simcoe ;
area, 1,846 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 64,247, of
whom 31,642 were of Irish, 15,020 of English,
11,585 of Scotch, 3,031 of French, and 1,754
of German origin or descent. It is traversed
by the Northern railway. Capital, Barrie.

SIMEON, the second son of Jacob and Leah.
He and his brother Levi were guilty of gross
deception and ferocity in their murder of the
Shechemites, for which they received their fa
ther s curse. Simeon s inheritance as a tribe
was not a compact territory, but a small dis
trict within the limits of that of Judah, and
some tracts in Mount Seir and the district of
Gedor. The descendants of Simeon amount
ed at the exodus to 59,300 ; but only 22,200
entered the promised land.

SIMEOIV, Charles, an English clergyman, born
in Reading, Sept. 24, 1759, died Nov. 13, 1836.
He was educated at King s college, Cambridge,
and was presented in 1783 to the living of
Trinity church, Cambridge, which he held till
his death, and was eminently distinguished
for devotion to pastoral duty. He published
several series of skeleton sermons, forming
a commentary upon the whole Bible. They
were edited, with his other works, by the
Rev. T. IT. Home (21 vols., 1832- 3, and many
later editions), and his life has been written
by the Rev. William Carus (1847).

SIMEON STYLITES. See STYLITES.

SIMFEROPOL, or SIMPHEKOPOL (Turk. Ak-
metctiet), a town of European Russia, capital
of the government of Taurida, in the Crimea,
on the Salghir, 192 m. S. E. of Odessa, and 37
m. N. E. of Sebastopol; pop. in 1867, 17,797.
It stands on a plateau at the foot of lofty hills.
The old part of the town, built by the Tartars,
is very irregularly laid out, and has a miserable
appearance ; the new, built by the Russians,
has wide straight streets and a spacious square.

SIMLA, a town and the summer capital of
British India, in a Himalayan district of the
same name belonging to the Ambala division
of the Punjaub, 170 m. N. of Delhi; lat. 31
7 N., Ion. 77 8 E. ; pop. in the height of the
season, about 15,000 natives and 1,500 Euro
peans. It stands on a long and lofty ridge
7,000 ft. above the sea, amid grand forest and
mountain scenery, a few miles S. of the Sutlej.
The British government purchased the station
from the native state of Keonthal about 1822,
and founded Simla as a sanitarium. The cli
mate is for the most part cool, exhilarating,

and healthful, though there is a heavy rain
fall at the time of the S. W. monsoon, and the
difficulties of drainage are considerable. Since
1866 the supreme government of India has
been administered during the summer months
from Simla, whither the viceroy and all the
chief officials retire from Calcutta early in the
hot season. It is about 60 m. N. E. of the
Punjaub and Delhi railway. The town is an
organized municipality, governed by a com
mittee of native and foreign residents.

SHIMS, William, Gitaore, an American author,
born in Charleston, S. 0., April 17, 1806, died
there, June 11, 1870. For some years he was
a clerk in a drug store, but at 18 he began the
study of law, and in 1827 was admitted to the
bar. From 1828 to 1832 he was editor and
part proprietor of the " Charleston City Ga
zette," in which he opposed nullification, there
by reducing himself to poverty. He then de
voted himself entirely to literature, living for
a time at Hingham, Mass., and afterward prin
cipally on a plantation at Midway, S. C., and
occasionally holding public offices. His po
etical works are: a "Monody on the Death of
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney " (1825) ; "Lyri
cal and other Poems " and "Early Lays " (1827) ;
"The Vision of Cortes, Cain, and other Po
ems " (1829) ; " The Tricolor, or Three Days
of Blood in Paris " (1830) ; " Atalantis, a Story
of the Sea" (1833); "Southern Passages and
Pictures" (1839); "Donna Anna" (1843);
" Grouped Thoughts and Scattered Fancies "
(1845); "Lays of the Palmetto" (1848); "Po
ems, Descriptive, Dramatic, Legendary, and
Contemplative" (2 vols., 1854); and " Arey-
tos, or Songs and Ballads of the South " (1860).
A collective edition appeared in 1864.- He
also edited a volume of "War Poetry of the
South" (1867). He produced two dramas,
" Norman Maurice, or the Man of the People,"
and "Michael Bonham, or the Fall of Alamo,"
and adapted Shakespeare s " Timon of Athens "
for the stage, with numerous additions of his
own. His works of imaginative fiction com
prise "The Book of my Lady" (1833); "Carl
Werner" (1838); "Confession, or the Blind
Heart " (1842) ; " Castle Dismal " (1845) ; " The
Wigwam and the Cabin" (1845- 6) ; "Marie
de Bernier" (1853); and "Ghost of my Hus
band" (18mo, 1867). His historical romances
are : " The Yemassee " (1835) ; " Pelayo "
(1838); "Count Julian" (1845); "The Dam
sel of Darien" (1845); "The Lily and the
Totem, or the Huguenots in Florida;" "The
Maroon and other Tales" (1855); "Vascon-
celos" (1857); "The Cazique of Kiawah "
(1860); and "Swamp Robbers" (1870). The
following are founded on revolutionary events :
" The Partisan " (1835) ; "Mellichampe 1 " (1836) ;
"The Scout," originally published as "The
Kinsmen, or the Black Riders of the Congaree "
(1841); "Katharine Walton" (1851); "Wood
craft," originally entitled " The Sword and the
Distaff;" "The Forayers, a Raid of the Dog
Days" (1855), and its sequel "Eutaw" (1856).

SIMON

SIMONIN

Romances of backwoods life: "Guy Rivers"
(1834); "Richard Hurdis" (1838); Border
Beagles" (1840); " Beauchampe, or the Ken
tucky Tragedy " (1842) ; " Helen Halsey "
(1845); "The Golden Christmas, a Chronicle
of St. John s, Berkeley" (1852) ; and " Charle-
mont, or the Pride of the Village " (1850). A
selected edition of his novels appeared in 1 865
(17 vols., New York). To history and biog
raphy he contributed a " History of South
Carolina," " South Carolina in the Revolu
tion " (1854), and lives of Gen. Marion, Capt.
John Smith, the chevalier Bayard, and Gen.
Greene. Under this head may also be inclu-
ded a "Geography of South Carolina." His
remaining works include " Views and Reviews
in American Literature;" "Egeria, or Voices
of Thought and Counsel for the Woods and
Wayside," a collection of aphorisms in prose
and verse ; " Father Abbot, or the Home Tour
ist, a Medley;" "Southward Ho ! " (1854);
"The Morals of Slavery," &c. He also edited
with notes the seven dramas ascribed to Shake
speare, but not published among his works,
under the title of "A Supplement to Shake
speare s Plays."

SIMON, Jules (JULES FEAXQOIS SUISSE-SIMOX),
a French statesman, born in Lorient, Dec. 31,
1814. After teaching in various places, he
lectured in 1838 at the normal school in Paris.
In 1839 he succeeded Victor Cousin as profes
sor of philosophy at the Sorbonne, from which
post he was removed in 1851 on account of his
opposition to the coup d etat. In 1848 he en
tered the constituent assembly, which early in
1849 elected him to the council of state; but
not being confirmed by the legislative assem
bly, he retired in 1850. In 1855 and subse
quently he lectured in Belgium on philosophy.
He was elected to the legislative body in 1863,
and reflected in 1869 in two departments. He
advocated popular education, free trade, the
abolition of capital punishment, and the in
terests of the working classes; and in 1870
he opposed the plebiscitum in favor of Louis
Napoleon and the declaration of war against
Prussia. After the establishment of the re
public (Sept. 4), he became a member of the
government for the national defence, as min
ister of education, religion, and fine arts, and
instituted many reforms, the most prominent
of which was the obligatory school law. Af
ter the capitulation of Paris he went to Bor
deaux to put an end to Gambetta s arbitrary
proceedings. On Feb. 19, 1871, he became
minister of education and religion under Thiers,
with whom he retired, May 24, 1873. He re
tained his seat in the national assembly, and
in 1875 received from the government a pen
sion of 6,000 francs. His works include His-
toire de Vecole d? Alexandrie (2 vols., 1844- 5) ;
Le devoir (1854; 6th ed., 1859); La religion
naturelle (1856 ; 5th ed., 1859 ; English transla
tion by I. W. Cole, London, 1857) ; La liberte
de conscience (3d ed., 1859) ; La liberte (2 vols.,
1859) ; L JEcole (1864) ; Le travail (1866) ; La

politique radicale (1868) ; Le libre-ecliange
(1870); and Souvenirs du 4 Septembre (1874;
new ed., 1875).

SDION, Richard, a French Biblical critic, born
in Dieppe, May 13, 1638, died there, April 11,
1712. He entered the congregation of the Ora
tory in 1.662, was professor of philosophy suc
cessively in the college of Juilly and in that of
the Oratory in Paris, and in 1671 became in
volved in a controversy with the Port Royal
ists by a publication entitled Fides Ecclesia*,
Orientals. In 1678 appeared his Histoire
critique du Vieux Testament, in which he at
tributes the authorship of the Pentateuch to
scribes of the time of Ezra. It was violently
assailed by Bossuet and suppressed, and the
author excluded from the Oratory. The opin
ions of Simon have since been adopted by
many rationalistic theologians. Among his
other works are : Histoire critique de la cre-
ance et des coutumes des nations du Levant
(Amsterdam, 1684) ; Histoire critique du texte
du Nouveau Testament (Rotterdam, 1689) ;
Histoires critiques des principaux, commenta-
teurs du Nouveau Testament (Rotterdam, 1692 ) ;
and Nouvelles observations sur le texte et les
versions du Nouveau Testament (Paris, 1695).

SIMOSE DI MARTINO. See MEMMI.

SIMOMDES, a Greek lyric poet, born at lulls,
in the island of Ceos, about 556 B. C., died in
Syracuse about 467. His family is said to
have held some hereditary office in connection
with the worship of Bacchus. After reaching
manhood he was invited by Hipparchus to
Athens, where, with an interval of a few years,
he lived until his 80th year, when he was
crowned for his victory in the dithyrambic
chorus. His elegies on those who fell at Mara
thon and Platssa, his epigram on the tombs of
the Spartans slain at Thermopylae, and his odes
on the sea fights at Artemisium and Salami s,
were celebrated. His latter years were passed
in Sicily, at the court of Iliero of Syracuse.
He is reproached by Pindar with avarice, hav
ing been the first poet on record who wrote
for money. He was the most prolific and prob
ably the most popular lyric poet that Greece
ever produced. A few fragments are all that
remain of his writings, the " Lament of Danae "
being the most celebrated. The best edition
is that of Schneidewin, Simonidis Cei Car-
minum Reliquiae (8vo, Brunswick, 1835). A
writer considered by some his grandson, and
known as SIMOXIDES THE YOUXGEE, was the
author of a genealogical work in three books,
and of a treatise " On Inventions." A few
fragments remain, including a satire on wo
men, Of SlMOXIDES THE ELDEE, of AlllOrgOS,

who flourished about 650 B. 0.

SDIOMN, Louis Laurent, a French author, born
in Marseilles in 1830. He completed his studies
at the mining school of St. Etienne, and was
employed by the government in mineralogical
explorations in the island of Reunion and in
Madagascar. He has several times visited the
United States, sketches of which he has writ-

SIMON MAGUS

SIMPSON

ten for the Revue des Deux Mondes, and has
been since 1865 professor of geology at the
central school of architecture. Among his
works are: La ricJiesse minerale de la France
(1865) ; L Etrurie et les Etrusques (1866) ; La
me souterraine (1867) ; and L llistoire de la
terre (1867).

SIMON MAGUS, a magician of the time of the
apostles, who by his skill had attained such
influence as to be called "the great power of
God." "While Philip the Evangelist preached
in Samaria, in A. D. 36, Simon s followers
were converted, and he himself believed and
was baptized. Soon after, when Peter and
John came to Samaria, to impart to the new
converts by means of prayer and the imposi
tion of hands the gifts of the Spirit, Simon,
seeing that through the laying on of hands
the Holy Ghost was given, offered money to
the apostles to impart to him this power. He
was sternly rebuked by Peter, and appears no
longer in connection with the rising Christian
church. The statements of the ecclesiastical
writers respecting his further life are contra
dictory ; but it seems certain that he travelled
through many countries to give exhibitions of
his magic power, and that finally he settled at
Eome, where, according to the testimony of
Eusebius (with which a statement of Suetonius
agrees), he met his death in an aeronautic at
tempt. About the middle of the 2d century
his followers were still very numerous, and
Eusebius in the 4th century represents the Si-
monians as a powerful sect. They early split
into several parties, of which the Meriandrians
and the Dositheans were the most important.
(See DOSITIIEANS.) Simon wrote several works,
the remaining fragments of which are con
tained in Grabe s Spicttegium, vol. i.

SIMONOSEKI. See SIIIMOXOSEKI.

SIMOOM (Arabic, from samma, to poison), or
Samicl (Turkish, sam, poison, and yel, wind), a
hot, dry wind common in Syria, Arabia, and
India, It comes from the deserts, and is char
acterized by its excessive heat and suffocating
effects, which are sometimes fatal to animal
life. It never lasts over an hour, though it
sometimes returns for several successive days.
During its prevalence the inhabitants of towns
and villages shut themselves up in their houses,
and those in the deserts in their tents or in
pits. The parching heat is derived from the
sands, which are whirled up from the earth
by the advancing wind, and the whole air is
filled with an extremely subtle and penetra
ting dust. When the wind blows in squalls,
death is often very suddenly produced by ac
tual suffocation, and is followed by haemor
rhage at the nose and mouth. Persons ex
posed to it protect themselves by stopping the
mouth -and nose with handkerchiefs, and the
camels instinctively bury their noses in the
sand. The Tchamsin of Egypt and the Jiar-
mattan of Guinea and Senegambia are winds
similar to the simoom in their effects, but are
of longer duration and more regular in the

periods of their prevalence. In India the si
moom of the deserts of Cutchee and Upper
Sinde is sudden and mysterious in its appear
ance, invisible and singularly fatal. It usually
occurs in June and July, by night as well as
by day, sometimes preceded by a cold current
of air. Its course is straight and well defined
on a narrow path. It is not accompanied by
dust, thunder, or lightning, but has a decided
sulphurous odor.

SIMPLON. See ALPS, vol. i., p. 354.

SIMPSON. I. A S. county of Mississippi,
bounded W. by Pearl river, and intersected by
Strong river ; area, about 625 sq. m. ; pop. in
1870, 5,718, of whom 1,711 were colored. The
soil is sandy, and there are extensive pine
woods. The chief productions in 1870 were
72,832 bushels of Indian corn, 15,420 of oats,
29,520 of sweet potatoes, 2,134 bales of cotton,
8,240 Ibs. of rice, 5,797 of wool, and 28,860 of
butter. There were 871 horses, 1, 631 milch
cows, 1,237 working oxen, 2,713 other cattle,
4,211 sheep, and 7,793 swine. Capital, Westville.
II. A S. county of Kentucky, bordering on
Tennessee and drained by tributaries of Big
Barren river and by Red river ; area, 375 sq.
m. ; pop. in 1870, 9,573, of whom 2,167 were
colored. The surface is level and the soil very
fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were
107,242 bushels of wheat, 402,379 of Indian
corn, 73,682 of oats, 1,072,401 Ibs. of tobacco,
14,572 of wool, 72,004 of butter, and 8,806 gal
lons of sorghum molasses. There were 2,091
horses, 1,311 milch cows, 1,928 other cattle,
7,410 sheep, and 13,951 swine. The Louis
ville, Nashville, and Great Southern railroad
passes through the capital, Franklin.

SIMPSON, Sir James Young, a Scottish physi
cian, born at Bathgate, Linlithgowshire, June
7, 1811, died in Edinburgh, May 6, 1870. He
was educated at the university of Edinburgh,
where in 1832 he received his degree of M. D.
In 1836, as assistant to Prof. Thomson, he de
livered a course of pathological lectures ; and
in 1840 he was elected professor of midwife
ry in the university of Edinburgh. He was
the first to apply the new discovery of an
aesthesia to midwifery practice, which he did
Jan. 19, 1847. He subsequently discovered the
ansesthetical properties of chloroform, which
in midwifery practice he regarded as more
manageable and powerful, more agreeable to
inhale, and less exciting than ether, and as
giving greater control over the superinduc-
tion of the anaesthetic state. (See ANAESTHET
ICS, and CIILOKOFORM.) In 1849 he was elected
president of the Edinburgh royal college of
physicians, in 1852 president of the medico-
chirurgical society, and in 1853 foreign associ
ate of the French academy of medicine ; and
in 1856 he received from the French academy
of sciences the Monty on prize of 2,000 francs
"in consideration of his services to humanity
by the introduction of anaesthesia into the
practice of midwifery, and the discovery of
the anaesthetic properties of chloroform." He

SIMPSON

SINAI

was very celebrated as a practitioner. Among
his works are : " Homoeopathy " (3d ed., Ed
inburgh, 1853 ; Philadelphia, 1854) ; " Obstet
ric Memoirs and Contributions," including his
writings on anaesthesia (2 vols., Edinburgh
and Philadelphia, 1855- 6); "Acupressure"
(1864); and essays on ancient rock sculptur-
ings in Great Britain and other archaeological
subjects. In 1871 appeared new editions and
collections of his writings under the titles
" Selected Obstetrical Works," " Anesthesia
and Hospitalism," and " Clinical Lectures on
the Diseases of Women;" and in 1872, "Ar-
chasological Essays." He was created a baro
net in I860. See " Memoir," by J. Duns, D. D.
(Edinburgh, 1873).

SIMPSON, Mathew, an American clergyman,
born in Ohio, June 10, 1810. He graduated
at Alleghany college, Meadville, Pa., in 1832,
and received the degree of M. D. in 1833, but
in the same year entered the ministry of the
Methodist Episcopal church. In 1837 he was
elected professor of natural sciences in Alle
ghany college, and two years later president
of Indiana Asbury university, at Greencastle,
Ind. In 1848 he was appointed editor of the
" Western Christian Advocate," Cincinnati,
and in 1852 was elected bishop. He has been
especially active in the promotion of educa
tional and missionary enterprises. During the
civil war he was employed on important com
missions, and delivered many addresses in sup
port of the Union. In 1863- 4 he made an
extended tour, studying the missionary status
and wants of his church in Syria, European
Turkey, Switzerland, Germany, and Scandina
via. He has been three times a member of
general conference, and a fraternal delegate to
the British Wesleyan conference and to vari
ous ecclesiastical bodies. In 1875 he was ap
pointed to visit again the mission conferences
in Europe. His present residence (1876) is
Philadelphia.

SIMPSON, Thomas, an English mathematician,
born in Market-Bosworth, Leicestershire, Aug.
20, 1710, died there, "May 14, 1761. He was a
weaver, and while young married a widow 50
years of age, having two children, both older
than himself ; but the family lived in harmony,
and Simpson employed his evenings in study,
especially of mathematics, and in keeping a
school. In 1733 he went to Derby, and in
1735 or 1736 to London, where he soon estab
lished himself as a teacher of mathematics,
while employing his leisure hours in researches
into the higher branches of science. In 1743
he was appointed professor of mathematics in
the royal military academy at Woolwich, a post
which he filled until the beginning of 1761,
when with impaired mental faculties and dis
ordered health he retired to his native town.
In 1746 he was elected a fellow of the royal
society. He published works on fluxions, the
laws of chance, annuities and reversions, alge
bra, geometry, trigonometry, logarithms, &c. ;
but his most valuable publication was a volume

of "Miscellaneous Tracts" (1754), consisting
of four papers on pure mathematics and four
on physical astronomy.

SIMROCK, Karl, a German author, born in
Bonn, Aug. 28, 1802. He qualified himself at
Bonn and Berlin for the judicial service, in
which he was employed from 1823 to 1830,
when he was removed on account of his poem
on the July revolution in France. In 1850 he
was appointed professor of ancient German
literature at Bonn. He became famous by his
translations of the Nibelungen (1827; latest
ed., 1874) and many other early German and
Scandinavian poems, including the Edda (1851 ;
4th ed., 1871), and a modernized German ver
sion of Hartmann von der Aue s Der arme
HeinricJi (2d enlarged ed., 1875). One of his
most celebrated original poems is Wieland der
Schmied (1835; 3d ed., 1851). In 1867 ap
peared his translation of Shakespeare s poems,
and among his other works are : Die Quellen
des Shakespeare in Novellen, MarcJien und
Sage (1831; new ed., 1872); Das malerische
und romantische Rheinland (4th ed., 1865);
Handbuch der deutschen Mythologie (new ed.,
1869); and Faust (new ed., 1873).

SIMS, James Marion, an American surgeon,
born in Lancaster district, S. C., Jan. 25, 1813.
Ie graduated at the South Carolina college in
1832, and studied medicine in Charleston and
at the Jefferson medical college, Philadelphia.
In 1836 he settled at Montgomery, Ala., and
soon became widely known as a skilful opera
tor in general surgery. About 1845 his at
tention was directed to the treatment of vesi-
co-vaginal fistula, hitherto deemed incurable,
and he established for the diseases peculiar to
women a private hospital, which he supported
for four years at his own expense. A pro
tracted series of experiments were crowned
with success by the substitution of sutures
of silver wire for silken and other sutures,
and he afterward extended the use of metal
lic sutures into every department of general
surgery. In 1853 he removed to New York,
where through his efforts a temporary and
afterward a permanent woman s hospital was
established under his charge. In 1861 and
1864 Dr. Sims visited Europe, and in 1870 he
organized in Paris the Anglo-American ambu
lance corps. He has published " Silver Su
tures in Surgery" (8vo, New York, 1858) and
" Clinical Notes on Uterine Surgery" (London
and New York, 1866 ; translated into French
and German).

SINAI, a group of mountains in Arabia Pe-
trsea, in the southern portion of the peninsula
of the same name, which projects between the
two forks of the Red sea, the gulf of Suez sep
arating it from Egypt on the west, and the gulf
of Akabah from Arabia on the east. The pen
insula of Sinai is triangular, about 140 m. in
length from N. to S., and nearly the same in
breadth at its widest portion. The northern
portion is an arid and desert plain, with sand
hills and mountains of small elevation; S. of

SINAI

lat. 29 20 N. it rises into several ranges of
mountains. There are numerous peaks, vary
ing from 1,000 to over 9,000 ft. above the
sea, divided by deep wadys or narrow sand
valleys, except in the case of the Wady er-
Rahah and the Wady esh-Sheikh, two wide val
leys, the former separating the Jebel Ghub-
sheh from the Jebel el-Fureiah, the latter the
Jebel ed-Deir from the same mountain sum
mit, and the two uniting in a wide plain in
front of the Eas Sufsafeh, the abrupt northern
termination of the Jebel Musa or Mount of
Moses, the traditional Sinai. The summits of
most historic and Biblical interest, beginning
at the S. point of the peninsula, are the Jebel
et-Turfa, a long low mountain sloping on either
side to the sea and terminating in the low pro
montory of Has Mohammed ; the Jebel et-Tur,
a series of summits of somewhat greater height
surrounding the Jebel Musa, and separated from
it by narrow steep wadys ; the Jebel Katherin
or Catarina, S. S. W. of the Jebel Musa, and
forming the termination of the range known
as the Jebel Humr ; and the Jebel Musa, an
isolated summit, with a plateau about 3 m.
long and nearly 1 m. in width, gradually de
scending toward the north. The S. point,
from which until recently it was supposed that
Israel received the law, is 9,274 ft. high, but is
still overlooked by the higher peaks of Jebel
Katherin and the Tinieh ridges, and the wadys
in front of it are so narrow that the immense
congregation could not have seen the summit
of the mountain. To avoid this difficulty,
Burckhardt, and after him Lepsius and some
others, have attempted to demonstrate that
the Jebel Serbal, which was sometimes called
"the mount of God," lying some distance W.
of the Jebel Musa, and having a valley of con
siderable extent, the Wady Feiran, at its N.
face, is the true Sinai, with which Horeb, the
Scriptural "mount of God, 1 is so closely con
nected as to appear identical. But it seems
that tradition rather points to that mountain
as the site of Rephidirn. The N. extremity
of the Jebel Musa, called by the monks Ho
reb, and at its highest point Ras Sufsafeh, or
"the mountain of the Willow," is supposed
by Robinson and others to be the Sinai from
which the law was dispensed. It is divided
from the Jebel ed-Deir on the east by a nar
row valley, on one of the slopes of which the
convent of St. Catharine is situated ; but from
the termination of the Ras Sufsafeh there open
out the two wide valleys already mentioned,
the Wady er-Rahah and the Wady esh-Sheikh,
the only ones in the Sinaitic peninsula capable
of containing the vast host of Israel. Oppo
site, in a succession of terraces, rises the Je
bel Sona, the termination of the Fureiah ridge.
The Ras Sufsafeh is 6,541 ft. high, and about
800 ft. lower than Jebel Musa, but it is the
commanding point of the amphitheatre upon
which it opens. There are three churches
and three chapels on this mountain, all small
and in a ruinous condition ; and on the W.

side, 2,000 ft below the summit, is the mon
astery, celebrated alike for its antiquity, its
manuscript treasures, and the hospitality of
its monks. The Arabs point out in the Wady
er-Rahah the "hill of Aaron," the "pit of
Korah," and the place where the molten calf
was made. Carl Ritter suggested that Ser
bal was known before the giving of the law
as " the mount of God," and that Pharaoh
probably understood it as the mount to which
they were going to sacrifice. Its distance and
location well agree with this theory, for which
early traditions give much ground. Dr. Beke
supposed the ancient Mt. Sinai to be a moun
tain E. of the meridian of the gulf of Akabah
and valley of the Jordan. He was sent in
1874 on an expedition to establish his hypothe
sis. Advancing N. from the town of Akabah,
by the route E. of the Jebel esh-Sherah, through
the Wady el-Ithm, he found what answered his
expectations in Mt. Baghir, also called Jebel
en-Nur, or " mountain of Light." He bases
his identification on an argument that, accord
ing to Scripture, the land of Midian, to which
Moses fled, formed part of the east country,
i. e., E. of the Jordan, and that he conduct
ed the children of Israel there ; and hence
it follows that he crossed with them the gulf
of Akabah, and not the present gulf of Suez.
Dr. Brugsch also has recently advanced a the
ory which takes the Scriptural Mt. Sinai out
of the so-called Sinaitic peninsula. He is of
opinion that the Israelites marched along the
Mediterranean coast, and that the disaster of
the Egyptians occurred on the narrow strip of
land which separates the sea from the Serbo-
nian lake. There are many difficulties in the
way of harmonizing these views with the de
tails of the Biblical narrative. As to Horeb
in Scriptures, it seems probable that the whole
desert of Sinai was so called (Heb. hared,
parched), and that the name was also special
ly applied to Sinai itself. From a period cer
tainly not later than the first half of the 3d cen
tury, the caves of Jebel Musa, the traditional
Mt. Sinai, were a refuge- of persecuted Chris
tians ; in the 4th century they were the resort
of anchorites and ascetics, and these were re
peatedly attacked and murdered by the Arabs.
In the 5th and 6th centuries the monks of
Mt. Sinai were represented in the great coun
cils of the eastern church. During the period
in which the Mohammedan power was at its
height, the monks lived in fear and disquiet,
often threatened and occasionally attacked.
From the crusades onward they have held
more peaceful possession, but with greatly
diminished numbers and influence. See Rob
inson, "Biblical Researches" (3 vols., Boston,
1856); Stanley, "Sinai and Palestine" (Lon
don, 1858); Wilson and Palmer, "Ordnance
Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai " (London,
1872); Palmer, "The Desert of the Exodus"
(London and New York, 1872) ; Ebers, Durch
Gosen zum Sinai (Leipsic, 1872) ; and Maughan,
"The Alps of Arabia" (London, 1874).

SINALOA

SINDE

SINALOA. I. A N. TV. state of Mexico, bound
ed N. by Sonora, E. by Chihuahua and Duran-
go, S. by Jalisco, and TV. by the Pacitic and the
gulf of California; area, 25,927 sq. m. ; pop.
in 1869, 16:3,095. The entire eastern portion
is mountainous, being traversed by a branch
of the Sierra Madre ; while the western com
prises extensive plains gradually declining to
ward the coast, which is generally low. The
coast is indented by bays, the largest of which
is that of Navachiste, and presents several har
bors, such as Mazatlan, Angeles, Altata, Tama-
zulla, Popolobampo, and Navachiste, none of
which arc very commodious. The chief riv
ers are the Fuerte and Cafias, forming respec
tively the northern and southern boundaries,
Sinaloa, and Culiacan ; some of these, with
their affluents, periodically overflow their
banks, fertilizing the surrounding country.
The mineral productions include gold, silver,
platinum, copper, iron, lead, and sulphur ; but
mines of the first two only are worked, the
average annual yield being $500,000, of which
seven eighths is silver. The climate is exces
sively hot, and in many parts unhealthful, par
ticularly in the south and in the coast region.
The soil is for the most part fertile ; the prin
cipal agricultural products are coffee, rice, and
sugar cane. Many of the tropical fruits, par
ticularly guavas and bananas, are very abun
dant, though the last are so extensively con
sumed as to be imported in immense quanti
ties. The chief occupations are agriculture
and mining, the manufacture of castor oil and
the liquor called mezcal, and pearl and tor
toise fisheries along the coasts. Brazil wood,
pearls, gold, and silver are exported in large
quantities. Sinaloa is divided into the dis
tricts of Rosario, Concordia, Mazatlan, San
Ignacio, Cosala, Culiacan, Mocorito, Sinaloa
and Fuerte. The capital is Culiacan, and the
chief port Mazatlan. II. An inland town of
the preceding state, on the right bank of a
river of the same name, in the midst of a
gold-mining district, 220 m. N". K TV. of Ma
zatlan; pop. about 9,000. It has good houses,
a church, and a school ; and the inhabitants
are chiefly engaged in mining. It was the
capital of the old province of Sinaloa.

SINCLAIR. I. Sir John, a Scottish agricul
turist, born at Tlmrso castle, Caithness, May
10, 1754, died Dec. 21, 1835. From 1780 to
1810 he was a member of parliament. He had
an estate of 100,000 acres in Caithness, and
devoted himself to the development of agri
culture, the improvement of wool, and the re
vival of coast fisheries ; and he built up the
village of Thurso into a flourishing port. In
1786 he was created a baronet. The board of
agriculture was established by act of parlia
ment in 1793 mainly through his efforts, and
he was its first president. He was the author of 1
numerous volumes and pamphlets on agricul
ture, finances, and other subjects, and also pub
lished " Observations on the Scottish Dialect "
(1782) ; " History of the Public Revenue of

VOL. XV. 5

the British Empire" (3 vols., 1785- 9) ; -Sta
tistical Account of Scotland" (21 vols., 1791-
9) ; and " Code of Health and Longevity "
(4 vols., 1807). II. Sir George, a Scottish au
thor, son of the preceding, born in Edinburgh,
Oct. 23, 1790, died Oct. 9, 1868. For several
years he represented Caithness in parliament.
He published " Selections from the Corre
spondence on the Scottish Church Question "
(1842); "Letters to the Protestants of Scot
land" (1852); "Miscellaneous Thoughts on
Popery, Prelacy, and Presbyterianism " (1853) ;
"Two Hundred Years of Popery in France,
1515-1715 " (1853); and "Popery in the First
Century " (1855). His life has been written
by James Grant (London, 1869). III. John,
a Scottish clergyman, brother of the preceding,
born Aug. 20, 1797, died in London, May 22,
1875. After graduating at Pembroke college,
Oxford, he took orders, and in 1843 was made
archdeacon of Middlesex. In 1853 he visited
the United States in behalf of the society for
the propagation of the gospel. He published
a life of his father (2 vols., Edinburgh, 1837),
and "Sketches of Old Times and Distant
Places" (London, 1875). IV. Catharine, a Scot
tish authoress, sister of the preceding, born
in Edinburgh, April 17, 1800, died in Lon
don, Aug. 6, 1864. She was her father s sec
retary in the latter part of his life. Besides
numerous books for children and miscellaneous
works, she published several novels, including
"Modern Accomplishments" (1885); "Holi
day House" (1839); "Modern Flirtations"
(1841); "Jane Bouverie" (1845); "Lord and
Lady Harcourt " (1850); "Beatrice" (1852);
and " Torchester Abbey, or Cross Purposes"
(1855).

SIRBE, Sdnde, or Sindh, an administrative di
vision or commissionership of the province of
Bombay in British India, bounded N. by Be-
loochistan and the Punjaub, E. by Rajpoota-
na, S. by the great western Runn of Cutch and
the Indian ocean, and TV. by the Indian ocean
and Beloochistan ; area, 54,403 sq. m. ; pop.
in 1872, 1,730,323. The sea coast, 150 m. in
length, is IOW T and swampy, except at its N. ex
tremity, and at high water the shore is over
flowed for a considerable distance inland. The
interior is a vast and arid plain of sand and
shingle, traversed throughout its entire length
by the river Indus, with a belt of fertility on
each side. Sinde and the Indus bear a striking
resemblance to Egypt and the Kile. (See IN
DUS.) The Ilala hills extend along the TV. fron
tier, but the most elevated points do not exceed
1,500 ft. above the sea. The E. part of Sinde
is to a great extent desert, and covered with
shifting sand hills, but affords some pasturage,
more particularly for camels. In the north
there are extensive tracts of jungle, now util
ized as government fuel reserves. Upper Sinde
and Lower Sinde are the respective designa
tions of the northern and southern portions of
the division, which comprises politically the
collectorates of Kurrachee and Shikarpoor on

SINDE

the "W. side of the Indus, the collectorate of
Hydrabad and the frontier district of Upper
Sinde, bordering the river on the east, the na
tive state of Khyerpoor between them, and the
political superintendency of Thur and Parkur
in the S. E. corner. The chief towns are Kur-
rachee, the seaport of the Indus, Hydrabad,
the capital, Sukkur, Shikarpoor, and Larkha-
na, all organized municipalities except the first.
The climate is hot, subject to sudden and great
changes of temperature, and remarkably dry.
Its aridity is due to the fact that the S. W.
monsoon does not blow over Sinde, where the
normal yearly rainfall is less than 15 inches,
although the dews are exceedingly heavy. At
Hydrabad the mean temperature of the six
hottest months is 98, but in winter frost
is not unknown. In December, January, and
February, a temperature of 32 F. at dawn is
not unfrequently followed by a midday tem
perature of from 75 to 86 in the shade, at
Kurrachee. Upper Sinde is tolerably health
ful, and many of the natives attain a great age ;
but in the lower country, particularly toward
the mouth of the Indus, there is much malaria
and fever. Salt is the chief mineral product
of the country, and alum, which is used to
clarify the water of the Indus for drinking,
occurs in considerable quantities. The soil of
the delta of the Indus is a light clay mixed with
sand, and the whole valley is fertilized by the
annual inundation of the river; but away from
the streams the surface is for the most part a
sandy desert, or consists of vast tracts over
spread with acacia-like trees, salvadora, and
a leafless caper shrub. The forests of Sinde
comprise the babul (acacia Artibicti), the tama
risk, and the Euphrates poplar, and border the
Indus at various points, having formerly been
the favorite hunting grounds of the ameers ;
they cover an area of 350,000 acres. Irriga
tion is essential to cultivation, and the canals
for that purpose are kept up at great expense,
owing to the accumulation of silt. The only
perennial canal in the division is above Suk
kur, and is 24 m..long; all the others are in
undation canals. Cotton is now grown exper
imentally, and sugar cane and tobacco succeed
well, besides rice, wheat, barley, mustard, and
the other common crops of such a climate;
but the methods of agriculture are inferior
and carelessly applied. The zemindari land
revenue system prevails, under which the land
is cultivated on shares. The fauna of Sinde
is remarkable for number and variety. Tigers
and leopards, hyamas and jackals, buffaloes,
hog-deer, antelopes, and wild boars are prom
inent among the mammals. Among the very
numerous species of birds are two eagles,
bustards, falcons, partridges, quails, snipe, cor
morants, herons, flamingoes, pelicans, and wild
ducks of many sorts. The fresh waters yield
the gavial, a so-called river porpoise which
weighs upward of 200 Ibs., and many varieties
of fish ; while pearl oysters are abundant along
the coast. The common insects are locusts,

ants, mosquitoes, and black flies. The Sindi-
ans are tall, well made, and handsome, and the
women are remarkably good-looking. They
are made up of mixed races, principally Jats
and Beloochees, the proportion of Mohamme
dans to other sects in the population being as
four to one. The people are described as idle,
exceedingly immoral, ignorant, and bigoted.
Wool raising is an important industry. Some
manufactures are carried on in the principal
towns, and the people are very ingenious work
men. Coarse silk goods are made from ma
terials imported from Persia and China, and
a peculiarly soft and durable leather, several
different kinds of cloth, earthenware, and cut
lery are manufactured. The foreign trade in
1872- 3 was worth nearly 1,000,000, com
prising exports valued at 657,094, and im
ports worth 324,250 ; and the coast trade
was valued at 2,040,561. Some traffic is
carried on with Cabool through the Bolan
pass, but in Lower Sinde there are no regular
highways, as the constantly shifting sand ren
ders it difficult to maintain them. A railroad
connects Kurrachee and Ilydrabad, and the
Indus valley line, which is to unite it with the
railway system of India, is in process of con
struction. The government of Sinde is ad
ministered by a special commissioner. Khyer
poor, the only native state in the division,
extends 120 in. in length and 70 m. in width,
between the Indus on the west and the Raj
poot state of Jessulmeer on the east, and is
a great alluvial plain watered by six canals
and having an area of 6,109 sq. in. When
Alexander the Great invaded India, Sinde was
ruled by Hindoo princes, who had extended
their conquests over all the countries lying
between the Indus and the Ganges. Little is
known of Sinde from that time till about A.
D. 715, when it was conquered by a Moham
medan army sent from Bassorah ; but these
invaders did not long hold it. It was subse
quently governed by a Rajpoot tribe for near
ly three centuries, and was then conquered by
Mahmoud of Ghuzni, whose successors held it
until they were overthrown by the house of
Ghore. About 1225 it fell under the domin
ion of the rulers of Delhi, who held it for up
ward of a century. They were succeeded by
native princes, and about 1520 the country
became subject to Shah Beg Argoon of Can-
dahar. In 1592 it was incorporated with the
Mogul empire under Akbar, in 1739 with the
Persian under Nadir Shah, after whose death
it reverted to the former, and in 1756 passed
by dowry to the ruler of Cabool, remaining
a nominal dependency of Afghanistan, though
governed by native princes, till 1786, when a
Belooche chief named Meer Futteh Ali ob
tained supremacy and divided the country into
three independent states, each under several
rulers known as ameers. Under these chiefs
the government was a military despotism, and
the relations between them and the English
East India company were never very friendly.

SINDIA

SINGAPORE

About the beginning of the present century
the company s agent was violently expelled,
and a large amount of property in his custo
dy confiscated. Subsequently several treaties
were made ; and in 1838, to facilitate the op
erations of its armv in the contemplated Af
ghan war, the company extorted concessions
from the ameers by which Sinde was made
virtually one of its dependencies. The disas
ters of the British in Afghanistan having en
couraged the ameers to commit hostile acts,
a military force was sent thither under Sir
Charles Napier, who, after concluding a treaty
with the ameers of Lower Sinde, found himself
compelled to take the field ; the result was the
brilliant victory of Meeanee (Feb. 17, 1843),
the rapid conquest of the country, and the
establishment of British authority. (See XA-
PIEE, Sir CHARLES JAMES.) The rajah of
Khyerpoor was allowed to retain his posses
sions, on account of his fidelity to the English.
Sinde was constituted
a commissionership in
1843.

SLXDIA, Family of.
See GWALIOR.

SINGAPORE. I. A
province of the British
colony of the Straits
Settlements, consisting
of the island of Sin
gapore, and about 50
islets S. and E. of it
in the strait of Singa
pore, lying between
lat.l8 andl32 A K,
and Ion. 103 30 and
104 1C 7 E. ; pop. in
1871, 97,111. The isl
and of Singapore lies
off the S. extremity of
the Malay peninsula,
from which it is sepa
rated by a strait about
40 m. long and to 2

m. wide ; it is about 25 m. long from E. to
"W., and 12 m. wide ; area, 224 sq! m. On the
coast are swampy tracts covered with man
grove trees, but inland are many small hills,
from 100 to 500 ft. high. Iron ore abounds.
Much of the soil is sterile, but in the lowlands
it is richer. There are a few rivulets. Nutmegs,
cloves, ginger, pepper, gambir, tapioca, and
sugar cane are raised. The thermometer ranges
from 71 to 89, and the climate is healthful.
Showers are frequent, and in 1871 the total
rainfall was 120 4 inches. Tigers cross the
strait to the island, and are said to carry off, on
the average, a Chinaman every day. Of the
inhabitants of Singapore in 1871, 74,351 were
males and 22,763 females; 54,098 Chinese,
19,250 Malays, 9,297 Klings, 1,329 Europeans,
2,164 Eurasians, and the remainder natives
of other parts of the East Indies. Malay is
the prevailing language. II. A city, capital
of the Straits Settlements, on the S. side of

the island of Singapore, in lat. 1 16 13" X.,
Ion. 103 53 15" E. ; pop. about 90,000. It
is on a low plain fronting the harbor, with
hills in the rear, and is intersected by a salt
water creek called the Singapore river. On
the AV. side is the Chinese quarter, which
contains also the great mercantile warehouses
and counting houses. On the E. side are the
ofiicial buildings, churches, hotels, and many
of the European residences ; and still further
E. is the Malay quarter. Behind the Chinese
quarter, on Pearl hill, is a fortress which com
mands it, and on another elevation, back of
the European quarter, is the government house,
a fine building of cut stone. Many neigh
boring hills are occupied by country houses.
Near the shore are ample parade grounds and
drives. The botanical garden has a splendid
collection of tropical plants. Among the pub
lic buildings are the Singapore institution for
the study of the languages of the East, which

Singapore.

contains a museum, library, and reading room ;
a prison, in which are generally confined about
2,000 criminals, mostly Hindoos, who are em
ployed on government works ; Protestant and
Roman Catholic churches, a splendid Chinese
temple, and a Mohammedan mosque. There
are two mission schools, attended chiefly by
Chinese, Malays, and Eurasians. The Chinese
have also private schools. The port of Singa
pore, which is divided into two by a tongue of
land, is capacious, and the water is deep enough
for the largest vessels. The harbors are pro
vided with every facility for an extensive com
merce, and for fitting out and repairing ships.
Singapore is a free port. Vessels pay three
cents a ton light dues on entering and leaving.
In consequence of its geographical position, it
is the entrepot of the commerce of S. Asia
and the Indian archipelago, and is resorted to
by vessels of all nations. The entrances in
1872 were 1,665, tonnage 918,652; 729 were

SING SING

SIOUX

steamers, tonnage G12,929. The total value of
imports was $43,415,383 ; exports, $39,020,-
121. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1874,
29 United States vessels entered ; the total
value of the exports to the United States for
the same period was $3,750,831. The exports
are tin, gambir, pepper, rattans and Malacca
canes, coffee, nutmegs, tapioca, sago, caou
tchouc, guttapercha, sapan wood, buffalo hides,
and gums. The city of Singapura ("lion s
town"), capital of a Malayan kingdom, occu
pied the site of Singapore in the 12th century.
In the 13th century it was captured by a king
of Java, when the royal residence was removed
to Malacca, and it gradually fell into decay ;
and in 1819, when the British built a factory
on the site, the whole island had only 150
inhabitants. In 1824 the sultan of Johore, in
consideration of $60,000 and a life annuity of
$24,000, transferred the sovereignty and fee
simple of the island, and all the seas and
islands within 10 geographical miles, to the
British. (See STEAITS SETTLEMENTS.)

SING SING, a village in the township of Os-
sining, Westchester co., New York, beautifully
situated on high ground on the E. bank of the
Hudson river, at its widest part, called Tappan
bay, 30 in. above New York; pop. in 1875,
6,500. There arc several manufactories, the
principal being two of files, one of lawn mow
ers, two of carriages, one of Brandreth pills,
and one of porous plasters. The village con
tains a national bank, a savings bank, a pub
lic school, a Roman Catholic school, a female
seminary, a school for preparing boys for West
Point, three military schools, 12 private schools,
two weekly newspapers, and six churches. It
is the S3at of one of the state prisons. The
male division was erected by convicts, the first
draft of whom, from Auburn state prison,
began work in May, 1825. It contains 1,200
cells, is 484 ft. long by 44 ft. wide, and six
stories high, with ranges of workshops run
ning at right angles, 40 ft. wide and two and
three stories high. The female division, with
120 cells, is on the E. side of the male divi
sion, and under separate management; it was
begun in 1835. Both buildings are of white
marble. (See NEW YOKK, vol. xii., p. 367.)

SLMGAGLIA (anc. Sena Gallica), a town of
central Italy, in the province and 18 m. N. W.
of the city of Ancona, at the mouth of the
Misa in the Adriatic; pop. in 1872, 22,197.
It is the seat of a bishop, and has a beautiful
cathedral. The ramparts are protected by a
citadel. The port admits only small craft.
The annual fair, July 20 to Aug. 8, at which
large transactions are made in silk, is of great
antiquity. The town was plundered by the
troops of Pompey in 82 B. C. Under the ex
archs of Ravenna it was for some time one of
the cities of the Pentapolis, but afterward fell
into decay. It is the birthplace of Pius IX.

SINOPE (Turk. Sinub\ a fortified seaport
town of Asia Minor, in the Turkish vilayet of
Kastamuni, on the S. shore of the Black sea,

325 m. E. N. E. of Constantinople; pop. about
10,000. It stands on an isthmus which con
nects the mainland with a high rocky penin
sula called Cape Sinope, forming on its S. E.
side a roadstead, which is the best anchorage
on that shore. The town has an arsenal and
the only ship yard in Turkey except that at
Constantinople, and many Turkish war ves
sels are built there. There is a massive castle
erected in the time of the Greek emperors, and
new fortifications are nearly completed (1876).
It is a coal depot for steamers between Con
stantinople and Trebizond. Oak timber is
largely exported. Sinope became important
after its second colonization from Miletus,
about 630 B. C., and continued independent
till 183, when it was captured by Pharnaces,
king of Pontus, of which country it became
the capital. It was much ornamented and
improved by Mithridates the Great. Having
been conquered by the Eomans, it was made
a colony by Caesar. It was taken by tho Turks
in 1401. In the Crimean war the Turkish
fleet, with the exception of one steamer which
escaped, was destroyed here by the Russian
fleet under Nakhimoff, with a loss of about
4,000 men, Nov. 30, 1853. The town .was
bombarded and suffered very severely.

SINTO, or Sliioto. See JAPAX, vol. ix., pp.
537 and 562.

SIOOT, or Osioot (anc. Lycopolis), a city of
Egypt, capital of a province of the same name,
and residence of the governor of Upper Egypt,
near the left bank of the Nile, about 250
m. above Cairo, under a hilly ridge of sand
cliffs, which have been extensively excavated ;
pop. about 25,000. A magnificent embank
ment studded with trees leads to the town,
which has several beautiful mosques and good
bazaars ; but the streets are narrow and un-
paved, and most of the houses are mere hov
els. There are successful schools under the
care of American missionaries, and British
and American consular agents. Sioot was
formerly much frequented by caravans from
the interior. The most important manufac
ture is that of pipe bowls. There are ruins
here of a Roman amphitheatre, vast rock
tombs of the 12th dynasty, and ancient ala
baster quarries in the opposite range of hills.
The city was once devoted to the worship of
the wolf, or of the deity to which that ani
mal was sacred, from which its ancient Greek
name is derived.

SIOUX, or Dakotas. a tribe of American In
dians, dwelling near the head waters of the
Mississippi when first known by the whites.
In 1640 the Algon quins informed the French
of them as the Nadowessioux, whence they
came to oe called Sioux. In 1660, or soon
after, the Chippewas and Hurons began a war
with them, which continued into this century.
In 1680 Duluth set up the French standard in
their country at Izatys near the St. Peters.
In the next year he rescued Ilennepin from
them. Nicolas Perrot, having entered their

SIOUX

domain in 1685, took formal possession for
France in 1689, erecting a breastwork near
Lake Pepin. In 1689- 99 Le Sueur visited the
Dakotas, and describes them as divided into
seven eastern and nine western tribes. They
joined the Foxes against the French, and in
war with the Chippewas many were forced
down the Mississippi, and, driving other Indi
ans from the buffalo plains, took possession of
them. Several bands wandered into the plains
of the Missouri. Some remained at or near
the St. Peter s. The English agents secured
the services of the Sioux in the war of 1812 ;
but most of the bands soon made peace. The
treaties then made were renewed in 1825 by
the Tetons, Yanktons, and Yanktonais, Si-
oune, Ogallalas, and Oncpapas. The nation,
estimated in 1822 at 5,000 on the St. Peter s
and 7,750 on the Missouri, comprised the Alde-
wakantonwans, or Spirit Lake village ; the
Wahpetonwans, or village in the Leaves ; the
Sisitowans, or village of the Marsh, called also
Isantis; the Yanktonwans, or End villages;
and the Tetonwans, or Prairie village, which in
cludes the Ogallala and Oncpapa bands. Their
territory extended from the Mississippi to the
Black hills, and from Devil s lake to the mouth
of the Big Sioux. On Sept. 29, 1837, the Da
kotas ceded to the United States, for $300,000
and some minor payments, all their lands east
of the Mississippi. The American board be
gan missions among the Wahpetonwans near
Fort Snelling in 1835, and the Methodists in
1836. Schools were introduced, and elemen
tary books printed in the language. In 1851
the nation ceded to the United States all their
land east of a line from Otter Tail lake through
Lake Traverse to the junction of the Big Sioux
and the Missouri, retaining a reservation 20 by
140 m. ; 35,000,000 acres were thus acquired
for $3,000,000. The government s neglect to
carry out the provisions of these treaties caused
bitter feelings, and in 1854 Lieut. Grattan, in
the attempt to arrest a Dakota, attacked a vil
lage and was cut off with his whole party.
A series of hostilities by some of the Sioux
ensued ; but Gen. Ilarney defeated them on
Little Blue Water, Sept. 3, 1855, and a general
council at Fort Pierce consented to a treaty of
peace. But in July, 1857, the band of Inkpa-
dutas massacred 47 whites near Spirit lake,
Minnesota, and murders elsewhere followed.
Five whites were killed at Acton, Minnesota,
Aug. 17, 1862. Enraged by the failure of an
nuities and the frauds practised on them, the
Sioux then made a general uprising and killed
nearly 1,000 settlers. New Ulm, a town of
1,500 people, was abandoned and almost de
stroyed. Fort Ridgely was besieged, and was
saved with difficulty. The Sioux of the Mis
souri and the plains also became hostile, and
were reduced by Gen. Sibley of Minnesota and
Gen. Sully of the United States army. After
a severe struggle a number of captive white
women and children were rescued, and many
Indians captured and sent to Davenport. Of

more than 1,000 Indians held captive, many
were tried and condemned, but only 39, con
victed of specific acts, were executed ; the
others were finally released. Many bands fled
into Dakota territory, and the war, disease,
and want largely reduced the nation. In 1863
the Minnesota Sioux were removed to Crow
creek. About 1866 treaties were made with
nine bands, promising them certain annuities,
to be enlarged as they should give increased
attention to agriculture. An act of Feb. 11,
1863, annulled all previous treaties with the
Sioux ; but to the innocent bands a part of the
amount pledged was restored, the government
reserving compensation for damages. The
most guilty bands fled north, and are still in
the British territory. A few bands continued
longer in hostility, cutting off Lieut. Fetter-
man and his party in December, 1866, and
besieging for a time Fort Phil Kearny. In
1874 the Dakotas comprised the Santee Sioux
in the reservation at the mouth of the Niobra-
ra, Nebraska, numbering 791, with five schools
under the care of the Episcopalians and the
American board ; the Yankton Sioux on the
Missouri, with the same missionaries; the Sis-
setons and the Wahpetons at Lake Traverse
and Devil s lake ; the Oncpapas, Blackfeet
Sioux, Lower and Upper Yanktonais, Sans
Arcs, Upper and Lower Ernie s, Two-Kettle,
Minneconjous, and Ogallalas in the Crow creek,
Grand river, Whetstone, Cheyenne river, and
Red Cloud agencies, 46,342 in all, in Dakota ;
Santee, Yanktonais, Oncpapa, and Cuthead
Sioux at Milk river agency, Montana, 5,309.
In 1873 the government liabilities to the Da
kota tribes, including payments not yet due,
were estimated at $10,387,800, with annual
payments for their benefit of $27,400. A
treaty hastily made by Gen. Sherman, April
29, 1868, was unsatisfactory on both sides;
and as gold had been discovered in the Black
hills, the United States wished to purchase
the tract, and induce the Sioux to abandon
their hunting grounds south of the Niobrara,
or even to emigrate to the Indian territory.
The Sioux showed great reluctance to treat.
Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, and Spotted Tail, with
other chiefs, visited Washington in May, 1875,
but President Grant could not induce them to
sign a treaty. Commissioners deputed by him
met an immense gathering of the Sioux at the
Red Cloud agency in September; but as the
Sioux set an exorbitant price on their lands,
the negotiation failed. Hostile feelings have
been excited by alleged frauds at the Sioux
agencies, which have been investigated, but
as yet (1876) without result. Much attention
has been given to the Dakota language. A
very good grammar and dictionary by Riggs
have been issued by the Smithsonian insti
tution. The missionaries have also supplied
portions of Scripture, hymns, catechisms, and
| educational works in it, and newspapers issue
lighter reading. It lacks the sounds f, r, i&gt;,
but has peculiar sounds of its own.

SIOUX

SIRHIKD

SIOUX, a N. TV. county of Iowa, bounded
TV. by the Big Sioux river and intersected by
Eock river and affluents of Floyd s river ; area,
about 750 sq. m. : pop. in 1870, 576. The
surface is nearly level and the soil productive.
The Sioux City and St. Paul railroad passes
through it. Capital, Calliope.

SIOUX CITY, a city and the county seat of
Woodbury co., Iowa, on the Missouri river, be
tween Perry and Floyd s creeks, at the inter
section of the Sioux City and Pacific, Sioux
City and St. Paul, Illinois Central, and Dako
ta Southern railroads, 156 m. N. TV. of Des
Moines; pop. in 1870, 3,401; in 1875, about
5,500. The business portion of the city is
built upon a dry, well drained bench, which
almost imperceptibly slopes N. from the river.
N. and TV. of the thickly settled part of the city
rise low ranges of bluffs, upon whose sides are
built some of the finest residences. The streets
cross each other at right angles, and the prin
cipal ones are graded and furnished with side
walks. The city is lighted with gas and has a
fire department. It has an extensive trade
with N. TV. Iowa, N. E. Nebraska, and S. Da
kota. There are four grain elevators, a pork-
packing establishment, a national bank, a pri
vate bank, a savings institution, three saw
mills, two flouring mills, a foundery and ma
chine shop, three breweries, a gun factory, mar
ble works, &c. The workshops of the Sioux
City and St. Paul railroad employ about 75
men. The city has two fine graded school
buildings and three or four ward school houses,,
attended by about 1,000 pupils ; one daily and
three weekly (one German) newspapers; a pub
lic hall, seating 1,000 persons; a library asso-
ciation ; and six churches. Sioux City was
laid out in 1854 and incorporated in 1857.

SIR DARYA, See JAXAETES.

SIREDON. See AXOLOTL.

SIREN, a North American long-tailed batra-
chian, with stout eel-like body, naked skin,
persistent branchiae, and only the two anterior
legs. The best known species, the S. lacertina
(Linn.), or mud eel, has a small and short head,
with elevated forehead and depressed and trun
cated snout, three branchial tufts, and three
spiracles on each side ; the mouth is small, with
distinct lips, and arrow-shaped tongue free at
the tip and sides ; no teeth in the upper jaw,
but a broad band of very minute ones along
the outer border of the palate bones ; nostrils
and eyes small, the latter black ; the tail late
rally compressed, with a rayless fin above and
below ; limbs with four short and small fingers
with horny tips. It attains a length of from
2 to 3 ft., and is dusky above with numerous
whitish spots, and purplish below ; it lives
chiefly in the mud and muddy water of the
Carolina rice fields, and occasionally comes
on land. Its food consists of worms, insects,
and the eggs of fish and frogs; it is found
from lat. 3.5 N. to E. Florida. In this group
there are about 90 vertebras, connected by coni
cal cavities filled with a gelatinous substance,

as in fishes ; eight pairs of short ribs, of which
the first pair is attached to the second verte
bra; no trace of pelvis; three cartilaginous
branchial arches attached to an osseous tongue
bone ; the lungs two long sacs, accessory to the
gills, but, as in the menobranchus, insufficient
for respiration.

SIREN, in acoustics. See LIGHTHOUSE, vol.
x., p. 458, and SOUND.

SIREJVIA, an order of placental mammals
containing the dugong and manatee, formerly
called herbivorous cetaceans. They are whale-
like in the swimming paddles of the anterior
limbs, the absence of the posterior, and in the
transverse tail fin ; they differ from cetaceans
in having the nostrils at the anterior part of
the muzzle, molar teeth with flat crowns adapt
ed for a vegetable diet, a head not dispropor
tionately large, a tolerably distinct neck, more
fleshy and bristly lips, and more hairy body.

SIRENS (Gr. asipijves, from aapdeiv, to draw,
to entice), mythical female beings who en
chanted the listeners to their song, and after
getting them into their power destroyed them.
In the legends of the Argonauts they are said
to have endeavored to entice those wanderers,
but Orpheus surpassed them in singing ; there
upon they threw themselves into the sea, and
were changed into rocks, as it had been f atecl
that they were not to live after any one passed
by them unaffected. In Homer the sirens are
connected with the voyage of Ulysses, who,
preparatory to sailing by the islands on which
they were sitting, by the advice of Circe plug
ged the ears of his companions with wax and
fastened himself to the mast of the vessel,
until he was out of the sound of their voices.
The island in Homer s account was between
^Eaoa and the rock of Scylla, in the strait, of
Messina ; but the Roman poets place them near
the shore of Campania, in the island of Capreaa
(Capri) or in the Sirenusian islands near Pass-
turn. They were called daughters of Phorcus,
of Achelous and Sterope, of Terpsichore, of
Melpomene, of Calliope, or of Gaaa. While
Homer mentions only two sirens, the later
traditions assume that there were three, and
sometimes four. In later times they were re
presented as birds with the face of a woman.
See Schrader, Die Sirenen im Alterthum
(Berlin, 1868).

SIRHIND. I. A geographical designation ap
plied to that part of India lying between the
upper courses of the Sutlej and the Jumna,
but not now coterminous with any political
division, being for the most part a plain sloping
from 1ST. E. to S. TV., and having an area of
about 17,000 sq. m. In the extreme north
east a spur of the Himalaya, which divides the
head waters of the Sutlej from those of the
Jurnna, projects into the territory, which is
bounded N. and S. by certain outlying dis
tricts of the Punjaub, E. by the Northwest
Provinces, and TV. by Bhawalpoor. It com
prises the Punjaub districts of Ambala, Loo-
diana, Ferozepoor, Sirsa, Hissar, and Kurnal,

SIKIUS

SISMONDI

as well as nine independent native Cis-Sutlej
states in subsidiary alliance with the British
government, as follows: Patiala, area 5,412
sq. m., pop. 1,650,000 ; Jhind, 8G3 sq. m.,
pop. 189,475; Nabha, 863 sq. m., pop. 227,-
155 ; Kalsia, 155 sq. m., pop. 62,000 ; Maler-
Kotla, 165 sq. in., pop. 46,200 ; Furidkot, 643
sq. m., pop. 68,000 ; Dyalgurh, Mumdot, and
Raikot. Separate from the group, on the
banks of the Beas, but usually classed with the
Sikh states of Sirhind, is the state of Kapur-
thala, with an area of 598 sq. m. ; pop. 253,-
293. The Sikhs predominate, except in Maler-
Kotla, which is Mohammedan, and Furidkot,
where the ruler is a Jat. Sirhind is traversed
by the Saraswati, Ghaggar, and other affluents
of the Sutlej, but, although fertile, requires
additional irrigation, which will be supplied by
the canal system now in process of construc
tion by the government, to have a total length
of 554 m. The Feroze canal, in the S. part of
Sirhind, was originally constructed from the
Jumna to Hissar by Feroze Shah (1351- 87), in
order to water his hunting grounds, and has
been restored by the British. The railway
from Delhi to Lahore crosses Sirhind. Those
portions of the Punjaub directly subject to the
government of India were mainly acquired du
ring the Sil^i wars. The sovereign states were
guaranteed their independence, under British
protection, by treaty with Runjeet Singh in
1809. II. A town in the Sirhind state of Pa
tiala, lat. 30 36 K, Ion. 76 25 E., founded
by Feroze Shah in 1357, and once an impor
tant city, but subjected to repeated captures
during the Sikh wars, and now largely in ruins.
It is on the line of the Delhi railway.

SIRIUS. See DOG STAR.

SIRM01VD, Jacques, a French scholar, born in
Eiom in October, 1559, died in Paris, Oct. 7,
1651. He was a Jesuit, and in 1590 became
secretary to the general of the order, Claudio
Acquaviva. In 1608 he went to Paris to edit
a collection of the histories of the French
church councils. In 1637, to prevent his re
turning to Rome, he was chosen by Louis XIII.
as his confessor. He was involved in contro
versies with Salmasius, Saint-Cyran, and oth
ers. His principal original works are : Notce
Stigmaticce (4to, Frankfort, 1612), directed
against Richer s work on the temporal and
spiritual powers ; Concilia antiqua Gallice (3
vols. fol., Paris, 1629); and Historia Pceniten-
tice PuUicce (1651). A collected edition of
his works appeared in 1696 (5 vols. fol.), with
a life of the author by Labaune. He published
many editions of ancient authors.

SIROC0, or Scirocco, a S. E. wind of a suffo
cating and parching heat, which at certain in
tervals, especially in spring and autumn, blows
with great violence in the islands of the Medi
terranean and on the S. coasts of Italy, for 36
or 48 hours together, and sometimes even for
a week or more, and which exerts a most per
nicious influence on animal and vegetable life.
It is regarded as similar in character to the

simoom, though of longer duration, and tem
pered while passing over the Mediterranean.
It is hottest in Malta and Sicily, but of short
continuance. In the Ionian isles it blows for
a longer period, but usually not so fiercely.
The inhabitants of these isles speak of the
black and the ordinary sirocco. It produces
very little change either in the thermometer
or the barometer, but causes a sensation of
terrible heat and suffocation, great prostration,
and copious perspiration.

SISKIN. See ABERDEVINE.

SISRIWIT. See TROUT.

SISRIYOr, a N". county of California, bor
dering on Oregon; pop. in 18*(0, 6,848, of
whom 1,440 were Chinese. It formerly had
an area of 8,740 sq. m., extending from Ne
vada to TV. of the Coast mountains ; but in
1874 the E. portion was set off to form Modoc
co. It is intersected by the Klamath river,
and watered by several of its tributaries. The
surface is elevated. Mt. Shasta in the S. part,
in the transverse range joining the Sierra
Nevada and Coast mountains, is an extinct
volcano, 14,442 ft. high, and covered with per
petual snow. The principal agricultural dis
trict is Scott s valley, 40 m. long by 7 m. wide.
The chief productions in 1870 were 116,107
bushels of wheat, 131,383 of oats, 55,138 of
barley, 17,066 of potatoes, 43,858 Ibs. of wool,
95,800 of butter, and 12,392 tons of hay.
There were 4,654 horses, 24,254 cattle, 12,844
sheep, and 7,499 swine; 8 flour mills, and 8
saw mills. Capital, Yreka.

SISMOJVDI, Jean Charles Leonard Sirnomie de, a
French historian, born in Geneva, May 9, 1773,
died there, June 25, 1842. He Avas the son of
a Protestant clergyman, and of remote Italian
descent. After completing his classical studies,
he was placed in a commercial house at Lyons.
He subsequently resided with his family in
England for some time, and having returned to
Geneva about 1794, he and his father were
driven into exile for assisting a political refu
gee. He returned to Geneva in 1800, became
a secretary of the chamber of commerce, and
published in 1803 Traite de larichesse commer
cials^ ou principes d" 1 economic politique (2 vols.
8vo). In this work he supported the principles
of Adam Smith, but his views afterward un
derwent a radical change. The influence of
Mme. de Stael, whom he accompanied to Ger
many and Italy, and of her friends, turned his
attention to historical labors, in which he re
vealed his ardent love of humanity. In 1819
he married Miss Allen, a sister of Sir James
Mackintosh s second wife, and declined chairs
at the Sorbonne and the college de France, to
spend the rest of his life at Geneva. His prin
cipal works are : Histoire des republiques ita~
liennes du moyen age (16 vols., Zurich, 1807-
18 ; new ed., 10 vols., Paris, 1840) ; La littera-
ture du midi de V Europe (4 vols., 1813 ; 4th
ed., 1840 ; English translation by Thomas Ros-
coe, \vith notes, 4 vols., 1823) ; Nouveaux prin
cipes d" 1 economic politique (2 vols., 1819) ; His-

SISTERHOODS

toire des Francais (31 vols., 1821- 44 ; vols.
xxx. and xxxi. by Amedee Renee, the last
forming a general index) ; Julia Severn, ou Van
492, a picture of Gaul during the 5th century
(3 vols. 12mo, 1822); " History of the Italian
Republics," an eloquent summary of his great
work on the same subject, and " The Fall of
the Roman Empire," both originally written
in English for Lardner s " Cabinet Cyclopae
dia" (1832 and 1834), and translated by him
self into French; Etudes sur la constitution
des peuples libres (1836 ; enlarged ed., entitled
Etudes des sciences sociales, 3 vols., ISSG- S);
and Precis de Vhistoire des Francais (2 vols.,
1839), a summary of his larger work, bring
ing it do\vn ; to the death of Henry IV. See
" Political Economy and the Philosophy of
Government," selected from his works, with a
notice of his life and writings by Mignet (Lon
don, 1847) ; Sismondi, fragments de son journal
et de sa correspondance avec Mile, de Sainte-
Aulaire (Paris, 1863) ; and his Lettres inedites
d Madame $ Albany (1864).

SISTERHOODS. I. Roman Catholic, associations
o"f women bound together by religious vo\vs,
and devoted to works of charity. In this arti
cle only those sisterhoods are mentioned which
profess to embrace exclusively or in a very
special manner hospital work, and the care of
the aged or infirm poor, orphans, and penitent
women. The history of religious orders of
women whose principal object is the pursuit
of ascetic perfection, forms a part of the his
tory of the great contemplative orders on which
they depend for their origin, name, and spirit
ual guidance. (See MONACHISM, RELIGIOUS OR
DERS, and special articles on the several orders.)
Female congregations whose sole purpose is the
instruction of youth, or who embrace at the
same time works of public charity, are treated
under SCHOOL BROTHERS ASTD SCHOOL SISTERS.
In the 5th century mention is made by ec
clesiastical writers of associations of women
at Rome, Milan, and other chief cities of the
Roman empire, who gave up their wealth and
time to the relief of the suffering poor. Congre
gations of female hospitallers existed through
out western Europe, dependent on the com
munities of canons regular, professing like these
the rule of St. Augustine, and subject to the
same changes and reforms. The earliest known
sisterhoods of extensive influence, devoted sole
ly to hospitality or hospital work, are the sis
ters of St. John of Jerusalem and the sisters of
St. Lazarus. The former had a utility coex
tensive with that of the knightly brotherhood
of the same name ; the latter especially pro
fessed to care for lepers, incurables, the plague-
stricken, and persons afflicted with every form
of loathsome disease. The order of St. Laza
rus is contemporaneous with the hospitallers
of St. John of Jerusalem. A guild of men
and women were in charge of several leprosy
hospitals in that city when it was conquered
by the crusaders ; they were organized soon
afterward into a religious order under the rule

of St. Augustine, and their establishments mul
tiplied rapidly both in the East and the West.
The first female leprosy hospital in France was
founded at St. Denis, near Paris, in 1109, by
Louis VI., who also opened several others in
various parts of the kingdom, among them one
at La Saussaie, near Villejuif, and another at
Etampes, besides founding many in the East.
The sisterhood was recruited from among the
nobility ; and Henry II. of England, in found
ing a hospital for female lepers at Rouvray,
near Rouen, stipulated that none but noble
ladies of the sisterhood of St. Lazarus should
belong to the community in charge of the
lepers. The sisterhood also found protectors
in Richard I. of England, St. Elizabeth of Hun
gary, Louis VII., Louis VIII., and Louis IX. of
France, all of whom encouraged the daughters
of the nobility to enter it. The popes bestowed
many privileges on the sisters, and they soon
spread throughout England, Germany, Poland,
Italy, and Spain. Among the most noted Au-
gustinian sisterhoods in France is that of the
hospitallers of the Hotel-Dieu in Paris, which
existed at least as a guild before Charlemagne,
and was formally organized as a religious com
munity under Louis le Debonnaire in 814.
Their numbers had to be repeatedly recruit
ed during the " black plague " in 1^48. Simi
lar sisterhoods, all governed by the rule of
St. Augustine, had charge from the beginning
of the other Parisian hospitals, and of those
founded since that period in French cities and
in all the French colonies. Other nurseries
of hospitallers in the 13th century were the ab
bey of Longchamp near Paris, the community
of "Quinze Vingts" founded by St. Louis, as
well as the Maison Dieu, and the hostelleries des
pastes for strangers and travellers, all in Paris,
besides similar foundations by the same king
in other parts of France. From these Augus-
tinian communities came tlie hospitallers of the
Hotel-Dieu (1639) and general hospital (1693)
in Quebec, as well as those of the Hotel-Dieu
of Montreal, founded in 1659 by a colony of
nuns from La Fleche. Four sisterhoods devo
ted to hospital work and the care of the poor
under the title of the " Presentation " have ex
isted: one founded in 1627 by Nicolas San-
guins, bishop of Senlis, approved by L T rban
VIII., but which only possessed a few establish
ments ; a second in Paris, with the mitigated
rule of St. Benedict; a third and more im
portant order, founded by Cardinal Federigo
Borromeo (died 1631) at Morbegno in the Val-
tellina, living under the Augustinian rule, and
very popular in the north of Italy ; and a fourth
founded in Ireland and described in the article
SCHOOL BROTHERS AND SCHOOL SISTERS. In
England, the Gilbertine nuns, founded about
1170 by St. Gilbert of Sempringham, embraced
hospital work with every other form of pub
lic charity. They numbered 1,200 in 1189.
In the year 1100 arose in France the order
of Fontevrault, which united the care of lep
rosy hospitals with that of asylums for fallen

SISTERHOODS

women. These were all placed under the pro
tection of St. Mary Magdalen, and, spreading
rapidly with the order itself, effected a great
moral reform in France and elsewhere. The
" Sisters of Penitence " originated at Marseilles
in 1278, and were specially devoted to the same
purpose. A host of similar sisterhoods arose
afterward, among which were the "Sisters of
Charity " established at Marseilles in 1290, who
soon opened houses in the chief cities of south
ern France ; the Jesuates of St. Jerome, founded
in 1358 at Siena, approved by Pope Martin V.,
and suppressed by Clement IX.; the "Con
gregation of Our Lady of Charity " in Paris ;
and the numerous communities of noble ladies
popularly known as Magdelonettes, but united
under the patronage of St. Mary Magdalen, es
tablished at Metz in 1452, at Paris in 1492, at
Naples in 1524, and at Rouen and Bordeaux in
1618. In the Magdelonette establishments, the
women under care of the nuns were classed in
three categories : the congregation of St. Mar
tha, formed of persons supposed to be thor
oughly reformed, and permitted to bind them
selves by religious vows; the daughters of St.
Martha, who, though penitent, are not per
mitted to make vows; and the daughters of
St. Lazarus, who are either unwilling to re
form or are placed in the establishment by the
public magistrates. Similar sisterhoods were
organized at Rome by Leo X., and confirmed
and endowed by Clement VIII. The congre
gation of the "Sisters of Our Lady of Provi
dence," founded in 1830 for the same purpose
in the south of France by Mile. Lamouroux,
has several large establishments, one of which
is at Laval. Of the communities whose sole
care is that of the aged and homeless poor,
two deserve special mention. The " Little
Sisters of the Poor" were founded in 1840 at
St. Servan in Brittany, by Abbe Le Pailleur,
with the aid of two poor girls. They give a
home to the aged of both sexes, depending
solely on the alms collected from door to door
and on the labor of the sisterhood. They were
much opposed at first, but were soon called to
open houses in all the cities of France. They
were approved by Pius IX., July 9, 1854, and
recognized by the French government in 1856.
A house was given to them in London in 1860,
and their labors were warmly recommended by
Charles Dickens and other public men, and
from London they spread all over Great Britain
and Ireland. In 1868 they came to Brooklyn,
N. Y., Cincinnati, and New Orleans, in 1869
to Baltimore and St. Louis, and afterward to
New York, Philadelphia, Louisville, and Bos
ton. They also have establishments in Alge
ria, Asia Minor, and Constantinople. The oth
er community is that of the " Sisters of the
Poor of St. Francis," a congregation* which
originated at Aix-la-Chapelle in the pres
ent century, and came to the United States
( in 1857. Besides the care of the aged poor,
they take charge of hospitals, into which they
bind themselves to receive at all times and

without distinction the sick and wounded of
every creed and nationality. They have many
establishments in most of the large cities of
the United States. Among the communities
devoted to the care of the insane are the " Sis
ters of the Good Saviour " at Caen in Nor
mandy. The community was founded in 1720
by two poor girls, who- taught little outcast
children, visited the poor, nursed the sick, and
in 1730 opened asylums for homeless children,
female penitents, and insane persons. They
were suppressed in 1789, but continued to labor
among the needy till May 22, 1805, when 15
sisters once more met in community under
Abbe Jamet, their former chaplain. In 1817
and 1818 they were first charged by govern
ment with the care of insane women, and soon
afterward with that of insane men. Besides,
Abbe Jamet having invented a new method of
instruction for deaf and dumb orphans, his
school gradually became a normal school to
which pupil teachers of the deaf and dumb
resort from France, Belgium, and the British
isles. In 1874 the mother house at Caen num
bered 300 sisters and upward of 1,000 insane
patients. There are three associated estab
lishments of equal importance at Albi, Pont-
1 Abbe, and Brucourt. In Canada, the care of
the insane at Quebec devolved on the sisters of
the general hospital till 1844 ; and the sisters of
Providence founded at Montreal in 1828, and
canonically approved in 1844, have charge of
the insane asylum near that city. II. Protes
tant. In the church of England several com
munities of charitable women have been organ
ized in the present century. A community of
" Sisters of Mercy " was founded at Devonport
about 1845 by Miss Lydia Sel]on, who began
with the establishment of industrial, infant,
and ragged schools. Several ladies joined her
in her work, and they took a house and formed
a community under Miss Sellon, at first subject
to the visitorial control of the bishop of .Ex
eter. The society was composed of three or
ders, viz. : those living in community, working
among the poor, and leading an active labori
ous life ; those who were unable to undertake
this work, but who wished to live a calm life,
engaged in prayer, reading, and quiet occu
pations ; and married and single women who
lived in the world, but maintained a certain
connection with the community, and assisted
its work in various ways. The sisters were
bound by no vows except a promise of obe
dience to their superior. They were free to
abandon their vocation at will, but while con
nected with it adopted a peculiar garb, and
shared their property in common. The sisters
also undertook the entire charge and support
of a large number of orphan children. At East
Grinstead a sisterhood was founded in 1855 by
the Rev. Dr. John Mason Neale, with the ob
ject of nursing the sick, poor and rich, in their
own homes, and in hospitals or infirmaries,
in town or country. In 1874 the society had
branch houses in London, Aberdeen, "Wigan,

SISTOVA

SIYOEI

and Frome-Selwood. The parent house of
the " Sisterhood of St. John the Baptist " was
founded at Olewer in 1849. The sisters have
there a house of mercy, St. John s orphanage,
St. Andrew s convalescent hospital, St. An
drew s college for accommodating women re
covering from illness or requiring change of air
and nourishing food, and St. Stephen s mission,
embracing an upper class boarding school, a
middle class school for girls and boys, and an
infant school. The sisterhood has established
branches at London, Oxford, Torquay, Glou
cester, and other places. This organization
embraces: 1, choir and lay sisters living in
community ; 2, a second order formed in 1860
of ladies who enter on the sisters life for pe
riods of three years at a time, to be renewed
continuously at their own desire and with the
consent of the sisters ; 3, associates, who live in
their own houses and give such assistance to
the work as their circumstances may permit.
The " Sisterhood of St. Mary," Wangate, was
established in 1850, and has branches at Bed-
minster, Plymouth, and other places. The
" Sisterhood of St. Mary the Virgin " estab
lished its parent house at Wymering in 1859.
The society consists of sisters of charity, who,
being resident and under a religious rule, con
stitute the sisterhood, and ladies of charity or
associates, who undertake to promote the in
terests of the society in their several spheres of
private life. The sisterhood lias established
branches at Manchester and Aldershott. The
" Sisterhood of St. Thomas the Martyr," which
has its parent house at Oxford, has branches at
Liverpool and Plymouth. The society of the
" Sisters of the Poor," founded in 1851, has its
parent house in London and branches at Edin
burgh, Clifton, Eastbourne, and West Chester.
In the Protestant Episcopal church of the
United States, an organization of women for
voluntary service as nurses in hospitals, infir
maries, &c., called " Sisters of the Holy Com
munion," was founded in 1845 by the exertions
of the Eev. W. A. Muhlenberg, D. D., in con
nection with the Protestant Episcopal church
of the Holy Communion in New York. They
are bound by no vows, and though it is desira
ble that they should remain in their work for
life, they are free to leave whenever they are
so minded. They are usually received between
the ages of 25 and 40 years ; if under 25, the
written consent of parents or guardians must
be obtained. Candidates for the sisterhood
are required to spend one year of probation be
fore entering upon their vocation. They have
no marked uniform, though the dress is gen
erally black, with a white muslin collar and
head dress. The sisters managed for several
years the infirmary of the Holy Communion,
and since 1858 have had charge of St. Luke s
hospital, New York, under Dr. Muhlenberg s
superintendence. (See DEACONESS.)

SISTOVA, or Shistov, a fortified town of Bul
garia, on a height overlooking the right bank
of the Danube, which is here navigable for

vessels of 500 tons, 35 m. W. S. W. of Rustchuk
and 23 in. E. by S. of Mcopoli; pop. about
15,000. It is defended by a citadel or cas
tle, now much dilapidated. The houses are
ill built, but the mosques are of considerable
beauty. A treaty of peace between Turkey
and Austria was concluded here Aug. 4, 1*791.

SISYPHUS, in Greek mythology, son of ./Eolus
and Enarete, and married to Merope, by whom
he became the father of Glaucus and others.
Some later accounts make him the son of Au-
tolycus and the father of Ulysses. To him are
attributed the foundation of Corinth (Ephyra)
and the establishment of the Isthmian games.
He and his family were considered the most
deceitful of men, and he was punished in the
lower world by being set to the task of rolling
a huge marble block up hill, which as soon as
it reached the top always rolled back again.
The crimes which induced this penalty are, ac
cording to different legends, that he betrayed
the plans of the gods, killed travellers, and re
vealed the abduction of ./Egina by Jupiter.

SITKA. See ALASKA, vol. i., p. 239.

SIVA. See INDIA, RELIGIONS OF.

SIVAS. I. A vilayet of Turkey, in Asia Minor,
bounded N". by Trebizond, E. by Trebizond,
Erzerum, and Diarbekir, S. by Marash, Adana,
and Konieh, and W. by Angora and Kasta-
muni; area, about 25,000 sq. m. ; pop. esti
mated at about 600,000. The most important
town, besides the capital, is Tokat, and its prin
cipal seaport is Samsun. It is traversed by
several branches of the Anti-Taurus mountains.
It is drained by the Kizil Irmak (anc. Halys),
the Yeshil Irmak (Iris), and their affluents, and
several smaller streams which flow into the
Euphrates. Among the minerals are iron, cop
per, lead, alabaster, marble, slate, and especial
ly salt. Most of the soil is exceedingly fertile,
but not thoroughly cultivated. The pastures
are extensive. In ancient times the province
formed parts of Pontus and Cappadocia. II.
A city (anc. Sebastia), capital of the prov
ince, in an extensive plain on the Kizil Irmak,
440 m. E. S. E. of Constantinople ; pop. about
25,000. The town is defended by two old
castles, and contains fine mosques and many
ruins. Access from the Black sea is easy, and
the trade is active in the large bazaars.

SIVORI, Ernesto Camillo, an Italian violinist,
born in Genoa, June 6, 1817. At the age of
four years he was able to perform whatever he
heard his sisters play or sing. He received
lessons successively from Restano, Dellepiane,
Costa, and Paganini, but modelled his playing
chiefly upon that of the last named. His first
concerts were given at Paris and in England
when he was but ten years old. He then stu
died counterpoint for eight years under Ser-
ra, and afterward gave concerts throughout
Europe. In 1846 he visited the United States
in company with the pianist Herz, and went
also to Mexico and South America. Next en
gaging in a mercantile enterprise in Italy, he
lost all his earnings and was obliged to resume

SIWAH

SIXTUS

his artistic career. He has composed a num
ber of concertos, fantasias, and other pieces.

SIWAH (anc. Ammon or Ammonium), an
oasis in N. W. Egypt, near the boundary of
the disputed territory between Egypt and Tri
poli, about 330 m. W. S. "VV. of Cairo, and
about 100 m. from the coast of the Mediter
ranean sea; pop. about 8,000. It consists of
several detached tracts, the principal of which
is about 8 m. long and 3 in. broad. Its surface
is undulating, rising on the north into high
limestone hills. There are numerous ponds
and springs, salt and fresh. The soil of the E.
part is exceedingly fertile, its chief product
being dates. The climate is delightful. The
inhabitants are Berbers and negroes, all Mo
hammedans, governed by sheikhs or elders,
some of whom hold office for life, others for
ten years. The people understand Arabic,
but have a mixed idiom of their own. Their
principal town, Siwah (according to Eohlfs,
who last visited it in February, 1874, in lat.
29 12 X., Ion. 25 30 E.), is defended by a
citadel on a rock, and by strong walls. The
streets are irregular, narrow, and dark. It is
divided into an upper and a lower town. No
stranger is admitted to the former, nor are na
tive bachelors permitted to live there. About
3 m. S. E. of the town are the ruins of the
ancient temple of Jupiter Ammon, now called
Om Baydah, sculptures of Ammon, with the
attributes of the ram-headed goat, being among
the remains. Near the temple is what is sup
posed to be the fountain of the sun, a pool 80
ft. long and 55 ft. wide, formed by springs,
whose water appears to be warmer by night
than by day, and is heavier than that of the
Nile. In the vicinity are other ruins and in
scriptions of Greek, Roman, and Roman-Egyp
tian character. In the "W. part of the oasis
is a lake, called Birket Arashiah, containing
an island from which strangers were till late
ly excluded. In ancient times this oasis was
celebrated as the seat of the oracle of Am
mon. Besides the temple, with its images of
Jupiter Arnmon set in precious stones, it con
tained a royal castle surrounded by three walls,
and a remarkable spring called the "fountain
of the sun," the water of which was quite
cold at noon and boiling hot at midnight.
Cambyses made an unsuccessful attempt to
take the temple. In 331 B. 0. Alexander the
Great marched through the desert to visit it,
and the priest addressed him as the son of
the god. The emperor Justinian built here a
Christian church. See Eeise zu clem Tempel
des Jupiter Ammon und nacJi Oberagypten, by
Minutoli (Berlin, 1824) ; " Adventures in the
Libyan Desert," by Bayle Saint John (Lon
don, 1849); and Das Orakel und die Oase des
Ammon, by Parthey (Berlin, 1862).

SIX NATIONS. See IKOQTJOIS.

SIX PRINCIPLE BAPTISTS, a small religious
sect which first appeared in this country as a
separate organization in Rhode Island in 1639.
Their church polity and views on baptism are

the same as those of the Baptists. In doctrine
they are Arminian. They oppose the pay
ment of any regular salary to their preachers,
and have never connected themselves with
any missionary efforts, or benevolent or re
formatory societies. They hold as their dis
tinguishing doctrines the six principles laid
down in Ileb. vi. 1, 2, viz. : repentance from
dead works ; faith toward God ; the doctrine
of baptisms, of which they distinguish four
kinds, viz. : John s baptism, the baptism of
the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, the
baptism of Christ s sufferings, and apostolic or
Christian baptism, which alone remains since
the resurrection of Christ; laying on of hands,
which they regard as equally necessary with
baptism ; the resurrection of the dead ; and
eternal judgment. In 1874 they had 20 church
es, 12 ordained ministers, and 2,000 members,
mainly in Rhode Island.

SIXTIS, the name of five popes, of whom
the following are the most important. I. Six-
tns IV. (FKANCESCO D ALBESCOLA BELLA Ro-
VEEE), born at Celle, near Savona, July 21,
1414, died in Rome, Aug. 13, 1484. He was
a Franciscan monk and a protege of Cardinal
Bessarion, taught philosophy and theology in
the principal schools of Italy, and was chosen
general of his order in 1464. He was created
cardinal Sept. 18, 1467, and was elected pope
Aug. 9, 1471. The efforts which he immedi
ately made to reform the religious orders and
general church discipline were thwarted by
his endeavor to unite all Christian princes in
a crusade against the Turks, for which pur
pose he vainly tried to reconcile Louis XI. of
France and Duke Charles the Bold of Burgun
dy. He levied tithes on all church property in
Christendom to equip a fleet, which, with con
tingents from Venice and Naples, only succeed
ed in capturing Smyrna. Louis XI. promised
assistance in return for an extension of the
royal power over benefices and all church rev
enues, and the abolition of ecclesiastical courts
and immunities ; but on these points Sixtus re
fused to yield. He has been justly reproached,
however, with a too great facility in granting
favors, and an excessive nepotism. To secure
the cooperation of the Spanish and Austrian
princes against the Turks, he sanctioned the
nomination to the see of Saragossa of a child
six years old, an illegitimate son of the house
of Aragon ; and he raised successively to the
cardinalate five of his own nephews. Two of
these cardinals, Riario and San Giorgio, were
implicated in the conspiracy of the Pazzi in
1478, which caused the pope to be solemnly
arraigned by the Florentine clergy as privy to
the intended murder of Lorenzo de Medici and
the death of his brother Giuliano. The Flor
entine magistrates having hanged Archbishop
Salviati of Pisa, one of the conspirators, they
were excommunicated, and the city was laid
under interdict. The republic was sustained
by France, Venice, and the duke of Milan ; the
other Italian sovereigns sided with the pope,

SIXTHS

SKATE

and the quarrel ended in 1480. About the
same time Sixtus became involved in a war
with Ercole d Este, duke of Ferrara, whom he
wished to dispossess in favor of one of his own
nephews. He was backed by the Venetians ;
but the duke of Ferrara being supported by the
king of Naples and the emperor, Sixtus was
forced to yield in 1484. During these troubles
the Turks besieged Rhodes and ravaged the
southern coast of Italy, capturing the city of
Otranto and massacring 12,000 of the inhabi
tants. The pope once more attempted in vain
to organize a crusade, but succeeded in driving
off the invaders. Among the other acts of his
pontificate were the confirmation of the reli
gious order of Minims, May 23, 1474 ; the bull
sanctioning the Spanish inquisition, 1478 ; the
canonization of St. Bonaventura, April 14, 1482 ;
the construction, among many other splendid
public works, of the Sistine chapel in the Vati
can ; large additions to the Vatican library ; and
the sending of the first missionaries to the Cana
ry islands. The Regular Gancellarm Romance,
are attributed to this pope, lie also left several
Latin treatises, among which are De Sanguine
Christi (fol, Rome, 1473), De Potentia Dei
(fol.), and several letters. II. Sixtns \, (FELICE
PERRETTI), born at Grotte-a-Mare, nearMontal-
to, Dec. 15, 1521, died in Rome, Aug. 27, 1590.
He was a Franciscan, and distinguished him
self as a lecturer on ecclesiastical law at Ri
mini in 1544 and Siena in 1546, as a popular
preacher, and as an author by works on mysti
cal theology and on the philosophy of Aristotle.
In 1557 he became inquisitor general at Venice,
and in 1570 he was created cardinal, when he
assumed the name Montalto. He was elected
pope by an almost unanimous vote, April 24,
1585. Both as pope and as secular prince he
was distinguished for prudence, severity, and
energy. He destroyed the power of the ban
ditti and restored order and safety through
out his territory, administered law with the ut
most impartiality and with an appalling rigor,
built a great aqueduct, enlarged the library of
the Vatican, and in many other ways encour
aged industry. He fixed the number of cardi
nals at 70, required the Catholic bishops of all
countries to visit Rome at certain intervals,
and reorganized the entire administration of
ecclesiastical affairs by the appointment of 15
congregations of cardinals and other officers.
He founded a new university at Fermo, and
new colleges at Rome and Bologna. From the
printing press of the Vatican he published the
revised edition of the Vulgate, which had been
ordered by the council of Trent. He avoided
war with the Christian princes as much as
possible, though he encouraged and supported
Henry III. against the Huguenots, Philip II.
against England, and Archduke Maximilian
when he was a candidate for the crown of
Poland. He hurled his anathemas against the
young king of Navarre, and against "Elizabeth
of England for putting to death Mary Stuart ;
and he summoned Henry III. to Rome for or

dering the assassination of the duke of Guise.
He left a vast treasure in the castle of Sant
Angelo, to be used by his successors only in
circumstances strictly defined. His biography
by Leti (Vit a di Sisto V., Lausanne, 1069) is
considered untrustworthy, and that by Tempest!
(Storia dclla vita e geste di Sisto V., Rome,
1754) too partisan. See J. A. von Hubner,
Sixte Quint, sa me et son siecle (2 vols., Paris,
1871 ; English translation by Jerningham, Lon
don, 1872 ; German, 2 vols., Leipsic, 1874).

SKAGER RACK ("the crooked strait of Ska-
gen "), an arm of the North sea or German
ocean, lying between the Danish peninsula of
Jutland and the coast of Norway, and connect
ing the Cattegat with the North sea. It ex
tends from N. E. to S. W.; length about 160
m., breadth nearly 80 m. It is much deeper
on the Norwegian than on the Danish coast,
ranging on the former from 150 to 200 fath
oms, and on the latter from 30 to 40. It is
subject to severe storms. The harbors are all
on the Norwegian coast.

SKiMANIA, a S. county of Washington terri
tory, bordering on Oregon, bounded S. by Co
lumbia river and drained by several streams ;
area, 1,800 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 133. The
surface is generally mountainous, with fertile
valleys. The Cascade mountains traverse it
from N. to S. Mt. St. Helens, in the N. W.
part, is 9,750 ft. high. Capital, Cascades.

SKATE (Dutch, scltaats), a shoe or sandal
with a steel runner for travelling over ice. It
probably originated in Scandinavia. The ear
liest skates were made of bone, fastened to
the foot with cords. Such skates have been
discovered in England, Holland, Sweden, and
Iceland, and there are accounts of their use in
London in the time of Henry II. The intro
duction of iron skates was doubtless due to
the Dutch, who for an unknown period have
used them for travel on their canals and rivers.
The best facilities for skating are afforded by
the countries of N. W. Europe, where the ice
is little covered with snow ; but as a pastime
it has become widely popular, and is practised
with great skill by both men and women. The
form of the skate has been much improved.
Until within a few years it was a block of
wood with a runner or keel of iron or steel
about an eighth of an inch thick, channelled
at the bottom so that two sharp edges cut into
the ice, ending in a sharp angle at the heel,
and turning up at the toe. It was secured to
the foot by a peg or screw entering the heel
of the boot, and by straps passing through the
block, crossing the front part of the foot, and
connecting with a broad strap around the heel.
In improved skates the runner is of steel,
thicker, and flat instead of channelled at the
bottom, the cutting edge forming a little less
than a right angle. It is generally curved
slightly from front to back, and rounded up
at both heel and toe. There have been many
changes in the form of the body of the skate
and the fastenings, the straps sometimes giv-

SKATE

SKELETON

ing place to what is almost a complete shoe,
while one of the favorite skates is made wholly
of iron or steel, without straps, and fastened
to the boot by metal clamps. Motion on skates
is very rapid. It is said that the Frieslanders &gt;
will go for a long time at the rate of 15 m.
an hour, and for short distances this rate has
been greatly exceeded. "Parlor" skates, hav
ing in place of runners rollers of wood, metal,
papier mache, or India rubber, arranged in a
line, or like the wheels of a carriage, are used
on floors and pavements. With these skates
experts can execute the ordinary curves, and
even many intricate figures.

SKATE, a fish. See RAY.

SKEAT, Walter William, an English philologist,
born in London, Nov. 21, 1835. He gradu
ated at Christ s college, Cambridge, in 1858,
became a fellow there in 1860, mathematical
lecturer in 1864, and afterward English lec
turer. In 1873 he helped to found the English
dialect society, and he has edited most of its
publications. Besides continuing for the Cam
bridge press the Anglo-Saxon Gospels begun
by J. M. Kemble, and editing several publica
tions for the Oxford press, the philological
society, and the early English text society,
he has published " The Songs and Ballads of
Uhland," translated from the German (1864);
"A Tale of Ludlow Castle" (1866) ; "A Mceso-
Gothic Glossary " (1868) ; "Hand List of some |
Cognate Words in English, Latin, and Greek"
(1871) ; " Questions for Examination in English
Literature" (1873) ; " The Gospels of St. Mark
and St. Luke, in Anglo-Saxon and Northum
berland Versions synoptieally arranged, with
Collations exhibiting all the Readings of all the
Manuscripts" (2 vols., 1875) ; and "Plutarch-
Shakespeare," biographies (vol. i., 1875).

SKELETON (Gr., a dried body, from an&-
faiv, to desiccate), the bony and cartilaginous
framework of animals, and the ligneous struc
ture of the leaves of plants. In the higher
animals the skeleton is internal (endo-skele-
ton) ; in many of the lower it is external (exo-
skejeton). When the bones are joined by nat
ural ligaments, they form a natural skeleton ;
when they are joined by wires and straps, the
skeleton is said to be artificial. The study of
the skeletons of different animals belongs to the
subject of comparative anatomy; the human
skeleton only will be described here. Bones |
maybe classified as long, round, flat, and short.
(See BOXE.) The human skeleton consists of
208 bones, exclusive of the teeth, which are in
reality parts of the digestive apparatus, and
are developed from the mucous membrane.
For convenience the skeleton may be divided
into four regions: 1, the skull; 2, the trunk;
3, the upper extremities; 4, the lower extrem
ities. The skull contains 30 bones, in three
divisions, cranium, ears, and face. There are
8 cranial bones, viz. : 1 frontal, 2 parietal, 2
temporal, 1 occipital, 1 sphenoid, and 1 eth
moid. The frontal bone forms the forehead,
upper part of the eye sockets, and front part

of the floor of the cranial cavity. Just above
the inner angles of the eyebrows are two
marked prominences called the superciliary
ridges, at which points the two tables of the
bone separate considerably, enclosing cavities
called the frontal sinuses which communicate
with the nasal passages. The parietal bones,
occupying the upper part and sides of the skull,
are separated from each other by the sagittal
suture, and from the frontal bone by the coro
nal suture. A curved ridge traverses both
frontal and parietal bones at each side, which
marks the origin of the fibres of the temporal
muscle, lying in a depression behind and below
the ridge, called the temporal fossa3. The
temporal bones, situated at the sides and base
of the skull, consist each of three portions : an
upright or squamous portion, a posterior or
mastoid portion, and an internal or petrous
portion. The upright portion articulates with
the parietal bone by the squamous suture. The
mastoid portion has a projection, felt behind
the ear, called the mastoid process, which has
a cellular structure, communicating with the
middle ear or tympanum ; the cells are not
developed till after puberty. The petrous
(hard, stony) portion is in the form of a trian
gular pyramid, and lies upon one of its sides
in the base of the skull, its apex pointing for
ward and inward. One of the openings into it,
the internal auditory canal, transmits the audi
tory and facial nerves, and it also contains the
tympanum. The temporal bones are pierced ex
ternally by the external auditory canal, which
transmits the sonorous pulsations to the mem
brane of the tympanum. The under surface
of the bone articulates with the lower jaw
bone to form the joint. Just in front of this,
and a little above, a process called the zygo-
matic springs forward to meet another of the
same name from the cheek bone, forming a
horizontal arch, the zygomatic, under which
the tendon of the temporal muscle passes.
The occipital bone consists of an upright and
a basilar portion ; the latter contains a large
orifice, the foramen magnum, through which
the brain connects with the spinal cord. On
each side of the foramen magnum there is a
condyle having an articular surface which rests
upon a corresponding condyle of the atlas, the
upper bone of the vertebral column. The ba
silar portion articulates in front with the body
of the sphenoid bone, fig. 4, which in turn
articulates with the ethmoid, fig. 5, the latter
being situated at the root of the nose and held
in position by the frontal and several bones of
the face. There are 8 ear bones, 4 in each ear,
situated in the tympanum ; they are described
in the article EAR. .The 14 bones of the face
arc 2 nasal. 2 upper jaw or superior maxillary,
2 lachrymal, 2 cheek or malar bones, 2 palate
bones, 2 inferior turbinated (in the nose), 1
vomer (septum of the nose), and 1 lower jaw,
or inferior maxillary bone. (See illustrations.)
Each upper jaw bone contains a large cavity
called the maxillary antrum, which communi-

SKELETON

FIG. 1. Front View of Skeleton. 1. Frontal bone. 2. Parietal. 3. Temporal; 4, its mastoid process. 5. Malar or cheek
bone. 6. Upper maxillary. 7. Orbit of the eye. 8. Lower maxillary; I), its ramus. 12. The cervical vertebrae. 13.
Clavicle. 14. Scapula. 15. Sternum. 16. First rib. IT. Seventh rib. 18. Twelfth rib. 19. First lumbar vertebra.-
20. Last lumbar vertebra. 21. Sacrum. 22. Ilium. (See PELVIS.) 24. Humerus; 25, its head; 26, its outer condyle ;
27, its inner condyle. 28. Radius : 2!&gt;, its head ; 30, its lower extremity. 81. Ulna ; 32. its head ; 33. its lower extremity.
34. Carpus or wrist. 35. Metacarpus. 36. Phalanges. 37. Femur or thigh bone; 33, its head; 39, its neck; 40, its
greater troehanter; 41. its lesser trochanter; 42, its outer condyle ; 43, its inner condyle. 44. Patella or knee pan. 45,
Tibia; 4G, its head; 47, its lower extremity; 48, inner malleohis. 49., Fibuki; 50. its head; 51, its lower extremity,
forming outer malleolus. 52. Tarsal bones (7). 55. Metatarsal bones (T&gt;). 5G. Phalanges.

Fro. 2. Back View of Skull, Trunk, and Left Arm. 1. Frontal bone. 2. Parietal. 3. Occipital. 4. Temporal. 5. Lower
maxillary. 18. Head of scapula at junction of clavicle. 19. Supra-spinous fossa. 20. Infra-spinous fossa. 21. Anterior
border. 22. Posterior border. 23. Inferior angle. 24. Olecranon process of ulna.

FIG. 3. Floor of Skull. 1, 1. Orbital plate of frontal bone, forming most of anterior fossa?. 2. Cribriform plate of ethmoid
bone. 8. Crista galli process. 4. 4. Lesser wings of sphenoid bone. 5, 5. Middle fossa? of base of cranium. G, G. Greater
wings of sphenoid. 7. Olivary process. Immediately in front of this process there is a transverse furrow called the
optic groove, in which lies the commissure or crossing of the optic nerves. This groove terminates in the optic
foramina. 4, 4, fig. 4. (See BRAIN, vol. iii., pp. 193. 194.) S. Sella turcica. upon which rests the pituitary gland.
(See BRAIN, p. 191.) 9. 9. Petrous portion of temporal bone. 10, 10. Eound foramina for superior maxillary nerve.
11, 11. Oval foramina for inferior maxillary nerve. Interior to these two holes is a large slit-like opening on each
side, giving passage to the internal carotid artery and some important nerves. 13, 13. Posterior fossas of the floor of
cranium. 14. Foramen magnum, for the spinal cord. 15. Basilar process of occipital bone. 16. 16. Grooved channel for
the lateral sinus. (See BRAIN, p. 188.) 17, 17. Internal auditory meatus, transmitting the auditory and facial nerves.

FIG. 4. Sphenoid Bone, seen from above. 1, 1, Its greater wings. 2, 2. Its lesser wings. 3. Sella turcica, 4, 4. Foramina
,for the optic nerves. 5. 5. Sphenoidal fissures, for third, fourth, sixth, and part of fifth pairs of cranial nerves. 6, 6.
Hound foramina. 7, 7. Oval foramina. 8. Part of basilar process of occipital bone. 9, 9. Internal pterygoid plates, ter
minating in muscular or hook-like processes, over which pass the tendons of the tensor muscles of the palate. 10,10.
External pterygoid plates.

SKELETON

FIG. 5. Ethmoid Bone, seen from behind. 1. Central lamella. 2. Cribriform plate. 3. Crista galli. 5, 6. 7. Lateral mass
of left side.

FIG. 6. Hyoid or Tongue Bone, seen in front. 1. Body. 2, 2. Greater cornua. 3, 3. Lesser cornua.

FIG. 7. Palmar Surface of Eight Carpus and Metacarpus. 1. Scaphoid bone. 2. Lunar. 3. Cuneiform. 4. Pisiform. 5.
Trapezium. 0. Trapezoid. 7. Magnum. 8. Unciform. a, &, c, d, e. The five metacarpal bones.

FIG. S. Tarsus and Metatarsus, forming Instep. 1. Astragalus. 2. Os calcis. 3. Boat-shaped or scaphoid bone. 4. Cu
boid. 5. Internal cuneiform. 6. Middle cuneiform. 7. External cuneiform. , &, c, d, e. The five metatarsal bones.

cates with the nasal passage. The lachrymal
bones are small oval plates situated at the in
ner angles of the orbits of the eyes. The palate
bones are situated at the posterior part of the
nasal passages, and enter into the formation
of the roof of the mouth or palate and the
back part of the floor of the orbits of the eyes.
The lower jaw bone consists of a horizontal
semicircular portion, having an alveolar process
into which the lower teeth are set, and of a
perpendicular portion, the ramus, divided into
two branches, one of which terminates in the
condyle to form the joint, and the other is the
coronoid process, into which are inserted the
fibres of the temporal muscle and a portion of
those of the masseter, the two principal mus
cles of the jaw. The floor of the skull is di
vided into anterior, middle, and posterior f OSSJB,
the two first lodging the anterior and middle
lobes of the cerebrum, and the posterior fossaa
lodging the cerebellum. (See BKAIX.) The
bones of the trunk are 54 in number, viz. :
the 24 bones called vertebrae, constituting, with
the sacrum upon which they rest, the spinal
column, 24 ribs, 4 pelvic bones, 1 sternum or
breast bone, and 1 tongue bone. The two hip
bones are naturally classified with the lower
extremities, but as they are joined to the sa
crum by immovable sutures, and form with it
an important piece of animal mechanism, the
pelvis, they are here included in the bones of
the trunk. (See PELVIS.) The spinal or ver
tebral column, or backbone, forms the axis of
the trunk, supporting it and the skull. All
of the vertebra but one have their principal
features in common; i. e., they have a body,
a spinous process, a spinal foramen for trans
mitting the spinal cord, and four articular
processes, two superior and two inferior for
articulating with each other. The spinous pro
cesses which project posteriorly together form
the " spine," which marks the course of the
spinal column. The uppermost vertebra, called
the atlas, has no body, but its place is occupied
by a tooth-like process of the bone next below,
called the axis, around which the atlas turns.
There are 7 cervical, 12 dorsal, and 5 lumbar
vertebrae. The seventh cervical is peculiar
from having a longer and more prominent
spinous process than the others, which may
be felt at the base of the neck. Between the
bodies of the vertebrae are placed the elastic
intervertebral cartilages, which permit flexion
of the spinal column and prevent concussion
of the spinal cord in walking and leaping. The
ribs, 24 in number, are long flat bones of a
semicircular form, and have an oblique posi
tion, their posterior extremities being higher
than their anterior. The middle part of the

curve is also depressed, so that the contrac
tion of the respiratory muscles expands the
cavity of the chest. There are 7 true and 5
false ribs on each side, the true ribs articula
ting with the sternum, while the false ribs lap
on to each other, except the last two, which
are free, and are called floating ribs. The
sternum is a kind of breastplate, composed of
three pieces, to which the collar bones and the
ribs are attached. The tongue bone supports
the root of the tongue and gives attachment to
muscles for moving it. The upper extremities
contain 64 bones, 32 on each side, in six divi
sions: 1, the shoulder; 2, the arm; 3, the
forearm ; 4, the wrist or carpus ; 5, the palm
or metacarpus ; 6, the fingers or phalanges.
The shoulder contains two bones, the scapula
and clavicle. The scapula is a flat triangular
bone situated at the upper and back part of
the chest on each side. It is traversed on its
posterior surface by a spine which terminates
in the acromion process, the prominent point
of the shoulder. Below the acromion process
is the head of the scapula, containing a shallow
cup called the gienoid cavity, which receives
the head of the arm bone or humerus. The
outer extremity of the collar bone or clavicle
(Lat. clavis, a key) articulates with the acro
mion process, forming a kind of brace. The
scapula is held to the trunk by powerful mus
cles, which allow of sufficient motion to give a
variety of positions to the shoulder joint. The
arm contains one bone, the humerus, the lower
end of which by its expanded articular surface
forms with the two bones of the forearm, the
radius and ulna, the elbow joint. The wrist
or carpus contains 8 bones (see fig. 6), the
palm or metacarpus 5, and the fingers or pha
langes 14, the first and second phalanx con
taining 5 each and the third 4. The apparatus
of the forearm is a marvel of animal mecha
nism. The upper extremity of the ulna forms
with the articular surface of the humerus a
firm hinge joint, but the head of the radius
forms with it a rotatory joint by which prona-
tion and supination of the forearm and hand
are effected with grace and facility. The lower
extremities contain 60 bones, 30 in each limb,
in six divisions: 1, the thigh bone or femur;
2, the knee pan or patella ; 3, the two bones
of the leg, the tibia and fibula ; 4, the 7 bones
of the ankle or tarsus ; 5, the 5 bones of the
metatarsus ; and 6, the 14 bones of the toes or
phalanges. The femur is the longest, largest,
and strongest bone in the skeleton. Its upper
extremity contains the head, which fits into
the socket of the hip bone, and the neck, which
joins the shaft of the bone at an angle of near
ly 45, the union being marked by two strong

SKELTON

SKIN

processes called the greater and lesser trochan-
ters, to which are attached strong muscles, the
chief office of which is to rotate the thigh, and
also to move it outward and inward. Its low
er extremity is expanded like that of the 1m-
merus, and articulates with the head of the
tibia, the principal hone of the leg. The tibia
articulates at its lower extremity with the as
tragalus, the bone occupying the summit of the
arch of the foot, and the latter rests upon the
calcis or heel bone, into which the tendo Achil-
lis, the tendon of the strong extensor muscles
of the calf, is inserted.

SKELTOX, John, an English poet, born prob
ably in Norfolk about 1400, died in "Westmin
ster, June 21, 1529. He graduated at Cam
bridge, entered holy orders, was tutor to the
duke of York, afterward Henry VIII., became
rector of Diss and curate of Trompington in
1504, and was appointed orator regius to Henry
VIII. Anthony a Wood deemed him "fitter
for tlie stage than for the pew or pulpit." lie
concealed the fact of his marriage, and was ac
cused of keeping a concubine, and suspended
by the bishop of Norwich. Among his writings
are the drama " Magnyfycence," " The Bowge
of Courte," " Collyn Clout," and a dirge on
"Phyllyp Sparowe." The best edition of his
works is by the Rev. Alexander Dyce, with an
account of his life (2 vols., London, 1843).

SKERRYYORE. See LIGHTHOUSE, vol. x., p.
460.

SKIDDAW, a mountain near the centre of
Cumberland, England, 3,022 ft. in height. It
has the lake of Bassenthwaite Water on its
west. Though there are some mountains in the
same county of greater elevation, Skiddaw is
the most imposing, as it stands so as to be
seen at one view from the base to the summit.

SKDDIER (rliyncliop, Linn.), a genus of web-
footed birds of the gull family, and subfamily
rliyncliopsincc. The bill is of singular shape,
broad at the base, from which it is suddenly

Black Skimmer (Ehynchops nigra).

compressed laterally to the end; the upper
mandible is considerably the shorter, curving
gradually to the tip, which is pointed and
grooved underneath; the lower mandible is

straight and truncated, more compressed, with
a sharp cutting edge received into the groove
of the upper ; nostrils basal ; wings very long
and narrow, with the first quill the longest ;
tail moderate and forked; tarsi longer than
middle toe ; feet very small, toes short with
indented web, hind toe elevated, and claws
curved and sharp. Three or four species are
described ; they are most abundant in the trop
ics, where they frequent quiet bays and inlets ;
they feed chiefly at night on fish and crusta
ceans, which they catch as they skim along
close to the water, dipping the under mandible
beneath the surface and closing the upper sud
denly upon it when prey is encountered ; the
flight is swift, graceful, and undulating, and
the gait awkward ; they rarely if ever swim or
rest upon the water. The best known species
is the black skimmer (R. nigra, Linn.), found
on the Atlantic and gulf coasts of North Amer
ica from New Jersey to Texas, on the E. coast
of South America as far as the tropic of Capri
corn, and, according to Lesson, on the W. coast.
The length is about 19 in. and the alar extent 48
in. ; the general color above is deep brownish
black ; the front to the eyes, throat, and under
parts white; inner tips of four inner primaries
white, and secondaries broadly tipped with the
same ; the central tail feathers dark brown, the
others mostly w.hite ; the bill carmine for the
basal half, thence black to the end, the upper
mandible about 3 in. and the lower 4| ; tarsi and
feet red, and iris" hazel ; the female is smaller.
They are nocturnal, resting by day on the sand
bars, in large flocks. The nest is a slight hol
low in the sand, and the eggs are usually three,
If by If in., white with large black or dark
patches ; the female sits only at night or in wet
and cold weather ; the young closely resemble
in color the sand upon which the nest is made ;
they migrate to the south when the young are
able to fly ; their eggs are as good as those of
the gulls. This species is sometimes called ra
zor-billed shearwater, and scissors-bill. Other
species are found on the "W. coast of Africa.

SKIN, the external covering of the animal
body, protecting the internal parts from exter
nal violence, and adapting itself by its elasticity
to the various movements and changes of po
sition ; it also acts as the organ of touch, and
as an excretory and absorbing surface. In the
human skin, which may be taken as the type
of that of the higher animals, the deepest por
tion is the corium, dermis, or cutis vcra, as dis
tinguished from the deciduous cuticle which
overlies it, described under EPIDERMIS. This
true skin is dense and tough, somewhat elastic,
composed of fibres interlaced in all directions,
in whose interstices are masses of fat; the
whole rests upon a layer of subcutaneous areo-
lar tissue ; within and below it are the sudorip
arous or sweat glands (see PERSPIRATION), the
hair follicles (see HAIR), and the sebaceous
glands. From its upper surface rise the sensi
tive papillae, which are minute conical eleva
tions, most numerous on the palmar surface of

SKIN

the hands and fingers, feet and toes, where
they are arranged in double rows in parallel
curved lines ; the average length of the papillae,
including the height of the ridge upon which

\- c - r- ;

Compound Papillae of the Skin from the surface of the Hand,
showing- double, triple, and quadruple divisions.

a. Base of a compound papilla. 6, &, b. Its upper extremi
ties, c, c, c. Points of other papillae, the base of which is
not visible.

they are placed, is about -^ of an inch, and
the diameter at the base -^ ; they are abun
dantly supplied with blood, which explains
their erectile turgescence under stimuli ; they
adhere more or less firmly to the cuticle. The
sebaceous or oil glands of the skin are formed
on the same plan as the sudoriparous, and can

a ffl

Vertical Section of the Skin, magnified.
a. Epidermis, b. Inferior layer of epidermis, or rete Mnlpi-
ghianum. c. Papilla* of the skin. d. Corinm, or derrnis.
,/. Lobules of adipose tissue, g. Perspiratory glands.
h. Ducts of the perspiratory glands. *. Their external
orifices, k. Hair follicle. /. Hairs projecting from the
skin. m. Hair papilla. TO. Hair bulb. o. Shaft of hair in
the hair follicle, p. Openings of the sebaceous glands.

often be distinguished from them only by the
nature of their oily secreted product ; they
are distributed over the whole surface of the
body, being least abundant where the perspi
ratory glandulse are most numerous, and vice
VOL. xv. 6

versa; they are absent on the palms and soles,
but abundant on the face and scalp ; they vary
considerably in size, but the tubes are general
ly wider and straighter than those of the sweat
glands; the structure is sometimes complicated.
In the parts of the skin covered with hair, there
is usually a pair of sebaceous ducts opening into
the follicle of each hair. The object of their
secretion is doubtless to prevent drying and
cracking of the hair by the sun and air ; this
secretion is most abundant in tropical nations,
and in some dark races has a characteristic
odor, as in the case of the negro ; its protective
action in the tropics is often assisted by vege
table oils applied externally. The Meibomian
glands on the edges of the eyelids are a double
row of sebaceous follicles set along a straight
duct ; they secrete an oily matter for the lu
brication of these parts, which in diseased con
ditions frequently sticks them together. An
other modification of sebaceous glands is to
be found in the external ear passage, where is
secreted the cerumen or waxy matter ; they
consist here of long, highly contorted tubes,
well supplied with blood vessels. The color
of the skin depends on pigment cells mixed
with the inferior epidermic ones, in what is
called the rete mucosum, or mucous layer, and
considered by Flourens and other authors as a
distinct membrane ; all the hues of the races
of man depend on the relative abundance of
these cells and the tint of the contained pig
ment. The folds of the skin are for the most
part produced by the contractions of the su
perficial muscles. The skin is pierced at the
eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, rectum, and genito
urinary opening; it is continuous internally
with the mucous membrane, consisting of the
same elements modified according to the va
riety of functions to be performed ; it is very
vascular, and freely supplied with nerves and
lymphatics. The skin is the seat of the sense
of touch in man, though in most animals hairs,
scales, bony or horny plates and envelopes, and
shells, render it nearly insensible to external
influences, this sense in them being confined
to particular portions or projecting organs ;
even in man the sensibility varies much in
different parts, being most acute at the ends
of the fingers and on the lips, and dullest on
the back and limbs. Aeration of the blood
takes place to a certain extent through the
skin, and in some naked-skinned fishes and
batrachians this is a very important part of
the respiratory process. It has been shown by
experiment that in a frog, after the removal of
the lungs, one fourth of a cubic inch of car
bonic acid is exhaled from the skin in eight
hours ; in the human subject the amount of
this gas given off by the skin varies from -^ to
^ of that exhaled from the lungs during the
same time ; where the lungs perform their of
fice imperfectly, the temperature of the skin is
often elevated; in all febrile diseases the skin
should be kept moist. The absorbent powers
of the skin are noticed under ABSOEPTION.

SEINE

SKIPJACK

SKI1VR, the common name of the scincidce,
a family of lepidosaurian, slender-tongued liz
ards, with elongated cylindrical body, covered
above and below by imbricated fish-like scales,
arranged in quincunx and held in membranous
sacs ; they have no lateral folds. The family,
by such forms as the seps and orvet, consti
tutes a connecting link between the saurians
and ophidians. The head is covered with
large angular plates, joined by their borders ;
the neck is of the same size as the chest ; the
tongue free, without sheath, slightly notched
in front, with the surface mostly covered with
papilla? ; the scales are smooth. They creep
with a lateral sinuous motion like serpents ;
they have no crests nor fringes on the neck,
back, sides, or tail, the last being conical, and
generally long and without spines; the feet
(absent in some) are short and clumsy, with
well developed digits and claws. The jaws
are short and united at the symphysis, so that
the opening of the mouth is always the same ;
the teeth are sharp and slender, suited for
seizing insects and worms ; in the snake-like
forms only one lung is largely developed ; the
ears are exposed. They are generally small,
and live in holes and under stones in dry sandy
places ; they are usually of an earthy gray
color. They inhabit the torrid zone and the
driest portions of temperate regions. Dume-
ril makes three great divisions according to
the differences in the covering of the eyes :
1, saurophthalmes, with lizard-like eyes, pro
tected by two lids moving vertically ; 2, ophi-
oplithalmes, with a rudimentary lid, as in ser
pents ; and 3, typhloplitlialmcs, in which the
eyes are concealed under the skin. Most of
the more than 30 genera, comprising more
than 100 species, belong to the first division,
the only one that need be treated here ; some
of them have four limbs, others two, others
none. Dr. Gray divides them into scintilla,
with smooth scales, and tropidophorince, with

Common Skink (Scincus officinalis).

keeled scales. In the genus scincus (Fitz.) the
snout is wedge-shaped, the upper jaw the
longer, the teeth simple, conical, and obtuse,
with a row on the palate ; the limbs are four,

with five nearly equal digits, flattened, and
with serrated borders ; the tail is conical and
pointed. The common skink (S. officinalis,
Laur.) is 8 or 9 in. long, with stout body, short
thick limbs, and a proportionally short tail,
very thick at the base ; the eyes are small,
high up and far back. The colors vary consid
erably, from silvery yellow to brownish, with
seven or eight black transverse bands. It is
a native of Egypt, Nubia, Arabia, and N. and
W. Africa. There are several American spe
cies of this family, most of which are popular
ly called " galliwasps," one of the best known
of which belongs to the genus diploglossus
(Wieg.), characterized by a tongue with scaly
papillas in front and filiform behind, toothless
palate, flat head, obtuse muzzle, and flattened
body; the feet have five unequal toes, com
pressed, without lateral edgings, and with tuber-
culose palms and soles ; the scales are striated,
and ridged in the middle ; the tail is round
ed, long and pointed, with a very large anal
operculuin. The great galliwasp (D. occidu-
vs, Wieg.) is about 21 in. long, of which the
tail is one half ; it is one of the largest of the
skinks. The color above is generally light
brown, with a dozen or more transverse bands,
sometimes darker and sometimes lighter, and
yellowish white below with brownish tints.
It is found in Jamaica, where it is very much
dreaded, though it is perfectly harmless ; it
forms the type of Gray s genus celestus. The
five-lined skink (enprepes quinquelineatiis,
Wagl.) is 10 to 11 in. long, the head pale red
with six obscure white lines, the two internal
confluent at the back part ; the body above is
olive brown, with five pale white longitudinal
lines and a black lateral band ; the tail brown,
tinged with blue, and the low r er surface white.
There are no teeth on the palate, otherwise
the characters are as in the last genus. It
lives in the stumps of aid trees in thick woods,
not far from the ground, and is found from
lat. 35 N. to the gulf of Mexico and west to
the Mississippi river.

SKINNER, Thomas Harvey, an American cler
gyman, born at Harvey s Neck, N. C., March
7, 1791, died in New York, Feb. 1, 1871. He
graduated at Princeton college in 1809, was
licensed to preach in December, 1812, and was
a pastor in Philadelphia from 1813 to 1832,
when he became professor of sacred rhetoric
in Andover theological seminary. In 1835 he
became pastor of the Mercer street Presby
terian church, New York, and in 1848 profes
sor of sacred rhetoric and pastoral theology in
the Union theological seminary there. He
published "Religion of the Bible" (1839);
"Aids in Preaching and Hearing" (1839);
"Hints to Christians" (1841); "Thoughts on
Evangelizing the World;" "Religious Life of
Francis Markoe;" "Vinet s Pastoral Theolo
gy," and " Vinet s Homiletics," translated from
the French (1854) ; and "Discussions in The
ology" (1868).

SKIPJACK. See BLUEFISII, and BONITO.

SKRZYNECKI

SKULLCAP

SKRZYNECKI, Jan Boncza, a Polish soldier,
born in Galicia in February, 1786, died in Cra
cow, Jan. 12, 1860. His military career began
in 1806, and he distinguished himself in the
Napoleonic wars, and after the Polish revolu
tion of 1830 as brigadier general, especially
at Dobre, "Wawer, and Grochow (February
and March, 1831). He then succeeded Rad-
ziwill as commander-in-chief ; but waiting in
vain for assistance from foreign powers, he
failed to follow up his great advantages, and
lost the battle of Ostrolenka, May 26. On
Aug. 10 he was deposed, and after the fall of
Warsaw (Sept. 8) he fled to Austria and next
to Belgium. In the latter country he was
appointed to a high command in the army,
which however, owing to the protests of the
eastern powers and the peace of 1839 with
Holland, was of short duration. He remained
in Brussels until shortly before his death,
when he was permitted to return to Poland.

SKUA, the common name of the web-footed
birds of the gull family, subfamily lestridina,
and genus stercorarius (Briss.). The bill is
strong, the basal half with a membranous or
corneous cere distinct from the tip, the nostrils
opening under it in advance of the middle of
the bill; the tip is abruptly and strongly
curved; the wings very long, the first quill
the longest; the tail wedge-shaped, the two
central feathers projecting; tarsi strong, with
prominent scales ; claws sharp and curved, and
feet fully webbed, with the hind toe short and
but little elevated ; body full and stout. They
inhabit the high latitudes of both the north
ern and southern hemispheres; they chase
gulls and other marine birds, even the alba
tross, forcing them to disgorge a part of their
food, and are hence called jagers or yagers;
they feed also on the carcasses of cetaceans,
the eggs and young of sea birds, and the
smaller petrels. Their flight is elevated, rapid,
long sustained, and generally in circles, as in
birds of prey, which they represent among the
natatores ; the nests are made in company, of
coarse grass, and are placed on rocks or sand,
or in desolate heaths ; the eggs are one or two.
The common skua (S. catarractes, Temm.),
the largest species, is about 2 ft. long, with an
alar extent of about 4|- ft. ; the bill is 2 in. ;
the color above is dark brown, the feathers
tipped with gray; wings chocolate brown with
the shafts and basal parts white ; tail dark
brown, white at the base; lower parts dark
grayish brown ; legs, feet, and bill black, the
latter with a tinge of bluish ; the central tail
feathers project only an inch beyond the
others. The favorite haunts of this species
are the seas of northern Europe, especially
about the Orkney and Shetland islands, where
great numbers are killed for their feathers;
it has been obtained on the California coast,
and either this or a nearly allied species occurs
about Cape Horn, the cape of Good Hope,
and in the antarctic seas. The arctic skua
(S. [lestris] parasiticus, Temm.) is 21 in. long

and 44 in. in extent of wings; the central
tail feathers extend about 3 in. beyond the
others, and are pointed at the end. This spe
cies breeds in arctic America, coming down as

Common Skua (Stercorarius catarractes).

far as New York in summer and to the gulf of
Mexico in winter ; it breeds also in the Ork
ney and Shetland islands.

SKULL. See COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, and
SKELETON.

SKULLCAP, the common name for plants of
the labiate family of the genus scutellaria, the
botanical name being derived from Lat. scu-
tella, a dish, as the fruiting calyx has an ap
pendage which closes it ; this appendage has
also suggested the popular name skullcap. The
skullcaps are perennial herbs, destitute of
the aromatic qualities usually found in the
order ; they are widely distributed over the
temperate and subtropical countries, and some
of the Mexi
can and South
American spe
cies are some
times met with
as greenhouse
plants. Eight
or ten species
are found in our
northern states.
The common
skullcap (S.gale-
riculata), com
mon also in
Europe, is very
frequent in wet
and shady pla
ces, and is quite
showy ; it has
had a medicinal
reputation, as

has a Still mpre Common Skullcap (Scutellaria

common species, galericulata).

S. lateriflora,

which under the name of mad-dog skullcap
was some years ago used as a pretended reme
dy for hydrophobia. The plants are of inter
est to the botanist, but of no medicinal value.

SKUNK

SKUNK CABBAGE

SKUNK, an American carnivorous mammal
of the weasel family, badger subfamily, and
genus mephitis (Cuv.). It may be distinguished
from its congeners by a more slender and
elongated body, pointed nose, feet adapted for
digging, with, the anterior claws the longest
and the soles usually naked, and a long bushy
tail. The cheek teeth are |c|, the upper pos
terior being very large and nearly square ; the
head is small, with a projecting naked nose,
small and piercing eyes, and short and round
ed ears ; the feet are short, with live closely
united toes ; the palms naked and the soles
mostly so ; they are essentially plantigrade,
and walk with the back much arched and the
tail erect ; they are nocturnal, and feed on ani
mal substances. Though weak, timid, and slow
in their motions, they are effectually armed
against the most ferocious enemies in an acrid
and exceedingly offensive fluid secreted by
glands whose ducts open near the anus; these
glands are surrounded by a thick muscular
covering, the contractions of which are suffi
cient to eject the fluid to a distance of 14 ft.
The common skunk (M. mephitica, Shaw ;
M. chinga, Tiedm.) is from 16^ to 20 in. long,
the tail being 13 or 14 in. additional; the pre
vailing color is black, with a narrow line on
the forehead, broad triangular patch on nape
continuous with a narrow line on each side
of the back, and tail tuft, white; the varia
tion is considerable, the white markings being
wider in some specimens, and in others want
ing; the posterior third of the soles is hairy.
When about to use its natural means of de
fence, it raises its tail over the back, and ejects
the secretion in two thread-like streams with
great force and accuracy ; it can also diffuse
it in a fine spray on near objects ; it is almost
impossible to remove the odor from clothes
impregnated with it, and a dog which has
been touched by it is a nuisance for months ; it
is said to be phosphorescent at night. It is a
very cleanly animal, and never allows its own

Common Skunk (Mephitis mephitica).

fur to be soiled with its secretion. It some
times commits havoc am ong hens, chickens,
and eggs, but is far less injurious than the
mink and weasels, and from its clumsiness is

more easily detected; it feeds on small quad
rupeds and birds, reptiles, insects, nuts, and
fruits. It has from six to nine young at a
time, and would prove exceedingly annoying
were not great numbers killed by dogs and
carnivorous mammals and birds, and caught
in traps at the mouths of their burrows, which
are generally near the surface, in level ground,
and 6 to 8 ft. in extent. They remain in their
burrows in the northern states from December
to the middle of February, laying up no win
ter stores, but retiring in a very fat condition,
and remaining dull and inactive, though not
properly hibernating. This species is abun
dant in the northern and middle states, and
found from lat. 57 N. to Florida and Louisi
ana, and west to the Mississippi river. Its
flesh is white and fat, and if properly skinned
in no way tainted by its secretion ; it is highly
esteemed by the Indians, and is eaten by the
whites in various parts of the country; the
oil, nearly pure oleine, is excellent for leather,
but is of no special use in medicine ; the fur is
rather coarse, but is sometimes used for com
mon purposes, and of late years thousands of
skins have been annually carried to Europe,
where they make their appearance in various
disguises. The secretion has been successful
ly employed in some forms of asthma, in the
dose of a drop three times a day, though it so
taints the patient s excretions that the remedy
is generally considered worse than the disease ;
it has also been used as a powerful antispas-
modic in asthma, hysteria, and other nervous
disorders, applied to the nostrils. There are
several other species in the United States, espe
cially in Texas and California. In an article in
the u American Journal of Science " for May,
1874, Mr. Hovey says that this animal is very
dangerous in the western states. It is often
affected by a disease winch renders its saliva
so poisonous that its bite is more to be feared
than that of the rattlesnake. He gives many
instances in which persons sleeping on the
ground have been bitten, generally with fatal,
and always with dangerous consequences.

SKUNK CABBAGE, a plant the peculiar odor
and the large clusters of luxuriant leaves of
which readily suggested the common name.
Botanically it has received the names potlws,
ictodes, dracontium, and others, but botanists
have finally settled upon symplocarpits (Gr.
ovfiTrXoKq, connection, and Kap-nd^^ fruit, in ref
erence to the manner in which the ovaries form
a connected or compound fruit). In all the
different genera in which it has been placed, it
retained the descriptive specific name fixtidus.
It belongs to the arum family, which is well
known through its handsome exotic represen
tative Richardia, the calla lily, or lily of the
Nile. The skunk cabbage is one of our very
earliest spring flowers, and appears in wet
places from New England to North Carolina ;
the flowers come long before the leaves in the
latitude of New York, often as early as Febru
ary, and they are very abundant in March and

SKYE

SLANDER

April. The plant is an endogen, and its perfect
flowers have four petals each, with as many
opposite stamens, and a simple pistil with a
one-ovuled ovary, which has a four-angled style.

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).

These flowers are crowded in a dense globular
cluster upon a short stem or spadix, and the
cluster is surrounded by a peculiar, shell-formed
hood or spathe, with an incurved point and of
the shape shown in the engraving; this hood
is sometimes of a dark lurid purple color, but
is more frequently striped and spotted with
yellow and purple, and sometimes varied with
blotches of green and red. The hoods may be
found long before the leaves appear, as these
seem to require warm weather for their lux
uriant growth ; but they grow very rapidly
when they start, and are heart-shaped, on short
petioles and 1 to 2 ft. long ; they form large
clusters, which disappear very suddenly after
midsummer, the spathe around the flowers hav
ing decayed much earlier. The fruit is a large
oval fleshy mass, consisting of the purplish and
green, berry-like seeds immersed in the en
larged spadix. All parts of the plant have a
strong and strikingly skunk-like odor, which
has been likened to a combination of garlic
and asafoetida; the seeds are odorless when
whole, but very strong when bruised. The
root has been used as a stimulant and expec
torant, but it rapidly deteriorates when dried.
The leaves are sometimes used to dress blisters
to keep up the discharge.

SK1E, the largest island of the inner Heb
rides, off the W. coast of Scotland, forming
part of Inverness-shire, from the mainland of
which it is separated by the narrow strait of
Loch Alsh; area, 535 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871,
17,330. The surface is mountainous. In the
centre of the island the Cuchullin or Coolin
hills and other summits rise to the height of
2,000 and 3,000 ft, above the sea. The shores,
especially in the north, are very bold and pic

turesque, and are indented by many inlets or
lochs. In the northeast are basaltic columns
equal to those at Staffa, and caves, some of
which abound with stalactites of great beauty.
Soapstone, manganese, jet, and some coal are
found, but none of them are productively
worked. White and variegated marble is quar
ried. The climate is variable ; on the higher
portions the snow lies long, and when it melts
there are heavy rains. The soil is poor and
the productions scanty. The greater part of
it is in pasture, and devoted to the rearing of
cattle and sheep. Large plantations of trees
have lately been made. Red deer and game
are abundant. The well known Skye terrier
is raised here. The fisheries, especially in the
sounds between the island and the mainland,
furnish employment and subsistence to a large
proportion of the inhabitants. The manufac
ture of kelp, once extensive, is now nearly ex
tinct; there are no other manufactures, and
very little trade. The people are of Gaelic
origin ; they are peaceable and moral, but in
dolent and generally poor. The island con
tains many Danish antiquities. The greater
part of the land belongs to Lord Macdonald
and the Macleod family. Skye was the home
of Flora Macdonald, w T ho died here in 1790.
The principal port is Portree, which has an
excellent harbor.

SKYLARK. See LARK.

SLMDER, in law, defamatory words falsely
and maliciously spoken, and injurious either
in fact or in legal presumption. It is action
able slander: 1, to speak of one thus falsely
and maliciously words importing his guiltiness
of an offence involving moral turpitude or pun
ishable by law ; 2, to charge him with having
such an infectious, or perhaps disgusting dis
ease as, if known, would probably cause his ex
clusion from society ; 3, to use in regard to one
in office, or of a person in reference to his pro
fession, trade, or business, such language as has
a natural tendency to cause him damage or loss,
either because the language implies the lack of
some requisite qualification for the occupation
or profession, or because it implies insolven
cy or some positive misconduct or dishonest
practice in the business or calling; 4, to speak
words which, though not naturally or presump
tively productive of loss, have nevertheless
caused actual damage to the person slandered.
Of these four classes of slanderous words, the
first, second, and third include those that are
actionable per se, or of themselves ; that is to
say, if the plaintiff proves that the words were
spoken, he recovers damages without proving
any particular loss. An action lies for words
of the fourth class only when the plaintiff can
prove express and special damage. Of the form
of slander which imputes guiltiness of crime,
it is to be observed that the immediate ground
on which the law founds the action is that
injury to the party s reputation and his conse
quent degradation in society which is the natu
ral and immediate incident of criminal guilt.

SLANDER

The words must therefore suggest an offence
which subjects the party to a criminal prose
cution and to infamous punishment. If the
penalty for an offence is merely pecuniary,
it does not appear that an action will lie for
charging it, even though in default of payment
imprisonment should be prescribed by the stat
ute, the imprisonment not being the prima
ry and immediate punishment of the offence.
But the words will be actionable in themselves
in case the charge, if true, will make the party
charged liable to an indictment for a crime in
volving moral turpitude or subjecting him to
an infamous punishment. Thus, to charge for
gery or counterfeiting, keeping a bawdy house,
bribery at an election, and the soliciting one
to commit murder, are all actionable slanders
per se, for they suggest both moral turpitude
and an indictable offence. For the same rea
son it is actionable per se not only to say that
one has done enough to send him to the peni
tentiary, but to say that he has already been
there. But to allege that one lives by impos
ture imputes indeed moral turpitude, but not
an mdictable offence, and is consequently not
slanderous per se, or without proof of actual
damage. Words alleging perjury are action
able of themselves. The language must of
course either express or imply all that is essen
tial to constitute the crime, to wit, a judicial
proceeding, material testimony, and the other
essential elements of perjury. A charge of
false swearing which does not expressly or im-
pliedly comprehend all these points is not slan
derous. Theft is an indictable and infamous
offence, and the false and malicious imputation
of it is actionable without proof of damage.
One may sometimes call another a thief, just
as he calls him scoundrel, liar, or cheat, by way
of general abuse, and without any intention of
charging the crime of larceny to him. If the
defendant can show this clearly, he may de
feat the presumption which the law always
makes of a slanderous quality and intent in
the word. Where fornication is made punish
able by statute, as in most of the states, it is
slanderous per se to charge unchastity. It was
not so at the common law, but the hardship,
and indeed the absurdity of this rule, when
the consequences to a woman are considered,
are so manifest that it has quite generally
been changed by statutes in the several states.
Words charging disease are actionable only
when they imply that the disease now exists.
The third class of slanderous words includes
those imputations which affect one s official,
professional, or business character. To be
actionable of themselves, the words must im
mediately contemplate and touch these rela
tions ; for it is invariably held that where the
words complained of, though calculated in
every respect to cause the forfeiture of an
office or the loss of the income of a profession
or business, are nevertheless not in fact applied
to the conduct of the plaintiff in his office or
business, the action for slander fails. But

words which necessarily, even if not in terms,
refer to and affect one s business relations, may
be held slanderous ; as to say, for example, in
reply to an inquiry about failures, " I under
stand there is trouble with the Smiths," or U B
owes more money than he is worth, and is
broken." So it is slanderous per se to say
that a trader is insolvent, that X keeps none
but rotten goods, that Y uses filthy water in
making his beer, or that Z keeps false books,
where keeping books is a necessary incident to
the business. It is slander to charge an attor
ney or physician with general ignorance or un-
skilfulness in his prof ession ; and words which
of themselves allege ignorance or unskilf ulness
in a particular case may be actionable if they
fairly imply general disqualification in these re
spects. The fourth class includes those words
for which an action lies if special damage be
proved. Thus, to say of another that he is a
knave, a blackleg, a liar, a cheat, or a scoun
drel, is generally not actionable. If, however,
the speaking of these or the like defamatory
words has wrought the plaintiff particular pe
cuniary loss, he can recover damages. In all
cases in which an action for slander lies, an
essential principle on which the action rests is
that the speaking of words false in fact and in
jurious to the reputation of another is malicious.
By malice in this place is to be understood,
not that disposition of ill will, spite, or revenge
which in common parlance the word implies,
but that legal malice which is the presumption
and conclusion of the law from the fact of the
deliberate and unqualified statement of false
and defamatory matter, without cause or justi
fication. Where these elements coincide, the
law implies the malice, and the slander is com
plete. It is the corollary of this conception
of slander that a defendant cannot justify the
speaking of the slanderous words by the plea
that he merely repeated the language of another.
Formerly, indeed, it was held, on the authority
of an old case in Coke, that if the defendant,
at the time of uttering the words complained
of, named his informant and gave his precise
language, so as to furnish the plaintiff with a
good cause of action against him, these facts
might be pleaded as presumptive proof that the
defendant did not utter the slanderous words
maliciously. But the latest English cases hold
that the defendant s plea must go further, and
must show in addition to the facts just men
tioned that he believed the charge to be true,
and repeated it with a justifiable intent and
on a justifiable occasion. The American rule
is at least equally strict, and until the legal
presumption of malice is rebutted by shoAving
a justifiable intent and justifiable occasion,
the uttering or repeating of slanderous words
is actionable. To refrain altogether from the
repetition of such words is the only way to be
entirely safe. The presumption of legal malice
is defeated when the otherwise slanderous lan
guage is employed upon a just occasion, in the
discharge of a duty or in the protection of an

SLANG

interest. Such communications as these are
said to be privileged, and the hurden of show
ing express malice is thrown upon the plain
tiff. In a leading case upon this subject in the
supreme court of the United States, privileged
communications Were divided into four classes,
viz. : 1, publications duly made in the ordinary
mode of parliamentary proceedings ; 2, words
used in the course of legal or judicial proceed
ings ; 3, anything said or written by a master
in giving the character of a servant who has
been in his employment ; 4, words used by any
one in good faith in the discharge of any pub
lic or private duty, legal or moral, or in the
prosecution of his own rights or interests.
With reference to the first of these classes, the
exemption from liability for any words spoken
in debate is expressly provided by the consti
tution of the United States, and is probably
repeated in the declaration of rights in the
constitution of every state in the Union. The
exemption extends to everything said or done
by a representative in the discharge of his
office, whether in debate in open session of
the house, or more privately out of the house
in committee, or even during the ordinary ad
journment of the sessions. On the same prin
ciple, namely, the public interest in the prompt,
unembarrassed, and efficient administration of
the laws, all language spoken in good faith in
the course of legal proceedings before a compe
tent jurisdiction, pertinent in any wise to the
matter in question, enjoys perfect immunity.
The benefit of the privilege is secured alike
to the parties, the counsel, the witnesses, the
judges, and the jury. As to statements made
by masters in reference to the character of
their servants, good faith will be presumed,
and it is for the servant to negative the pre
sumption. Malice will be implied if he shows
the falsehood of the charge ; and there may be
a prima facie presumption of malice if a mas
ter volunteered the unfavorable statement re
specting his discarded servant. In a civil ac
tion for slander, the truth of the facts imputed
may be pleaded by the defendant in justifica
tion. If the plea is maintained by proof, the
action is defeated ; for the principle is, that
if the plaintiff is guilty of the whole matter
charged to him, he has sustained no injury
and has therefore no valid claim for damages.
The amount of the damages lies almost entire
ly within the discretion of the jury. They
may give punitory or vindictive damages in
cases of wanton and unqualified malice ; and
even though the amount may seem excessive,
yet the court will not generally set the verdict
aside, unless it shall be plain that the jury was
influenced by improper motives or was misled
by some gross error.

SLANG, a burlesque or colloquial form of ex
pression, the language of low humor, or the
jargon of thieves and vagrants. Slang is prob
ably as old as human speech. We find traces
of it in many of the early writers, particularly
the Greek and Roman dramatists; and the

works of Aristophanes, Plautus, Terence, and
Martial abound with words which the pu
rists of their day would not have recognized.
All modern European languages have their
vulgar or slang dialects, and some of them
more than one ; and in several countries the
thieves jargon has been reduced to grammati
cal rules and has a literature of its own. The
language used by the English criminal classes
is called more properly cant, but slang and
cant have borrowed so many terms from each
other that it is almost impossible to distin
guish them. It is equally difficult to draw
the line between slang and pure language,
for very many words, illegitimate in origin,
have become classical by prescription. The
word slang is supposed to be of gypsy origin,
and to have been used as a synonyme of Ro
many or Bohemian, the Zingari or gypsy
tongue. Gibberish was used in nearly the
same sense. The gypsies probably entered
England in the beginning of the 16th century.
They came as conjurers and jugglers, profess
ing the gifts of palmistry and second sight, and
speaking a secret language. They met with
favor among the lower classes, and speedily
found many imitators, who adopted their habits
and many words of their language, while the
gypsies added to their own vocabulary numer
ous terms and phrases of English vagabondage.
Thus between them was formed a kind of slang
compromise, out of which eventually grew the
conglomerate jargon called variously the cant
ing language, peddlers Erench, thieves Latin,
and St. Giles s Greek. The earliest collection
of English cant words is contained in "A
Caueat for commen Cvrsetors vulgarely called
Vagaboncs," by Thomas Harman (4to, London,
1567). Ilarman fell into such disrepute with
thieves and vagrants for his exposure of their
secret tricks, words, and signs, that his name
became the cant synonyme for a constable and
the stocks. "The Belman of London, bring
ing to Light the most notorious Villanies now
practised in the Kingdome," by Thomas Deck
er (4to, London, 1608), professes to give an
account of the cant of thieves and vagabonds,
and contains much curious information. The
civil wars brought into common use many
slang and cant terms, but it was reserved for
the court of Charles II. , in which coarse wit
was the fashion, to bring slang to a perfection
before unknown. Lords and ladies talked
slang, and much of the literature of the time is
filled with it. Butler s "Hudibras," according
to a contemporary writer, was the chief enter
tainment of Charles II., who often quoted it.
In the time of George III. and the regency,
the current slang was known as "flash," and
sometimes as the language of " gig." The
most important of the early collections of slang
and cant words, and that on which almost all
later works have been founded, is Francis
Grose s " Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar
Tongue" (8vo, London, 1785), containing all
the cant and slang of the earlier glossaries, and

SLANG

all the vulgar, flash, and indecent terms of the
author s time. It has been several times re
printed ; the hest edition is by Pierce Egan,
with additions (8vo, 1823). A "Slang Dic
tionary" was published in London in 1860, and
a revised edition of it in 1875. The earliest
work on American vulgarisms is the Rev. Dr.
John Witherspoon s "Essays on Americanisms,
Perversions of Language in the United States,
Cant Phrases," &c. (Philadelphia, 1801), ori
ginally published in a periodical called "The
Druid" in 1701. Slang, considered as the
generic term for all illegitimate words and
phrases, consists partly of words derived di
rectly from thieves cant and foreign languages,
partly of old words with new adaptations, and
partly of new words and expressions coined to
meet new conditions. Many of the most com
mon slang words were originally thieves cant,
and have been in use for Centuries. Among
these are "cove" or "covey," a boy or man;
"darbies," handcuffs; "doxy," a strumpet, a
tramp s female companion; "duds," clothes;
"fence," a receiver of stolen goods; "glim,"
a light; "mug," the mouth or face; "nob,"
the head ; " swag," booty or property ; " tog,"
a coat ; and " wipe," a pocket handkerchief.
Of words derived from the gypsies are " bosh,"
nonsense; "cheese," anything good or genu
ine; "pal," a friend or accomplice; "rum,"
good (man or thing); and "snack," a share
of plunder. Besides what English slang has
drawn from the Celtic, Gaelic, Saxon, and
Norman French, it derives many words from
other European tongues, including the ancient
Greek and Latin, and from several of the east
ern languages, notably the various East Indian
dialects, the Persian, and the Chinese. Among
the words borrowed from the French are:
" cahoot " (cohorte), to keep company ; "spree "
(esprit), a carousal ; and " feele " (fille), a girl ;
from the Spanish : " savvey " (sale), to know ;
" vamose " and " mosey " (camos), to go ; and
"cavort" (cavar), to caper; from the Ger
man : " loafer " (Ldufer), an idle fellow ;
"frow " (Frau), a wife; and "bower" (Bauer),
used in right and left bower in cards; and
from the Dutch: "boosey" (t)uizen}, drunk;
"logy" (log}, dull, heavy; "boss" (baas ), a
master or head; and "landlubber" (landloo-
per), a vagabond. The East Indian tongues
contribute "tiffin," breakfast or lunch; "dun
garee," poor, motley ; and " chit," a letter ;
and the Chinese, "chop," used in such expres
sions as "first chop," "second chop"; "koo-
too" or "kotow," to cringe to, to flatter; and
"pigeon," the Chinese pronunciation of busi
ness, used in the expression "pigeon English."
The lingua Franca, or bastard Italian, spoken
in the Mediterranean seaports, which is a bar
barous compound of most of the languages used
ftlong the shores of that sea, has also contrib
uted largely to English slang. Of old words
invested with new meanings, some of the most
common are: "bleed," to pay or lose money;
" blow," to vaunt or boast; "bolt," to leave,

to run away; "do," to cheat, as "to do one
out of his money," &c. The verb "to go"
furnishes numerous slang phrases, as " go it
strong," "go back on," "go ahead," "go for

one," "go through," "go

go ane
by," "

go the whole

hog," "great go," "little go," "rum go,"
" pretty go," a " go " of liquor, &c. ; and " let "
almost as many, as "let slide," "let rip," "let
up," "let on," "let out," "let in," "let drive,"
"let alone," "let the cat out," &c. Many of
these, although properly slang, have acquired
through constant use a right to a place in the
language, and may be regarded as good " dia
lect " English. To this class also belong many
of the words usually called Americanisms,
which had their origin in this country and
have a flavor of our institutions, such as "log
rolling," "wire-pulling," " axe - grinding,"
" pipe - laying," " filibustering," " mudsill,"
" mean white," " doughface," " jayhawker,"
"bushwhacker," "copperhead," "carpet-bag
ger," " shinplaster," "stamp," "greenback,"
"copper," " nickel, "&c. The fashionable af
fectation too of using French words, with
meanings which would not be recognized in
Paris, as " on the tapis, 1 " to chaperon," " beau
monde," " the dansant," may be relegated to
this department of slang. America is respon
sible also for very many of the new words
coined to meet new conditions, such as "ca
boodle," "calithumps," "contraptions," "high-
falutin," "hunkydory," "shenanigan," "spon
dulicks," "skedaddle," "scalawag," and such
corruptions as "slantindicular," "rambump-
tious," and " splendiferous." (See AMEEIOAN-
ISMS.) Every business, vocation, and profes
sion has its slang, and every notable civil
event and political convulsion furnishes new
phrases and words, most of which are ephem
eral. The press and the theatre are prolific
coiners, and the university, the army, the ex
change (see STOCK EXCHANGE), politics, fash
ion, the prize ring (see PUGILISM), and the
turf are all responsible for a large share of
the current slang of the day. The sea too is
no less profuse in illegitimate expressions than
the land, and sailors slang is proverbial. In
France the jargon of the thieves and vagrants,
which is called argot, is a comprehensive lan
guage, with a grammar and literature of its
own. Argot has been traced as far back as
the 14th century according to some authors,
but others believe that it originated with the
gypsies, who appeared in Paris in the first half
of the loth century. One of the earliest works
on it is Le jargon, ou langage de V argot re-
forme, &c. (Troves, 1660). In 1827 a diction
ary of argot was published in Paris ; but the
prosperity of argot literature dates rather from
the publication in 1837 of Vidocq s work on
thieves, containing the argot dictionary, which
he began in 1819. Since then many other
works have appeared, of jwhich one of the
most valuable is Michel s Etudes de pltilologie
comparee sur V argot, &c. (Paris, 1856). Argot
has found a conspicuous place in modern

SLANG

SLATE

French novels, especially in Sue s Mysteres de
Paris; indeed, the language of some of the
characters in that work was so difficult to un
derstand that it was found necessary to pub
lish a Dictionnaire complet de Vargot employe
dans les Mysteres de Paris. Some of the argot
words are very expressive: thus, God is Mec
des mecs (Maitre des mattres, Master of mas
ters) ; the devil, boulanger (baker) ; prison,
college or abbayede sots (college, fools abbey) ;
the gibbet, veuve (widow) ; to suffer capital
punishment, epouser la veuve (to marry the
widow); a cafe, bocard (stamping mill); to
eat,joucr des dominos (to play dominoes); an
omnibus, four banal or face d face (parish
oven, face to face) ; the sea, la grande tasse
(the big cup) ; rain, bouillon de cliien (dog
soup) ; the moon, moucJiarde or cafarde (fe
male spy, hypocrite) ; an Englishman, goddem,
rosbif, &c. In Spain the slang language is
called germania (Lat. germanus, a full brother,
hence faithful, true), from the brotherhoods
or associations of thieves who make use of it.
Some, with less probability, refer the name to
the German origin of the earliest associations
in Spain. Cervantes used some of its terms in
" Don Quixote " and others of his works, and
some are also to be found in the writings of
Quevedo. In 1609 Juan Hidalgo compiled a
book on the subject entitled Romances de ger
mania de varios autorcs, con su vocabulario,
&c. In germania a highway robber is called
picturesquely ermitano de camino (hermit of
the road) ; death, cierta (the certain) ; suspi
cion, espino (a thorn) ; a person hanged, ra-
cimo (bunch of grapes). In Portugal thieves
slang is called calao, perhaps from calar, to
conceal. The slang of the Italian vagrants
and thieves is called furbesco (from furbo, a
quack, knave, rogue), and sometimes gergo,
jargon. Some of its expressions are very sug
gestive : thus, hell is calda casa (hot house) ;
a stone, artone di calcosa (earth bread) ; the
mouth, caverna (cavern) ; the nose, flauto
(flute) ; the tongue, ingegnosa (cunning) ; the
stomach, fagiana (bean box) ; the beard, bosco
di berlo (face forest). The thieves slang of
Germany is called Rothicdlsch, from roth, a
cant term for vagrant, and waUch, foreign. It
is called also Kokamloschen, from the Hebrew
hakham, adroit, ingenious, and lashon, lan
guage. It is composed of Low, High, Jew,
and gypsy German, has a grammar and almost
a literature of its own, and two dialects, one
in North and one in South Germany. Among
its words are : custom house officer, Amkdt-
scher (one who rummages everything) ; law
yer, Diftler (one who finesses) ; night, sclmarz
(black) ; priest, Schwarzfarbcr (black dyer) ;

)ld, Fuchs (fox) ; sword, Kehritm (face about),
ne of the earliest and most curious books on
Rotliwalsch, entitled Von denfalschenBettlern
und ihrer Buberey (Wittenberg, 1528), has a
preface by Martin Luther. A vocabulary of
it was published in 1661, and since that time
many other works have appeared. In Jutland j

a slang allied to German cant is much spoken.
The Czech thieves cant is called Tiantyrlca.
The slang language of Holland is the bargoens
or dieventael. In Norway, Sweden, and Den
mark, besides the fantasprog, spoken of in
Sund s work, Om Fante eller Landstrygcrfolket
y Norge (Christiania, 1850), are used the tater-
sproget, or gypsy gibberish, and the skdier-
sproget, the jargon of thieves and vagabonds.
Russian thieves make use of different slang
dialects, and several of the dissenting religious
sects have languages peculiar to themselves.
In Albania a slang language made up of a mix
ture of modern Greek, "Wallachian, Italian, and
Latin, with a few words of oriental invention,
is spoken chiefly by quack doctors. In it the
verbs signifying to practise medicine and to
cheat are synonymous. Asiatic criminals speak
the balaibalan, an artificial language made
from the Arab, Persian, and Turkish vocabu
laries. The Indian Thugs speak the rama-
seena language, a vocabulary and history of
which appeared in Calcutta in 1836.

SLATE, a rock of no definite composition,
distinguished by its structure, which is of par
allel sheets or laminas, easily separated. The
term is in common use also applied to various
rocks which do not possess the fissile charac
ter in so eminent a degree, and which are
sometimes distinguished from the true slates
by the name of schists; such are the mica, tal-
cose, hornblende, and chlorite schists or slates.
Shale differs from slate in its more earthy tex
ture and less tenacity, as well as want of the
perfect slaty structure. But its composition is
like that of the argillaceous or clay slate, which
is the well known roofing and writing slate.
This variety, which is the only slate of eco
nomical importance, is found among the met-
amorphic rocks passing into mica slate, and
with the strata of the Silurian period, and
sometimes with those of still later origin. It
is eminently characterized by splitting with
ease into large smooth plates, which have a
uniform degree of hardness, possess a dull or
feeble lustre, and are blackish gray, bluish
black, bluish or reddish brown, purplish, or
greenish. The rock is often traversed by thin
seams of quartz, but the prepared slates should
be entirely free from foreign minerals, and es
pecially from iron pyrites, which are too often
seen in yellow cubical crystals scattered over
the surface of what would otherwise be excel
lent roofing slates. Such are unfit for writing
or school slates; and for roofing slates they
are objectionable on account of the pyrites
weakening the slates, and also being liable to
decompose after exposure for some time, and
cause unsightly stains of oxide of iron. Car
bonate of lime is also sometimes present, and
is likewise injurious. The best slates are dis
tinguished by an appearance of compactness
and solidity in the blocks, with nothing to sug
gest their fissile character ; and yet this should
be so perfect, that when fresh from the quarry
these blocks may be split with greater ease than

SLATE

SLATER

pine timber, and into sheets of any desired thin
ness. The faces should be perfectly smooth and
parallel, without any curvatures or irregulari
ties. There should be no lines of cross fracture
that should prevent their breaking in any one
direction more than another. When one is bal
anced on the finger and struck with a hammer,
it should give a clear ringing sound ; and after
being dried in an oven and immersed in water,
it should absorb but little, as may be ascer
tained by weighing it before and after immer
sion. This is an excellent test of the compar
ative values of different slates. The powder
of slates is light gray, and when a pointed
piece is rubbed upon a smooth slate surface
a portion of the powder remains behind, leav
ing a plain mark that is easily wiped or washed
off. It is this property which renders the slates
serviceable for drawing and writing upon. Ar
gillaceous slates, like the clays which they ori
ginally were, are essentially composed of silex
and alumina, and the following is the result of
the analysis of a common Scotch variety : silex,
50 parts in 100; alumina, 27; oxide and sul
phate of iron, 11; potash, 4; magnesia, 1;
water, 7 ; carbon, a trace. The slates are
found often in beds of great extent, associated
with other beds of similar character ; and this
singular feature is observed in the structure
of the rocks, that the cleavage, or lines along
which the slates naturally separate, has no
relation to the lines of stratification. However
much the beds themselves may be contorted
and follow irregular waving planes, each sys
tem of cleavage lines, in case there are more
than one, as sometimes occurs, maintains its
own direction and rarely coincides with the
plane of dip. It is evident that the cleavage
seams must have been produced subsequently
to the time when the beds acquired their final
position. This structure is what is known as
slaty cleavage ; and sometimes when the strata
are themselves thinly bedded and the stratifi
cation is regular over extended areas, it is not
easy to distinguish immediately the two sets
of planes one from the other. Slates are quar
ried either by blasting out large slabs, or, when
practicable, splitting them off with gads and
large wedges. The slabs from a foot to a foot
and a half thick, and it may be 8 or 10 ft. long
and 1 or 2 ft. wide, are set on edge, and grooves
are cut across the top and down the sides to
determine the lines of fracture for separating
them into rectangular blocks, which is done
by blows from a wooden beetle directed upon
the top near the furrow. The splitting is
effected by driving wide, thin chisels between
the lamince, and the sizes of the slates are
reduced whenever desirable by cutting cross
grooves and then breaking the pieces with the
chisel. When reduced to the required thinness,
the slates are roughly dressed over the edge of
a block of wood by the blows of a sort of chop
ping knife called a sack, sax, or zax. On the
back of this tool is a sharp tapering steel point,
with which the workman when preparing roof

ing slates pecks two holes through the slates
near what is to be the head or upper edge, for
the nails which are to hold it down to the roof.
In Vermont machines have been applied to
cutting grooves in the slate in the ledge to fa
cilitate the quarrying, and the cutting and trim
ming are also done by machinery. It is impor
tant that all this work should be done while
the blocks are fresh from the quarry, as in dry
ing they are apt to lose their property of split
ting freely, though freezing may restore this ;
but a succession of frosts and thaws has the
effect of thorough seasoning. Slabs for inter
nal decoration, as mantelpieces, and for articles
of furniture, as table tops, billiard tables, sinks,
&c., are cut by circular saws which are made
to revolve slowly. The sheets when thus
squared to suitable sizes are planed in machines
similar to those used for planing metals ; and
pieces for mouldings are shaped by tools of
the desired figure. Various ornamental arti
cles are prepared of slate in imitation of mar
bles, granites, and other stones, by the appli
cation of colors, which are baked in, varnished,
and polished, the applications being several
times repeated. (See ENAMELLING, vol. vi., p.
591.) SLATE PENCILS are made from argilla
ceous slate rock, sometimes from talcose slate,
and sometimes from various materials ground
together and compressed. Near the town of
Castleton, and near one extremity of the west
ern Vermont slate belt, is found an argillaceous
slate from which the finest pencils are made.
The stone is sawed into blocks 7 in. long by
6 in. wide, and split into slabs a little more
than a quarter of an inch thick. These are
then planed and placed in a machine, in which
a series of grooved knives cut through one half
the thickness of the slab, when it is placed in
a second machine having a bed with grooves
corresponding to the sides of the pencils cut,
and a cutter like the one in the first machine
completes the operation. The pencils are then
counted and put up in boxes of 100 each, and
packed in cases of 10,000. There are three
sizes, 6, 5, and 4 in. in length. The waste of
this slate has been utilized by grinding it into
flour and making it into artificial pencils.

SLATER, Samuel, an American manufacturer,
born at Belper, Derbyshire, England, June 9,
1768, died at Webster, Mass., April 21, 1835.
He was apprenticed to cotton spinning under
Jedidiah Strutt, partner of Arkwright, and was
a favorite with his master. He aided Mr. Strutt
in making improvements in his mills, and gain
ed a thorough mastery of the theory and prac
tice of the new manufacture. In 1789 con
gress passed its first act for the encouragement
of manufactures, and the Pennsylvania legis
lature offered a bounty for the introduction
of the Arkwright patents. These laws met
the eye of young Slater in an English journal,
and he believed himself able to carry the Ark
wright cotton manufacture across the Atlantic
without drawings or models, the export being
forbidden under severe penalties. lie arrived

SLAVE COAST

SLAVERY

in New York in November, 1789, and learned
accidentally that Moses Brown had made some
attempts at cotton spinning by machinery in
Ehode Island. He wrote to Mr. Brown inform
ing him of what he could do, and received a
reply stating that these attempts had not been
successful, and adding : "If thou canst do
this thing, I invite thee to come to Rhode Isl
and and have the credit and the profit of in
troducing cotton manufacture into America."
Slater proceeded thither, and immediately en
tered into articles of agreement with William
Almy and Smith Brown to construct and oper
ate the new cotton-spinning machinery. On
Dec. 21, 1790, he started at Pawtucket three
18-inch carding machines, the necessary draw
ing heads with two rolls and four processes,
the roving cases and winders for the same, and
throstle spinning frames of 72 spindles. Reels
were soon after made for putting the yarn into
skeins, in which form it was then exclusively
marketed. The first yarns made on this ma
chinery were equal in quality to the best made
at that time in England. The growth of cot
ton manufacture was for some time necessarily
slow, as the cotton was picked by hand in fam
ilies. Further progress was made some years
later when yarn was dyed and distributed in
families for weaving. In 1812 Slater began
the erection of mills in Oxford (now Webster),
Mass., adding in 1815- 16 the manufacture of
woollen cloths ; and here has grown up the
large establishment which still bears his name.
He established in 1796, for the improvement
of his workpeople, a Sunday school, which was
the first or among the first in the United States.

SLAVE COAST, a part of the coast of Upper
Guinea, W. Africa, between the rivers Volta
and Oameroons, comprising a small part of the
British Gold Coast protectorate, the coast of
Dahomey, the British colony of Lagos, and
the coast of Benin and Calabar. It derived its
name from the trade in slaves, formerly the
chief traffic of the coast. (See GUINEA.)

SLAVERY, the condition of absolute bondage,
in which one person is the unconditional prop
erty or chattel of another, and obliged to labor
for his master s benefit, without his own con
sent. It has existed in some form in all na
tions, and still exists in many countries, though
modern slavery differs in several respects from
ancient slavery. It was in perfect existence
at the dawn of history, and allusions to it
are found in some of the earliest extant wri
tings. Kidnapping was a common mode of
obtaining slaves for commerce, and it was ex
tensively followed by the Phoenicians as much
as 3,000 years ago, and the slave trade was
then in full vigor. Slavery first appears in
Chinese records about 13 centuries B. C. In
India the number of slaves was small, and it
has even been asserted that slavery was there
prohibited by positive law ; but the lower
castes could be enslaved for debt. Slavery
existed among the Assyrians, the Babylonians,
and the Persians after they had become con

querors. The conquering races who estab
lished their rule, in succession, in that quar
ter of the globe, found slavery there existing,
and in some instances they increased its ex
tent ; but the general tendency of extensive
conquests was to lessen the number of slaves,
for when different races became subject to the
same royal line, and peace prevailed, as in the
Persian empire, which extended from the bor
ders of Ethiopia to India, the supplies of slaves
were largely cut off, as those supplies were
principally obtained through war. The He
brews had some form of slavery from the time
of Abraham. The Mosaic legislation concern
ing servitude was very mild, and contained nu
merous important limitations of the rights of
masters. In Phoenicia slaves were very numer
ous, and were extensively employed in all the
branches of industry that were pursued by
that enterprising people. They formed much
the larger part of the populations of such cities
as Tyre and Sidon. Slavery was a firmly es
tablished institution of the Hellenic heroic age.
It was the consequence of invasion and con
quest, and it led to further wars that were
waged in order to procure more slaves. Piracy
and kidnapping were resorted to for the same
object, and no degree of life was exempt from
the effects of this state of things. Yet in the
heroic age Grecian slavery was mild. "In
Homer," it has been truly said, "the condition
of the slave seems everywhere tempered by
the kindness and indulgence Of the master."
The condition of women, however, was worse
than that of men. The female slaves per
formed the principal work in the interior of
the house. Not only do they seem to have
been more harshly treated than the males, but
they were charged with the hardest and most
exhausting labor which the establishment of a
Greek chief required. The treatment of slaves
was very different by the different Greek
communities. The Athenians were very kind
toward them, and throughout Attica prevailed
the mildest form of servitude known to the
world of antiquity. Athenian legislation pro
tected the personal rights of the slave, and
promoted his efforts to obtain freedom. There
were both public and private slaves at Athens,
the former being the property of the state,
some of whom were educated and filled impor
tant offices, such as those of secretaries of the
commanders and treasurers of the armies.
Sparta was regarded by Greece as furnishing
the practical antithesis to Athens in the treat
ment of slaves. The helots of Sparta furnish
the type of all that is calamitous among the
oppressed, and there is much in Spartan his
tory that justifies this view of their condition.
They were slaves of the state, and those by
whom they were held could neither liberate
them nor sell them out of Laconia. They ap
pear to have occupied some such position as
the serfs of the middle ages, but the central
authority had more power over them. (See
HELOTS.) The supplies of slaves were obtained

SLAVERY

in most parts of Greece through war, com
merce, piracy, and kidnapping. There were
regular markets for their sale, the principal of
which were held at Athens, Samos, and Chios.
Negroes were among the slaves imported,
Egypt furnishing the larger number of them ;
and they were valued for their complexion,
and considered as luxuries. Most of the do
mestic and personal slaves were barbarians,
that is, persons who were not of Greek blood,
for it was the Grecian custom to allow prison
ers of their own race to be ransomed. The
number of slaves in Greece was very large,
and it is even estimated to have been three
or four times as great as that of the free pop
ulation. Unlike the Romans, the Greeks did
not seek to possess many slaves from mo
tives of luxury and ostentation, but of profit.
Fifty slaves were a large number for a wealthy
Athenian to own, while some Romans owned
20,000 each. There were many slaves em
ployed in the mines, but they were of the
least valuable kind, and their labor was de
structive of life. Most of the slave insurrec
tions in Attica were brought about by the
mining slaves, and on one occasion they took
possession of Sunium, and held it for some
time. The Athenian slaves were not, save
on extraordinary occasions, employed as sol
diers, like those of the Dorian Greeks. They
fought at Marathon and at the Arginusre, but
these were remarkable exceptions. Manumit
ted slaves in Greece could not become citi
zens, but became metics, and were still under
certain obligations to their former masters,
neglect of which made them liable to be sold
into slavery again. In Italy slavery prevailed
even more extensively than in Greece, though
in the early times, it has been contended, and
before the foundation of the Roman dominion,
the number of slaves was so small, and they
were so well treated, as hardly to deserve the
name ; but as there is evidence that the Etrus
cans had negro slaves, the slave trade must
have been extensively carried on between Italy
and Africa at a remote period. The Romans
had slaves at the earliest dates of their annals,
and far earlier than that time which is recog
nized as the beginning of their authentic his
tory ; but there was a great difference between
the institution as it existed in the opening
years of the republic and as it became several
generations before the establishment of the
imperial rule. As the kingdom of Rome is
believed to have been far more powerful than
was the Roman republic during the first two
centuries of its existence, and had commercial
relations with the Carthaginians, the principal
slave traders of the time, the just conclusion
is that slavery was more extensive under the
later kings than it was under the praetors and
early consuls. In the early times nearly all the
domestics of the Romans were slaves, and so
were the majority of the operatives in town ;
but that excess of agricultural slaves which in
later times became a marked feature of Ro

man industrial life was then unknown. Agri
culture was considered an honorable pursuit,
and the haughtiest of the patricians often cul
tivated their fields with their own hands ; for
they were not all rich, as the story of Cincin-
natus shows. The first slaves of the Romans
were exclusively prisoners of war made from
the peoples in their immediate vicinity, and
sold at auction by the state as booty; they
strongly resembled their masters, so that their
condition was probably not hard; but there
was a constant change for the worse as the
circle of Roman conquest extended. So long
as the wars of the Romans were confined to
their own immediate part of the world, the
numbers obtained by war could not have been
very large ; but when their armies began to
contend with distant peoples, and to conquer
them, they were counted by myriads. They
acted on the principle of sparing the humble
and subduing the proud, granting both life and
liberty to those who surrendered, but taking
captive all those who resisted their arms, and
consigning such of them to slavery as were
not reserved for a fate more immediately se
vere. The Romans were not sparing in the
infliction of this rule of war, and the conse
quence was, not only that the slave popula
tion was rapidly increased, but that it was
made to include the most cultivated classes of
the most cultivated period of antiquity, as the
Roman conquests did not begin until after the
highest of ancient races had completed their
development. Roman slavery began to assume
its great proportions in the same age that saw
the beginning of its long quarrel with Car
thage, which opened in 264 B. C. "When the
Romans made their first invasion of Africa,
256 B. C., under Regains, they landed in a
portion of the Carthaginian territory lying
between the Ilerinrean headland and the Less
er Syrtis. This fine country was given up
to all the horrors of ancient warfare, " and
20,000 persons, many of them doubtless of
the highest condition, and bred up in all the
enjoyments of domestic peace and affluence,
were carried away as slaves." Most of the
captives taken at the conquest of Carthage,
who had surrendered, were sold into slavery.
This treatment of the Carthaginians, a high
bred and refined people, shows the character
of Roman slavery, which was not confined to
the barbarous races, or to any peculiar people,
but swept all within its nets who could be
conquered or purchased. Corinth, one of the
richest and most luxurious cities of Greece,
was destroyed at the same time with Carthage,
and the Corinthians were all sold into slavery;
and nothing but the influence of Polybius with
the younger Scipio Africanus prevented the
entire population of the Peloponnesus from
sharing their fate. Two generations earlier,
Capua, a city not inferior to Carthage or Cor
inth in culture, the wealth and magnificence
of which were proverbial, had many of its
best citizens sold into slavery, their wives and

SLAVERY

children being also thus sold ; " and it was
especially ordered that they should be sold
at Rome, lest some of their countrymen or
neighbors should purchase them for the pur
pose of restoring their liberty." After the
close of the second Punic war, the conquests
of Rome went on with great rapidity, and the
numbers of the slave population increased at
the same rate, so that in 70 years even the
free agricultural population of Italy had most
ly disappeared. The absorption of small free
holds in large estates, along with war, led to
the decrease of that population, and the places
thus made vacant were filled by the purchase
of slaves, the latter being taken in war to a
considerable extent, though the slave traders
were by no means idle. One of the conse
quences of the successes of ^Emilius Paulus
in Macedonia was the sale of 150,000 Epirotes,
who had been seized because their country
was friendly to Perseus. The demand for
slaves became very great full two centuries B.
0. in Sicily, which had then fallen complete
ly under the Roman dominion, and because
corn was much wanted in Italy, then beginning
to recover from the effect of the Carthaginian
invasion and occupation; and the state of
things in Sicily was so favorable to the aggre
gation of wealth, that it soon extended to Italy,
where the land passed into the hands of the
few. Great estates succeeding to the many
small farms that had been known in the pre
ceding generations, the soil was now culti
vated or attended to by great masses of slaves,
the property chiefly of the leading members of
the optimates, or the high aristocratical party.
The wars in Spain, Illyria, Greece, Syria, and
Macedonia furnished large numbers of slaves,
the common sorts of whom were sold at low
rates, and were employed in the country. The
invasion of the Roman territories by the Teu-
tones and Cimbri, which ended in the total
defeat of those barbarians by Marius, added
considerably to the number of slaves, 60,000
of the Cimbri alone being taken captive in the
last great battle of the war. The conquest of
Sulla, Lucullus, and Pompey in Greece and
the East, actually flooded the slave markets, so
that in the camp of Lucullus, in Pontus, men
were sold for four drachma) each, or about 62
cents of our money. Cicero sold about 10,000
of the inhabitants of the Cilician town of
Pindenissus. The Gallic wars of Julius Caesar
furnished almost half a million slaves; and
Augustus sold 36,000 of the Salasi-i, nearly a
fourth of whom were men of military age.
In the Jewish war which ended in the de
struction of Jerusalem, 90,000 persons were
made captives. But Roman slavery would
not have been so comprehensive if the Ro
mans had been compelled to rely solely upon
war for slaves. Commerce has been a chief
means of feeding slavery from the beginning
of the world. Before the Romans had ob
tained dominion over Italy, they were slave
purchasers from the Carthaginians, who drew

their principal supplies of men from the inte
rior of Africa, the slave trade of that region,
like that of Asia and Greece, being much older
than history. Many slaves were obtained by
commerce from the East, and the cities on the
shores of the Euxine were among the chief
slave marts of antiquity far down into the
days of the empire. Barbarians of whom the
Romans otherwise knew nothing found their
way to the imperial city as slaves. At the
height of her power Rome had slaves from
Britain, Gaul, Scandinavia, Germany, Sarma-
tia, Dacia, Spain, the different countries of Af
rica, from Egypt to the Troglodytes of Ethio
pia, the western Mediterranean islands, Sicily,
Greece, Illyria, Thrace, Macedonia, Bithynia,
Phrygia, Cappadocia, Syria, Media, and almost
every other country to which ambition or ava
rice could lead the soldier or the trader to
penetrate. All races furnished their contribu
tions to the greatest population of slaves that
ever existed under one dominion. Unlike the
Greeks, the Romans " acknowledged the gen
eral equality of the human species, and con
fessed the dominion of masters to flow entire
ly from the will of society;" but this did not
prevent them from enslaving all men upon
whom they could lay their hands, while they
were -much harsher toward their slaves than
the Greeks were. Not a few slaves were pro
cured by kidnapping persons, and it was no
torious that even Roman freemen were seized
and shut up in the ergastula of the great pro
prietors, which invasion of personal rights the
whole power of the government was unable to
prevent. Children were sometimes -sold into
slavery by their parents, either from love of
gain or to save them from starvation ; and the
number of these sales was large in times of
general distress. Men were also sold for debts
due to the imperial treasury. Under a variety
of circumstances poor people could sell them
selves into slavery, but such sales were not ir
revocable until the second century of the em
pire, and then the law was somewhat limited,
the object being to punish those who had sold
themselves with the intention of reclaiming
their freedom, the purchaser in such cases hav
ing no redress. Romans who had committed
crimes that were ignominiously punished be
came slaves through that fact, and were known
as servi pcencc, or slaves of punishment, and
were public property. They remained slaves
even if pardoned, unless specially restored to
citizenship ; and it was not until the reign of
Justinian that this form of slavery was abol
ished. In early times, persons who did not
give in their names for enrolment in the pub
lic force were sold into slavery, after being
beaten; and incorrect returns to the censors
led to the same punishment. Poor thieves,
who could not make a fourfold return of the
amount of their booty, became slaves to the
party stolen from ; and a father could give
up a child who had stolen to the prosecutor.
Poor debtors were sold as slaves. The em-

SLAVERY

ployments of Roman slaves, both public and
private, were very various, and were minutely
subdivided. Besides filling all the more menial
offices, many of them occupied the positions of
librarians, readers, reciters, story tellers, jour
nal keepers, amanuenses, physicians and sur
geons, architects, diviners, grammarians, pen
men, musicians and singers, players, builders,
engravers, antiquaries, illuminators, painters,
silversmiths, gladiators, charioteers of the cir
cus, &c. Before a slave could become a sol
dier he was emancipated, and into the Ro
man armies of the early republic not even
freed men were allowed to enter ; but the de
mand for soldiers did away with this delicacy,
and slaves were regularly enlisted in the sec
ond Punic war, and did good service to the
state. Many of the Roman slaves were on the
most intimate terms with their masters, and
must have been well treated, or the state of
society would have been intolerable ; and we
read of not a few instances in which the lives
of masters were saved by their slaves, in the
times of the proscriptions and massacres of
Marius and Sulla, and of the triumvirs, and on
other occasions. But the masses of the slaves
were treated harshly, and the la\vs and regula
tions affecting them were mostly severe. The
Romans were generally hard masters ; and
"the original condition of slaves, in relation
to freemen, was as low as can be conceived.
They were not considered members of the
community, in which they had no station nor
place. They possessed no rights, and were
not deemed persons in law; so that they could
neither sue nor be sued in any court of civil
judicature, and they could not invoke the pro
tection of the tribunes. So far were these
notions carried, that when an alleged slave
claimed his freedom on the ground of unjust
detention in servitude, he was under the ne
cessity of having a free protector to sue for
him, till Justinian dispensed with that formal
ity." Slaves were allowed only a special kind
of marriage (contulerniuiri), and they had no
power over their children. Few of the ties of
blood were recognized among them ; and they
could hold property only by the sanction or
tolerance of their masters. The criminal law
was equally harsh, slaves being treated under
it as things, but it was gradually meliorated.
The severest and most ignominious punish
ments were shared by slaves with the vilest
malefactors, as crucifixion and hanging, and
later they were burned alive. Under the em
pire the condition of the slaves was better than
it had been under the republic. The emperors
were, however, far from pursuing a uniform
policy toward the servile class, and some of
them even restored cruel laws that had been
abolished. In theory Roman slavery was per
petual, and to this theory the practice con
formed, inasmuch as by no act of his own
could the slave become free. Freedom could
proceed only from the action of the master.
Manumission was not uncommon, and there

were numerous freedmen who exercised much
influence, as well in public life as in families.
Freedom was the reward of good conduct,
and the ease with which the places of freed
slaves could be filled up by new purchases
made manumission much more frequent than
it would have been under other circumstances.
Dying masters freed slaves by the hundred, in
order that they might swell their funeral pro
cessions. On joyful occasions a wealthy mas
ter would manumit many of his slaves. Some
times slaves were liberated in the article of
death, in order that they might die in free
dom. Manumission was often the result of
agreement between masters and slaves, the lat
ter either purchasing freedom with money, or
binding themselves to pursue certain courses
that should be for their former owner s inter
est. The republican period was favorable to
emancipation, and freedmen were so numer
ous at the formation of the empire that some
of the early emperors sought to restrict manu
mission, less however to promote the interest
of slaveholders, or to increase the number
of slaves, than for the purpose of increasing
the numbers of the ingenuous class, an ob
ject much thought of and aimed at by several
generations of Roman statesmen, but always
without success. The later emperors favored
emancipation, particularly after they had be
come Christian ; and Justinian removed nearly
every obstacle to it. Augustus labored strenu
ously to limit emancipation, but even he had
recourse to the society of freedmen, in accord
ance with a custom of the great men of his
country ; and in 30 years after his death the
Roman world was governed by members of
that class of persons. Julius Caesar employed
no freedmen, and Tiberius employed but few,
and gave them none of his confidence, thus
imitating Ca3sar rather than Augustus ; and
even Caligula used them but little. Claudius
they ruled, and through him the empire. It
is impossible to estimate with an approach to
accuracy the number of Roman slaves. Gib
bon thought it was equal to that of the free
population, which Zumpt pronounces a "gross
error;" and Blair estimates that during the
14 generations that followed the conquest of
Greece, there were three slaves to one free
man. Gibbon s estimate, which applies to the
reign of Claudius, would give 60,000,000, and
probably it is not far from the truth, though
we may agree with Blair that it seems much
too low for those places which were inhabit
ed by Romans properly so called. Many indi
viduals owned immense numbers, though the
figures in some of these cases are perhaps
exaggerated, or the results of the mistakes of
copyists. The prices of slaves were not fixed.
Good doctors, actors, cooks, beautiful women,
and skilled artists brought heavy sums, and
"ruled high;" and so did handsome boys,
eunuchs, and fools. Learned men, gramma
rians, and rhetoricians also sold at high rates.
Some descriptions of artisans and laborers

SLAVERY

would sell at good prices, upward of $300 of
our money each ; but $100 was a fair average
price for a common slave, and when a slave
could be bought for about half that sum the
price was held to be low. Insurrections and
servile wars were not uncommon. Two such
wars broke out in Sicily after the conquest of
that island by the Romans, and were extin
guished only in the blood of myriads of men,
and through the exertions of consular armies.
Toward the close of the Yth century of Rome
the war of the gladiators, waged on the one
side by slaves alone, from general to camp
servants, brought the republic to the verge of
ruin. The war was commenced by a few
gladiators from the schools of Capua, under
the lead of Spartacus, a Thracian, 73 B. C.,
and lasted for more than two years. Several
Roman armies, commanded by praetors and
consuls, were defeated, and for a time the re
volted slaves had the peninsula more at their
command than it was at the command of the
Romans. The country was horribly ravaged,
and it was not until Crassus took the field, and
200,000 men were employed, that the insur
rection was subdued; and the final battle was
won by the Romans more as the consequence
of the death of Spartacus before it was half
fought than from their superior generalship.
Six thousand of the slaves were hanged or cru
cified after their defeat. The punishment of
rebellious slaves was always very severe. Many
slaves had enlisted under Sextus Pompey, and
thousands of them who fell into the hands of
Octavius were sent to the horrible death of
the cross, with the general approbation of the
citizens. They were crucified solely as fugi
tives, as all whose masters could be found were
restored to them ; and the cruel act was per
petrated in violation of plighted faith. It more
than once happened that Roman leaders in the
civil wars either called upon slaves to rebel, or
availed themselves of the services of slaves.
Marius, on his return from Africa to Italy, and
just before his death, proclaimed liberty to all
slaves who would join him, and at least 4,000
enlisted under his banner. Before his exile he
had tried the same plan, but without success.
The Cornelians of Sulla were 10,000 freed
slaves, who had belonged to members of the
Marian party that had been proscribed by the
conqueror, and who took their appellation
from the gentile name of their patron. The
slave trade of antiquity comprehended the
whole hemisphere in its circle. Its origin is
unknown, for it was practised in all its parts
at the earliest period of which any knowledge
}s to be obtained. The Phoenician slave trade
was very extensive, and supplied in part by
piracy. They stole Greeks and sold them 12
centuries before Christ, and they also sold
stolen people to the Greeks. They had a land
traffic in slaves, obtaining them in the coun
tries between the Black and Caspian seas ; and
they exchanged Hebrew slaves for the produc
tions of Arabia with the Sabseans and Edom-

ites. The Greeks were also great slave tra
ders, and were as skilful in kidnapping persons
as were the Phoenicians. Their slave traffic
extended to Egypt, Thrace, Phrygia, Lydia,
Syria, and other countries. From Egypt they
obtained blacks, then regarded as slaves of
luxury. Their slaves came mostly from the
north and the east. The chief Grecian slave
marts were Athens, Samos, Chios, Ephesus,
Cyprus, and Corinth. The Carthaginians,
who were the Phoenicians of the west, rival
led their progenitors in the extent and com
prehensiveness of their slave traffic. They had
an immense traffic with the interior of Africa,
a caravan trade, like that of the Egyptians and
of the Cyrenaaans. "Women were preferred
to men in the trade with the African slave
dealers, as they sold for much higher prices in
some northern countries. There was a large
demand for negroes in the Balearic islands, and
especially for women. Corsica also furnished
many valuable slaves to the Carthaginians.
The Roman slave trade as much exceeded that
of any other country of antiquity as the institu
tion of Roman slavery exceeded slavery in other
countries. In remoter times the Romans were
no better than robbers in their treatment of
foreigners, imitating the Etruscans in this re
spect, who were the worst pirates of antiquity.
Corinth had been the chief slave mart of Greece
toward the close of its independence, before
it fell into the hands of the Romans, and at
the time when slavery was beginning to in
crease rapidly in Italy ; and it is supposed, its
situation being favorable to trade of the kind,
that many slaves were sent thence from the
East to the cities on the eastern Italian coast.
But the destruction of Corinth by the Romans,
146 B. C., transferred the slave trade to Delos,
which became the most noted slave market of
that age, though the trade in slaves was but
one branch of the immense commerce that
centred there. The importance of the slave
trade in that island was owing to the Roman
demand, as it was most favorably situated to
minister to the desire for slaves from eastern
countries Greeks, Syrians, Phrygians, Bithyn-
ians, and others. According to Strabo, it was
possible, so complete were the arrangements, to
import 10,000 slaves in one day, and to export
them on the same day. But all this prosperity
came to an end when the forces of Mithridates
entered Greece. They landed on Delos, and
devastated the island, so that it never recov
ered from their ravages. The Mediterranean
pirates had supplied Delos with many slaves ;
and at Side, in Pamphylia, they had a great
market of their own, at which they disposed
of their captives, many of whom were cap
tured far inland, even Italy itself not being
safe from their ravages, and its villas and high
roads furnishing victims to the marauders, who
became very powerful during that disturbed
period of Roman history in which occurred the
social war and the contest between Marius and
Sulla. From Alexandria the Romans obtained

SLAVERY

slaves, Egyptians and Ethiopians, that city hav
ing a great trade in men. Others were drawn
from Thrace, which continued to be a slave-
breeding country long after the fall of Greece.
After the devastation of Delos, the slave trade
fell back nearer to its sources, and the Ro
mans obtained slaves direct from the marts on
the Euxine, where the trade had existed from
time immemorial, being fed by the constant
warfare that was waged by the neighboring
tribes. Many came from Scythia, and Scyth
ian and slave were all but convertible terms.
The Galatians carried on an extensive slave
trade ; and between Italy and Illyria this com
merce was considerable in the first days of the
empire. The Roman wars fed the slave trade,
and enabled those who carried it on to accu
mulate immense fortunes. So long as those
wars were fought near home, the victors could
sell their captives easily, without much aid
from traders ; but as soon as they extended to
any distance from Italy, the trader s aid became
necessary. The trader followed the camp, and
in the camp the human booty was sold, and
often at prices so low as to appear incredible.
The Romans neither encouraged nor discour
aged the slave trade. They held the slave tra
der in contempt, and deemed his business ut
terly unworthy of merchants. Special names
were given to sucli traders, implying that they
were necessarily cheats ; but their enormous
wealth made them powerful. Slavery is re
garded as one of the chief causes of the decline
of Rome. The institution existed in all parts
of the Roman empire, and prevailed in the
countries which were formed from its frag
ments, though essentially modified by a variety
of circumstances. The influence of Christian
ity upon it was very great. It had indeed ex
isted before the extension of the Roman do
minion, and was known to most of the peoples
who invaded and overthrew the empire, and
on its ruins established the feudal system and
serfdom. (See SERF.) The rise of the Saracens
tended to increase the number of slaves, and
to feed the trade in them, as Christians felt no
scruples about enslaving Mussulmans, and the
Mussulmans were quite as unscrupulous toward
Christians. The wars between the Germans
and Slavs furnished so many of the latter race
for the market, that the word slave is derived
from them. The great commercial republics of
Italy were much engaged in slave trading. The
Venetians had many slaves, and the history of
their commerce shows that they pursued the
slave trade with vigor and profit. In spite of
the efforts of the popes, they sold Christians
to Moslems. Slavery also existed in Florence,
though the slaves were almost exclusively Mos
lems and other unransomed prisoners of war.
In England, under the Saxons, the slave trade
flourished, Bristol being the chief mart, whence
many slaves were exported to Ireland. But in
this island slaveholding was never very popu
lar, and the Irish early emancipated their bond
men. At the close of the middle ages two

peculiar forms of slavery and the slave trade
began to be known, one of which has but re
cently ceased to exist, while the other is not
yet entirely extinguished. The new phase of
Mohammedanism that came up with the rapid
development of the power of the Turks, in the
14th and 15th centuries, nearly synchronizes
with the origin and progress of what is known
specifically as negro slavery. The Turks com
pleted the establishment of their power in
Europe by the conquest of Constantinople in
1453 ; and not quite 40 years later the last
Mussulman state in Spain, Granada, was con
quered by the Christians. These two events
had a remarkable effect on slavery. The fears
of Christendom were excited by the rapid
and sweeping successes of the Turks, and the
anger of the Mussulmans was roused by the
overthrow and enslavement of their brethren
in Spain ; and from these feelings the system
of slavery received an impetus and acquired
forms that under other conditions it never
could have known. We have seen that the
church, at a much earlier period, did not ob
ject so much to the traffic in men as to the
traffic in Christians, and that lay legislators
took the same view of human duties ; and it
was also the case that the selling of Chris
tians to Moslems was more strictly forbidden
than was the selling of Christians to other
Christians. The sentiment that prevailed
while the Saracens were so strong as to ex
cite fears throughout all Christendom for its
safety, was revived in the 15th century, and
did not become altogether extinct until after
the middle of the 17th. In the East, and for
the greater part of the time in most of N".
Africa, the Mohammedans were in the ascen
dant, they having become masters 01 Barbary
and lords of the Levant. Between the Turks
on the one side and the Italians and Spaniards
on the other the long struggle was principally
carried on in the south, the English being too
remote from the scene to take much part in it,
while the French, though occasionally furnish
ing some gallant volunteers, were as a nation
the friends and sometimes the allies of the in
fidels. The knights of St. John of Jerusalem,
first in Palestine, then at Rhodes, and after
ward at Malta, carried on perpetual warfare
with the Mussulmans. The contending parties
divided between them the whole of the sea
dominion of the Romans, and the compound
rivalry of religion and race doomed multitudes
of civilized people to slavery. Men who were
taken in war did not alone compose these slaves,
but among them were many women and chil
dren, the victims of razzias that were undertaken
by the parties to the bitter and prolonged con
test. The light, low vessels of the Mussulmans
often ran into the ports of the Spaniards and
Italians by night, and plundered and burned
them, while the inhabitants were either mur
dered or carried into captivity. Watch towers
wore built along the coasts, that the approach
of the corsairs might be detected. So marked

SLAVERY

a feature of the war then waged was this
form of slavery, that it furnished much mat
ter for the romantic literature of southern Eu
rope, in which nothing is more common than
incidents connected with bondage in Barbary.
Cervantes himself was for five years an Alge-
rine captive, and he. formed a project for a
slave insurrection, there being 25,000 enslaved
Christians at that time in Algiers alone. Enor
mous numbers of captives were employed as
rowers of galleys, Christians on board those of
the Mussulmans and Mussulmans on board
Christian vessels. "When the Turks lost the
battle of Lepanto, in 1571, 12,000 Christian
captives, galley slaves, were released from the
prizes made by the allied fleet. When Charles
V. took Tunis, in 1535, 20 ,000 Christians were
released from slavery. Great numbers of wo
men were taken as slaves, and sold in the mar
kets of Turkey and Barbary. The corsairs
passed out of the Mediterranean, sailed far to
the north, and seized people on the coast of
Ireland. This brought upon them punishment
from the English, but that did not put an end
to their Atlantic cruising. There were some
places in Barbary on the Atlantic from which
corsairs sailed, and those of Sale were among
the most famous of the brotherhood. The Eu
ropean powers made frequent war on the Bar
bary states ; and of the early contests in which
the American Union was engaged none were
more brilliant than those which it carried on
with some of those states, in defence of the
liberty and commerce of its citizens. But the
jealousies of the European powers prevented
them from putting an end to the piracy and
slavery of Barbary long after the Turks had
ceased to be able to protect the corsairs, and
tribute was paid to the petty powers down to
the beginning of the 19th century. The suc
cessful bombardment of Algiers in 1816, by an
English fleet commanded by Lord Exmouth,
put an end to white slavery in Barbary, it
having previously ceased to exist in the other
countries of N. Africa, to which the exploits
of the American navy had much contributed,
though at first the government of the L^nited
States had paid tribute to the pirate chiefs.
At the same time that slavery was acquiring
its peculiar form in the countries on the Med
iterranean, negro or African slavery came into
existence. This form of slavery belongs en-
tirely to modern times. As we know, the slave
trade in negroes existed 3,000 years ago at
least, and the Carthaginians brought numbers
of black slaves from central and southern Af
rica, by means of their caravan commerce, a
mode of traffic that was common long before
the Carthaginians had a political existence ;
but in trading in negroes, the slave traders of
antiquity only did that which they did with
all other descriptions of men, and as the slave
traders of the East have always done until
now. The fact that the ancients regarded
black slaves as luxuries, proves that their num
ber could not have been large in the European
VOL. xv. 7

countries to which they were taken, either by
the way of Egypt or that of Carthage. Such
details as we have concerning the black slaves
of antiquity all serve to show that they were
not numerous, fa.r less so indeed than were
slaves belonging to some of the highest of the
white races. They were probably more numer
ous in the East than in Greece and Italy, and
most numerous of all in Egypt and other parts
of N. Africa, because of the comparative ease
of acquiring them in those countries. The
Venetians, who carried on a large trade with
Africa, no doubt distributed some negro slaves
over the various European nations which they
visited. In the Mohammedan countries there
have been black slaves from the time of the
prophet, and they have often risen very high,
as well in the state as in the household. But
in all these cases the negro has but shared the
common lot, and might have been sold on the
same day with the Greek or the Arab, and by
the same trader. The negro was then sold,
not because he was a negro, but because he
was a man whose services could be turned to
profitable account. Kegro slavery, in its spe
cial form, is one of the consequences of that
grand movement in behalf of maritime dis
covery and commerce which began in the 15th
century. Portugal took the lead in tbis move
ment, which Avas already prominent more than
four centuries ago ; and it was headed in that
country by Prince Henry, son of John I. In
1441 two of Prince Henry s captains seized
some Moors, who were taken to Portugal. The
next year these Moors were allowed to ran
som themselves, and among the goods given
in exchange for them were ten black slaves,
whose appearance in Portugal excited general
astonishment, and who led the van of the
African slave trade. This was openly com
menced in 1444, by a company formed at La
gos ; and though it is doubtful whether that
company was formed expressly to trade in men,
and it is by no means certain that the 200
persons whom its agents seized and brought
to Europe were negroes, it is from that time
that the negro trade is generally dated. The
first negroes taken by the Portuguese in the
negro country were but four in number, in
1445, and they were rather taken accidentally
than of set purpose to make them slaves ; but
the trade in negroes as slaves was quickly
regulated, and a Portuguese factory was estab
lished in one of the Arguin islands, where
the slave trade had been commenced. Every
year TOO or 800 black slaves were sent from
this factory to Portugal, while other slaves of
the same description from the countries that
furnished those sent to Portugal were sold to
other traders, who took them to Tunis and to
Sicily. But Prince Henry and those who fol
lowed in his path did not regard the trade in
slaves as a thing to be encouraged. They
thought rather of the conversion of the Afri
cans to Christianity, both the Portuguese and
Spanish discoverers being enthusiastic propa-

SLAVERY

gandists. Had it not been for the discovery
of America in 1492, it is altogether probable
that the African slave trade would never have
exceeded the dimensions it had known in an
tiquity ; and it is believed that between 1455
and 1492 that trade had fallen off considerably,
and that the number of negroes taken by the
Portuguese for exportation did not exceed 300
or 400 a year. In fact, Europe presented no
field for the labor of black slaves, the employ
ment of which must have been confined to the
houses of the great, as in the classic times, with
rare exceptions. The negro trade was verging
to extinction, when the success of the great
enterprise of Columbus imparted to it new
life, and made it one of the most lucrative
branches of commerce. Soon after the dis
covery of America the Spaniards began to en
slave the natives, large numbers of whom were
sent to Spain as slaves in 1495. The system
of repartimientos (slave distributions) was be
gun in 1496. Columbus appears to have had
no scruples on the subject, and had indeed
been engaged in the Portuguese slave trade.
Ho strongly recommended the trade in the
cannibal Indians ; and the Spanish sovereigns,
though in general their legislation was kindly
toward the natives, did not discourage his
proposition. At a later period Isabella sought
to make a distinction between Indians who had
been sold into slavery after being taken in war,
and others who had been seized in consequence
of failure to pay tribute ; and she was very
angry with u the admiral " for making the
seizure, and ordered the sufferers to be released
and returned to America. Under the Spanish
rule the Indians perished in immense numbers,
until they became extinct in the islands, or
were absorbed by the other races. Slavery
itself was not, unknown in America, and had a
well defined system in Mexico. The desire of
the Spaniards to have laborers, and the inabil
ity of the natives to perform the labors re
quired of them, soon led to the sending of ne
groes to the new world. Interest and human
ity promoted their rapid increase in the Spanish
colonies. They could perform the work to
which the Indians were unequal, and throve
under it. The government of Ferdinand feared
that the sending of many negroes to America
would prove injurious, but Charles V. granted
a license to a Fleming to import negroes into
the West Indies. Thenceforth the trade went
on vigorously. The demand of the colonists
for negroes was supported by the benevolent
Las Casas, and by other leaders in the Roman
Catholic church, who were desirous of pre
venting the extinction of the Indians. One
negro was counted as worth four natives.
There was a negro insurrection in Hispaniola
as early as 1522. The African slave trade,
under such stimulus as was afforded by the
American demand, rapidly increased, and Eng
land took part in the work of supplying the
Spaniards in 1562, previously to which ne
groes had been landed in England, and there

sold, in 1553. Queen Elizabeth is charged with
sharing the profits made by Sir John Hawkins,
the first Englishman who commanded a regu
lar slave trader. The English were far more
cruel traders than the Portuguese. In the
times of the Stuarts four English companies
were chartered for carrying on the African
slave trade, and Charles II. and James II. were
members of the fourth company. While duke
of York, James II. was at the head of the last
company. After the revolution the trade was
thrown open to all ; and at later periods the
royal African company received aid from par
liament. These companies furnished negroes
to America; and in 1713 the privilege of sup
plying them to the ^Spanish colonies was se
cured to Englishmen for 80 years, during which
144,000 were to be landed. The French, the
Dutch, and other European nations engaged
in the traffic ; and the first slaves brought to
the old territory of the United States were
sold from a Dutch vessel, which landed 20 at
Jamestown, Virginia, in 1620. The culture of
cotton began the next year. Slavery soon
came into existence in nearly every part of
North America, and Indians were enslaved as
well as negroes. The son of King Philip was
sold as a slave. The trade between North
America and Africa was carried on with con
siderable vigor. Some of the colonies remon
strated against the trade, but without success,
as the mother country encouraged it. In 1776
it was resolved by the continental congress
that no more slaves should be imported ; but
when the American constitution was formed,
in 1788, congress was prohibited from inter
dicting the traffic before 1808, at which time it
was abolished. The state of Georgia prohibit
ed the slave trade in 1798. America was thus
in advance of other countries in fixing a time
for the cessation of a traffic which has been as
generally condemned as it has been persistently
pursued for four centuries. In England the
slave trade was early denounced by individuals,
but it was regarded by most men as a perfectly
legitimate branch of commerce. The last act
of the British legislature regulating the slave
trade was passed in 1788, the same year that
the first parliamentary movement for the
abolition of the trade was made. The Quakers
were opposed to slavery and the slave trade
from the beginning of their existence as a body,
but neither their influence nor their numbers
were large. English lawyers were nearly
unanimous in their support of the legality of
slavery, and the trade in negroes was in va
rious ways encouraged by law. In the 18th
century a sentiment of hostility to the system
of slavery, never altogether unknown since the
Christian era, became very common, and was
shared by many literary men, philosophers,
and statesmen, who labored with zeal for the
suppression of the system. Of these, the most
noted was Granville Sharp, who exerted him
self for half a century in the emancipation
cause ; and it was chiefly through his labors

UN J V IMiSITV OI-

SLAVERY

that the decision of Lord Mansfield, in the
case of Somerset, was given in 17*72, that de
cision being that the master of a slave could
not by force compel him to go out of the king
dom. " The power of a master over his slave,"
the English chief justice of the court of king s
bench observed, " has been extremely different
in different countries. The state of slavery is
of such a nature that it is incapable of being
introduced on any reasons, moral or political,
but only positive law, which preserves its force
long after the reasons, occasions, and time it
self from whence it was created are erased from
memory. It is so odious that nothing can be
suffered to support it but positive law. "What
ever inconveniences, therefore, may follow
from a decision, I cannot say this case is al
lowed or approved by the law of England, and
therefore the black must be discharged." Lord
Mansfield s decision has been greatly overrated
as to the importance of its terms, and it is in
correct to say that it was the first in the order
of time. More than ten years earlier, the ad
miralty court of Glasgow liberated a negro slave
who had been imported into Scotland ; and 70
years before, Chief Justice Holt ruled that " as
soon as a negro comes into England he is free ;
one may be a villein in England, but not a
slave;" and later: "In England there is no
such thing as a slave, and a human being never
was considered a chattel to be sold for a price."
The decision of Lord Mansfield was made al
most under compulsion, so strong was the feel
ing in England against slavery at that time ;
and immediately the enemies of both the trade
and the institution went to work, and began
those exertions which were not to cease until
their country had abolished, first the commerce
in negroes, and then the practice of enslaving
them. The Quakers presented to parliament
the first petition for the abolition of the slave
trade. Mr. Clarkson began his anti-slavery
labors in 1780, and Mr. Wilberforce joined
him soon after. In June, 1787, a committee,
composed of 12 members, all Quakers save
Clarkson, Sharp, and another, was instituted
for " effecting the abolition of the slave trade."
In spite of the care they took to define their
object and to conciliate popular prejudice, they
encountered the violent opposition of the most
eminent men of the country. The duke of
Clarence denounced them in the house of lords
as fanatics and hypocrites, including Wilber
force by name. The subject was brought be
fore parliament, May 9, 1788, but the aboli
tionists were beaten, as they also were in
1789. Mr. Pitt, chief of the ministry, and Mr.
Fox, chief of the opposition, joined them in
1790 ; and soon nearly all the leading mem
bers of the house of commons, of both par
ties, became abolitionists ; but still defeat met
every proposition for abolition till 1793, when
the commons passed an act for the gradual
abolition of the trade, which failed in the
house of peers. The commons changed their
mind in 1794, but passed another bill the next

year, which the peers threw out. The agita
tion was continued, but the abolitionists failed
in parliament till 1804, when another act passed
by the commons was lost in the upper house.
Another failure in the commons was expe
rienced in 1805. In 1806, when the Fox and
Grenville ministry ruled England, abolition
was brought forward as a government mea
sure, and was carried in 1807, after the death
of Mr. Fox. The abolitionists then began to
labor for the removal of slavery itself, but
not with much effect till 1823, when a society
was formed " for the mitigation and gradual
abolition of slavery throughout the British
dominions." The principal leaders in this new
movement were Clarkson, Wilberforce, and
Buxton. About this time appeared a pam
phlet, written by Elizabeth Hey rick, a Qua
ker, and entitled "Immediate, not Gradual,
Abolition." Her views did not at first com
mand the assent of those \vho controlled the
operations of the society, but subsequent re
flection and discussion, and the resistance of
the colonial authorities to every scheme of
amelioration proposed by parliament, finally
led them almost unanimously to the conclusion
that she was right, and they abandoned the
doctrines and measures of gradualism for those
of immediate and unqualified emancipation on
the soil. The cause from this time advanced
with great rapidity. The question exerted a
controlling influence in the election of the re
formed parliament in 1832, and when, near
the close of the year, that body assembled, the
government avowed its purpose to bring in a
bill for the abolition of slavery. The anxiety
of the abolitionists as to the character of the
proposed measure led to a conference, com
posed of 369 delegates from every part of the
kingdom. A deputation of more than 300
members of this conference had an audience
with leading members of the cabinet, to urge
the necessity of total and immediate emancipa
tion. The government measure was brought
forward April 23, 1833. It proposed an ap
prenticeship of 12 years for the slaves, and to
pay out of their earnings to the masters the
sum of 15,000,000. The friends of emanci
pation remonstrated against these features of
the plan, and it was finally modified by a re
duction of the term of apprenticeship to six
years, and a provision to pay the masters
20,000,000 out of the national treasury. The
bill passed the house of commons Aug. 7, the
house of lords Aug. 20, and received the royal
assent Aug. 28, 1833. The day fixed for eman
cipation was Aug. 1, 1834, and it was left op
tional with the local legislatures respectively
to adopt or reject the system of apprentice
ship. Antigua and Bermuda rejected, while
the other islands adopted the system. The
apprenticeship system did not work well. In
some instances the local legislatures volunta
rily abolished it, and in 1838, two years before
the time of its appointed expiration, it was
brought to an end by act of parliament. In

SLAVERY

1843 Great Britain emancipated more than
12,000,000 slaves in her East Indian posses
sions. France had been as much committed to
negro slavery as England, but moved sooner
for its abolition. The national assembly, May
15, 1791, virtually granted equal political priv
ileges to all free men without regard to color,
and this led to those struggles in Santo Do
mingo which put an end to slavery there.
Napoleon I. succeeded in restoring slavery in
most of the French colonies, but failed in
Hayti. In 1815, during the hundred days, he
issued an order for the immediate abolition
of the slave trade, which the government of
Louis XVIII. reenacted, and the French slave
trade ceased in 1819. The congress of Vienna
denounced the slave trade. After much dis
cussion in the reign of Louis Philippe, slavery
in the French colonies was abolished by the
provisional government in 1848, without in
demnity to the masters. Sweden abolished
slavery in 1846- "T, Denmark in 1848, and the
Netherlands in 1860. Spain agreed in 1814 to
abolish the slave trade in 1820. The Nether
lands abolished it in 1818, and Brazil in 1826,
but the Brazilians continued to prosecute it
notwithstanding. In the United States it was
prohibited by law from 1808. In 1820 a law
was enacted declaring it piracy, but no con
viction was obtained under this statute till
November, 1861, when Nathaniel Gordon,
master of a vessel called the Erie, was convict
ed at New York and executed. A similar
statute was passed by the British parliament
in 1825. But the trade by no means ceased
because of these vigorous efforts for its abo
lition, which Great Britain and the United
States supported by the presence of powerful
fleets on the coast of Africa. The demand for
slaves continued to be great, and the profits
on the cargoes of slaves that were landed in
various parts of America were so heavy that-
the traders could afford to lose many of their
vessels. Not until the breaking out of the
American civil war did the trade cease to be
profitable, but that and the agitation for eman
cipation in Brazil nearly put an end to the
slave trade across the Atlantic. In the inte
rior of Africa it still has considerable vigor
and constant activity, although it is much
shorn of its profits by the loss of foreign
markets. Except in Cuba, slavery in Span
ish America has disappeared. In Brazil it
continued to flourish with considerable vigor
till 1871. For several years preceding that
date a strong agitation for its gradual aboli
tion had existed, in which the emperor was
understood to sympathize. The speech from
the throne at the opening of the chamber on
May 3, 1871, announced the belief of the gov
ernment that the time had arrived for the final
solution of the slavery controversy, and that
a bill would be introduced for that purpose.
The bill was finally acted upon Sept. 27, when
it was adopted by a considerable majority.
The children born of slaves from that date

were to be considered free-born, but were to
remain with the masters of the mothers until
reaching the age of eight, when the master
had the option to retain their services until
they should be 21 years of age, or to receive
from the government a compensation of 600
inilreis. If he should accept the compensation,
the government was to take charge of the mi
nor and of his education. Every minor was
to be at liberty to free himself from service
by making compensation to the master pro
portioned to the period for which the service
was to continue. Ill treatment or neglect of
support or education was to entitle a child to
his discharge from service. Children ceded or
given to the government or taken from their
masters by it might be delivered to privileged
societies to be kept until they were 21, under
an obligation securing them support and edu
cation. An emancipation fund, to be made
up of certain taxes, the proceeds of certain
lotteries, and other specified resources, togeth
er with donations, was to be employed annu
ally in manumitting slaves, and they were to
be entitled to purchase their freedom. The
following classes were to be free : slaves of
the nation ; slaves given to the crown in usu
fruct; slaves of the religious orders (within
seven years) ; slaves belonging to vacant in
heritances ; slaves who saved the lives of their
masters, or the parents or children of their
masters, and slaves given up by their masters.
The law was received with general satisfaction.
The whole number of Africans taken for
slaves is estimated at 40,000,000, or nearly
100,000 per annum since the beginning of the
traffic ; but for 80 years after the trade began
their exportation was very limited, and prob
ably not 30,000 were taken by the Portuguese
between 1444 and 1493. The greatest part of
the exportation was during the years that
elapsed after movements for the abolition of
the trade were commenced, the demand for
tropical produce having immensely increased
in the present century. Some of the slaves
were sold in European countries, and it was
supposed that there were 15,000 in the British
islands at the time of the decision of the Som
erset case. African slaves were said to be
" dispersed all over Europe." Spain and France
took some of them, as well as England. The
number of slaves imported into those Brit
ish colonies which became the United States
in 1776 is computed at 300,000 down to that
year. At the first census, in 1790, the slaves
in the United States numbered 697,897, all the
states but Massachusetts (which then included
Maine) having some servile inhabitants, though
Vermont had but 17, and New Hampshire
only 158. In 1800 their number was 893,041,
slavery having ceased in Vermont, and but 8
slaves being left in New Hampshire. The
census of 1810 showed 1,191,364 slaves, there
being none in Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Vermont, and Ohio, the last a new state, created
out of territory that was a wilderness in 1776.

SLAVERY

In 1820 the slaves numbered 1,538,022; in
1830, 2,009,043; in 1840, 2,487,455; in 1850,
3,204,313; and in 1800, 3,953,760. The feel
ing in the United States was generally averse
to slavery at the time their national existence
began, and in some of the southern states that
feeling was stronger than it was in most of
the northern ones. The ordinance of 1787,
excluding it from the N. W. territory, was sup
ported by southern men, and some southern
states abolished the slave trade with Africa
while northern states continued to carry it on.
Vermont abolished slavery in 1777, before she
had joined the Union. Pennsylvania in 1780
provided for the gradual emancipation of her
slaves, of whom 64 were still living as such
in 1840, the relics of her 3,737 in 1790. In
Massachusetts the supreme court declared that
slavery was abolished by the act of adopting
the state constitution of 1780, which had been
so framed in one part as to provide for such a
decision. Ehode Island gradually emancipated
her slaves, and had but 5 left in 1840 ; and
Connecticut did the same, having 17 in that
year, and having had 2,759 in 1790. New
York adopted a gradual emancipation act in
1799, at which date she had upward of 20,-
000 slaves; and in 1817 she passed another
act declaring all slaves free on the 4th of July,
1827. New Jersey pursued the same course
in 1804, her slaves in 1790 numbering 11,423,
of whom 236 were living in 1850. That the
southern states did not imitate the emancipation
policy of those of the northern part of the
American Union, is to be attributed to a va
riety of circumstances, the principal of which
were the difference of climate and the difference
of social life, which made slavery far more
profitable in the south than it could ever be
made in the north, where it never flourished,
and where in some instances the young of
slaves were given away. The invention of the
cotton gin made slavery very profitable, and
so helped to change that opinion which had
existed in the south, both in the colonial and
in the revolutionary times, and which, as ex
pressed by such men as Washington, Jefferson,
and Patrick Henry, looked to the .extinction
of slavery. That opinion passed away, and
slavery was upheld in the southern states as
an institution excellent in itself, and to be in
every way promoted and extended, some of
its more ardent friends advocating the resump
tion of the slave trade with Africa. The sys
tem of American slavery, unlike that of Greece
or of Rome, was based on the alleged infe
riority of the African race. The Greeks and
the Romans enslaved white men of all races
with whom they came in contact. So did
the Barbary states, in which, notwithstanding
their proximity to the country of the blacks,
there were probably as many white as col
ored slaves. In America the idea of hold
ing white men in slavery was always abhor
rent to the most devoted supporters of sla
very. But owing to the illicit amalgamation

of the white and black races which is a con
comitant of slavery, there was no inconsid
erable number of American slaves in whom
the proportion of African blood was so slight
as to be almost or quite imperceptible. The
aversion to color was so far shared in the
non-slaveholding states, that before the late
civil war in only one of their number (Ver
mont) were negroes entirely the equals of
the whites before the law ; and socially they
were everywhere treated as an inferior caste.
Slavery was opposed by eminent men in the
United States from the beginning. Washing
ton, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Jay, Hamil
ton, and many more of those who took a con
spicuous part in laying the foundations of the
government, regarded slavery as a great evil, in
consistent with the principles of the declaration
of independence and the spirit of Christian
ity. They confidently expected that it would
gradually pass away before the advancing pow
er of civilization and freedom ; and, shrinking
from what they regarded as insurmountable
obstacles to emancipation in their own time,
they consented, in forming the constitution,
to give the system certain advantages which
they hoped would be temporary, and therefore
not dangerous to the stability of the govern
ment. Societies to promote the gradual abo
lition of slavery were formed in many of the
states. The "Pennsylvania Abolition Socie
ty," founded in 1775, continued in existence
until slavery was destroyed. Its first president
was Benjamin Franklin, its first secretary Ben
jamin Rush. In 1790 it sent a memorial to con
gress, bearing the official signature of "Benja
min Franklin, president," asking that body to
"devise means for removing the inconsistency
of slavery from the American people," and to
" step to the very verge of its power for dis
couraging every species of traffic in the persons
of our fellow men." The " New York Manu
mission Society" was formed in 1785, John Jay
being the first president, and Alexander Ham
ilton his successor. Similar associations were
formed in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Dela
ware, Maryland, and Virginia. These socie
ties exerted a strong influence in favor of the
abolition of slavery in several northern states.
In 1819- 20 the opponents of slavery made
a stern resistance to the admission of Missouri
to the Union as a slave state, and were de
feated. (For particulars on the compromises
which ended this and a similar struggle in
1850, and the whole of the political conflicts
in regard to slaveholding in the territories of
the United States, and the laws regulating the
rendition of fugitive slaves, see UNITED STATES
and the notices of the presidents and the prin
cipal party leaders, such as Calhoun, Henry
Clay, and Stephen A. Douglas.) The Missouri
conflict was followed by a period of profound
repose in regard to the whole subject. The
publication, by Benjamin Lundy, a Quaker, of
a small journal at Baltimore entitled " Genius
of Universal Emancipation," was almost the

100

SLAVERY

only visible sign of opposition to slavery until
William Lloyd Garrison established " The Lib
erator" in Boston, Jan. 1, 1831. Accepting
the definition of American slavery furnished
by the statutes of the slave states, which de
clare the slaves to be " chattels personal, in
the hands of their owners and possessors, to
all intents, constructions, and purposes what
soever," he asserted that slaveholding was a sin
against God and a crime against humanity ; that
immediate emancipation was the right of every
slave and the duty of every master. On Jan.
1, 1832, the first society on this basis was or
ganized in Boston by 12 men, Arnold Buffum, a
Quaker, being president. The " American Anti-
Slavery Society" was formed in Philadelphia
in December, 1833, Arthur Tappan being its
first president. This society and its auxiliaries
expressly affirmed that congress had no right
to abolish slavery in the slave states, and they
asked for no action on the part of the national
government that had not, up to that time,
been held to be constitutional by leading men
of all parties in every portion of the country.
They pronounced all laws admitting the right
of slavery to be " before God utterly null and
void." They declared that their principles led
them " to reject, and to entreat the oppressed
to reject, the use of all carnal weapons for
deliverance from bondage;" their measures,
they said, would be " such only as the opposi
tion of moral purity to moral corruption, the
destruction of error by the potency of truth,
and the abolition of slavery by the spirit of
repentance." By means of lectures, newspa
pers, tracts, public meetings, and petitions to
congress, they produced an intense excitement
throughout the country, the effects of which
were soon manifest in the religious sects and
political parties. The American anti-slavery
society and those affiliated with it were op
posed to the formation of a distinct anti-slavery
political party, deeming it wiser to attempt to
diffuse their principles among the members of
all parties. In 1840, on account of differences
upon this and other matters affecting the pol
icy of the movement, a portion of the mem
bers seceded and formed the "American and
Foreign Anti-Slavery Society." The "liberty
party" was organized in the same year, main
ly by the seceders and those in sympathy with
them. This party was mostly absorbed by the
" free-soil party " in the presidential election
of 1848, though a small number of persons,
holding the opinion that the national govern
ment had constitutional power to abolish slave
ry in every part of the country, continued un
der the name of liberty party for several years.
The free-soil party was in its turn absorbed
by the republican party, which in the presi
dential election of 1856 first exhibited great
strength and commanded a popular vote of
upward of 1,300,000, though it failed to elect
its candidates. In 1860 it elected Abraham
Lincoln president and Hannibal Hamlin vice
president by the vote of all the free states ex

cept New Jersey. In 1844 the American anti-
slavery society openly avowed its conviction
that the so-called " compromises of the consti
tution " were immoral ; that, consequently, it
was wrong to swear to support that instrument,
or to hold office or vote under it. From that
time until the secession of the slave states, the
abolitionists of this school avowed it to be
their object to effect a dissolution of the Amer
ican Union and the organization of a northern
republic where no slavery should exist. The
"American Abolition Society" was formed in
Boston in 1855, to promote the views of those
who held that the national government had
constitutional power to abolish slavery in every
part of the Union. The " Church Anti-Slavery
Society" was organized in 1859, for the pur
pose of convincing the American churches and
ministers that slavery was a sin, and inducing
them to take the lead in the work of abolition.
There have been few slave conspiracies or in
surrections in the United States, and the ser
vile population never produced any band of
men to be compared with t he Maroons of the
West Indies, who so long baffled the exertions
of the whites to subdue them. It is estimated
that more than 30,000 American slaves, after
escaping from bondage, found an asylum in
Canada. They were aided in their flight by
opponents of slavery in the free states. An
attempt, in 1859, at subverting the slave in
stitutions of the United States by an insurrec
tion ended in speedy defeat, and was followed
by the execution of the leader, John Brown,
and some of his associates. The secession of
the states which formed the government of
the Confederate States in 1861 wholly changed
the relations of the government of the Uni
ted States to the institution of slavery. Al
though President Lincoln hastened to make
strong assurances of the purpose of the gov
ernment to abide faithfully by all the compro
mises of the constitution relating to slavery,
and in all the military orders endeavored to
provide for so conducting the war as to avoid
disturbing the relation of master and slave as it
then existed under state laws, it soon became
evident that a vigorous prosecution of the war
must of necessity make serious inroads upon the
institution, if not wholly destroy it in those dis
tricts which the federal army should occupy.
In May, 1861, Maj. Gen. Butler, commanding
the department of Eastern Virginia, declared
slaves who had been employed for.military pur
poses of the confederacy to be contraband of
war, and appropriated them to the purposes
of his own army. In August following Gen.
Fremont, commanding in Missouri, issued a
general order wherein, among other things, he
proclaimed free all the slaves of those who
should take up arms against the United States,
or take active part with their enemies in the
field. In the particular specified this order
was modified by direction of the president,
but slaves who had performed any service
for the confederate army, whether as servants

SLAVERY

101

or as day laborers, were in general treat
ed as "contrabands" by all the military lead
ers. In the annual report of the secretary
of war, Dec. 1, 1861, the following passage
occurs : " It is already a grave question what
shall be done with those slaves who were aban
doned by their owners on the advance of our
troops into southern territory, as at Beaufort
district in South Carolina. The number left
within our control at that point is very con
siderable ; and similar cases will probably re
cur. What shall be done with them ? Can. we
afford to send them forward to their masters,
to be by them armed against us, or used in pro
ducing supplies to sustain the rebellion ? Their
labor may be useful to us; withheld from the
enemy, it lessens his military resources; and
withholding them has no tendency to induce
the horrors of insurrection, even in the rebel
communities. They constitute a military re
source ; and being such, that they should not
be turned over to the enemy is too plain to
discuss. Why deprive him of supplies by a
blockade, and voluntarily give him men to
produce them ? " Nevertheless several of the
commanders of Union armies allowed masters
to appear within their lines and carry off into
slavery fugitives found therein. An order of
Gen. David Hunter, commanding the depart
ment of the South, dated May 9, 1862, declar
ing the states of Georgia, Florida, and South
Carolina under martial law and the slaves there
in free, was annulled by proclamation of the
president ten days later. On Aug. 22, 1862,
the president in a public telegraphic despatch
addressed to Horace Greeley, in response to a
letter from that gentleman, gave utterance to
his views as follows: "If there be those who
would not save the Union unless they could at
the same time save slavery, I do not agree with
them. If there be those who would not save
the Union unless they could at the same time
destroy slavery, I do not agree with them.
My paramount object is to save the Union, and
not either to save or destroy slavery. If I
could save the Union without freeing any slave,
I would do it; if I could save it by freeing all
the slaves, I would do it ; and if I could save
it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I
would also do that. What I do about slavery
and the colored race, I do because I believe it
helps to save this Union ; and what I forbear,
I forbear because I-do not believe it would help
to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I
shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause.
and I shall do more whenever I believe doing
more will help the cause." Meantime, on March
2, 1862, the president had recommended to con
gress that a resolution be adopted "that the
United States, in order to cooperate with any
state which may adopt gradual abolition of
slavery, give to such state pecuniary aid, to be
used by such state in its discretion, to compen
sate it for the inconvenience, public and private,
produced by such change of system." The res
olution was adopted, but produced no effect.

Immediately after the battle of Antietam the
president issued a proclamation (Sept. 22, 1862),
in which, after declaring his determination to
prosecute the war for the object of practically
restoring the constitutional relation between
the Union and the several states, and that it
was his purpose at the next meeting of con
gress to recommend some practical measure of
assistance in emancipation to those states which
would voluntarily accept it, he proceeded to
announce that on the first day of January,
1863, all persons held as slaves within any state
or designated part of a state, the people where
of should then be in rebellion, should be then,
thenceforward, and for ever free, and the exec
utive government, including the military and
naval authority thereof, would maintain such
freedom. lie further proclaimed that on the
said first day of January he would by procla
mation designate the states and parts of states
then in rebellion, but that any state which
should then be represented in congress by mem
bers chosen thereto at elections wherein a ma
jority of -the qualified voters participated, should
in the absence of strong countervailing testi
mony be conclusively deemed not in rebellion.
After then calling attention to legislation of
congress bearing date March 13, 1862, forbid
ding the employment of military force to re
turn fugitives to slavery, and that of July 16,
1862, for the confiscation of property of rebels,
including slaves, and enjoining the observance
thereof, he closed with the assurance that in
due time, on the restoration of constitutional
relations between the Union and the respective
states, he should recommend compensation to
loyal persons for all losses, including that of
slaves. The final proclamation of freedom was
issued on Jan. 1, 1803. It designated the fol
lowing states and parts of states as then in
rebellion : Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except
the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemine, Jeffer
son, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascen
sion, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St.
Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the
city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Caro
lina, and Virginia (except the 48 counties des
ignated as West Virginia, and the counties of
Berkeley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth
City, York, Princess Anne, and Norfolk, inclu
ding the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth).
The president enjoined upon the freedmen to
abstain from all violence unless in necessary
self-defence, and recommended to them in all
cases, when allowed to do so, to labor faith
fully for reasonable wages ; but gave notice also
that suitable persons would be received into
the armed service of the United States. This
proclamation had no very marked effect upon
the relation of slavery beyond the lines of the
federal army, but it gave consistency and unity
to the action of the federal commanders, and it
facilitated and hastened the incorporation of
freedmen and other colored persons into the
federal armies. On June 9, 1862, a law had

102

SLAVERY

been enacted which terminated for ever the long
and bitter agitation beginning with the contest
about the admission of Missouri to the Union.
This declared that "from and after the passage
of this act there shall be neither slavery nor
involuntary servitude in any of the territories
of the United States now existing, or which
may at any time hereafter be formed or acquired
by the United States, otherwise than in the
punishment of crime whereof the party shall
have been duly convicted." On June 23, 1864,
all laws for the rendition of fugitive slaves
to their masters were repealed. On Jan. 31,
1865, the final vote was taken in congress sub
mitting to the states for their approval and
ratification the following amendment to the
constitution: "Article XIII. Neither slavery
nor involuntary servitude, except as a punish
ment for crime, whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall exist within the
United States or any place subject to their
jurisdiction." On Dec. 18, 1865, the secretary
of state issued his proclamation declaring that
this amendment had been approved by the
legislatures of Illinois, Rhode Island, Michigan,
Maryland, New York, West Virginia, Maine,
Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vir
ginia, Ohio, Missouri, Nevada, Indiana, Loui
siana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Tennes
see, Arkansas, Connecticut, New Hampshire,
South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, and
Georgia in all, 27 of the 36 states and was
consequently adopted. The assassination of
President Lincoln put an end to any very se
rious thoughts of making provision for com
pensation for losses of slaves; and the four
teenth amendment to the constitution, ratified
by a majority of the states in 1867- 8, absolute
ly forbade compensation being made either by
the United States or by any state. Thus ter
minated for ever in the United States the sys
tem of bondage which had been its chief re
proach in the eyes of the world and of its own
people ; which from the outset had been the
principal source of solicitude to its statesmen ;
and the southern defenders of which finally
assailed the life of the nation with a power and
persistency from which it barely escaped, after
losses and sacrifices such as few peoples in mod
ern times have been called upon to suffer.
The abolition of slavery has rendered the laws
of the several states concerning it of little prac
tical interest, but a few points may be men
tioned. The slave was a chattel, for an injury
to whom the master might recover damages as
for an injury to a beast. Nevertheless he was
recognized as a person, so far as to be made
amenable to the criminal code, and was pun
ishable as such. The master had a power of
discipline over him which did not extend to
life or limb, and for any excess in punishment
he might be criminally responsible, as he might
for excessive violence to a child or appren
tice. The police laws of the state were at the
master s service for disciplinary purposes, and
stringent regulations were made in his interest.

The slave had no legal family relations, and
any that should be voluntarily formed might
be changed at the will of the master, by sale
or otherwise. Slaves might be emancipated by
the master, by deed or will, under state regula
tions ; but in some of the states the laws were
adverse to emancipation, and interposed various
obstacles. Whatever was acquired by the slave
belonged to his master, and it was therefore
legally impossible for the slave to purchase his
freedom; nevertheless masters frequently re
ceived from their slaves sums which they had
accumulated by extra services, and gave them
freedom in return. The general doctrine of
the courts was that the master by voluntarily
taking his slave into a free state gave him
his freedom, and this rule was supposed to be
applicable to the free territories of the United
States until the decision of the supreme court
in the case of Dred Scott in 1857, which de
nied the constitutional power of congress to
prohibit the holding of persons in slavery in
the territories. Near the same time the doc
trine that a master might lawfully hold his
slaves in passing through the free states found
able advocates among lawyers. Slaves were
not allowed legal rights in courts, though per
sons held as slaves but claiming to be free
might bring actions to recover their free
dom. Slaves might be witnesses for or against
each other where crimes were charged, but
were not allowed to be witnesses against white
persons. In general the teaching of slaves to
read and write was prohibited, as tending to
render them discontented with their condition.
Prima facie in slave states all colored persons
were slaves. Since the abolition of slavery
persons living together as husband and wife,
and continuing to do so, have been recognized
in law as being legally married ; but until they
had voluntarily assumed that relation after be
coming free, they were at liberty to marry oth
ers without incurring legal penalty. The col
onization of emancipated American slaves in
Africa was undertaken in 1820, when the colony
of Liberia was founded. (See COLONIZATION
SOCIETY.) The colony of Sierra Leone was
founded by England in 1787, being composed
of American slaves who had joined her flag un
der promises of freedom. (See SIERRA LEONE.)
The following are some of the most impor
tant modern works on the subject of slavery :
Thomas Clarkson, "History of the Abolition
of the Slave Trade" (London, 1808); George
Stroud, "Laws relative to Slavery" (Philadel
phia, 1827); William Blair, "An Inquiry into
the State of Slavery among the Romans" (Ed
inburgh, 1832) ; L. M. Child, "Appeal in behalf
of that Class of Americans called Africans"
(Boston, 1833); Theodore Weld, "American
Slavery as It Is" (New York, 1835); William
Jay, "A View of the Action of the Federal
Government on Slavery" (New York, 1838);
David Trumbull, " Cuba, with Notices of Por
to Rico and the Slave Trade" (London, 1840) ;
Richard Hildreth, "Despotism in America"

U \ I V

SLAVIO RACE AND LANGUAGES

103

(Boston, 1840); W. Adam, "The Law and
Custom of Slavery in British India " (Boston,
1840); William Goodell, "Slavery and Anti-
Slavery " (New York, 1843) ; Wallon, Histoire
de Vesclavage dans Vantiquite (Paris, 1847);
Fuller and Wayland, "Domestic Slavery"
(New York, 1847); Copley, "A History of
Slavery " (London, 1852) ; Horace Mann, " Sla
very, Letters and Speeches" (Boston, 1851);

s John Fletcher, " Studies on Slavery " (Natchez,
1852) ; "The Pro-Slavery Argument " (Charles-

x ton, 1853) ; F. L. Olmsted, "A Journey in the
Seaboard Slave States," "A Journey through
Texas," "A Journey in the Back Country,"
and " The Cotton Kingdom " (New York, 1856-
61); the Eev. Albert Barnes, "An Inquiry
into the Scriptural Views of Slavery " (Phila
delphia, 1855); Theodore Parker, "Trial for
the Misdemeanor of. a Speech against Kid
napping" (Boston, 1855); the Rev. Nehemiah
Adams, " A South Side View of Slavery" (Bos
ton, 1855); George Fitzhugh, "Sociology for
the South" (Richmond, 1855); Arthur Helps,
" The Spanish Conquest in America, and its Re
lation to the History of Slavery," &c. (London

^ and New York, 1856- 60); Weston, "Progress

" of Slavery in the United States " (Washington,
1857); T. R. R. Cobb, "An Inquiry into the
Law of Negro Slavery " (Philadelphia and Sa
vannah, 1858); John C. Hurd, "Law of Free
dom and Bondage in the United States " (Bos
ton, 1858); J. R. Giddings, "Exiles of Florida"
(Columbus, O., 1858) ; H. R. Helper, " The Im
pending Crisis of American Slaverv" (New
York, 1859) ; A. Gurowski, " Slavery in His
tory" (New York, 1860); Horace Greeley,
"The American Conflict" (2 vols., Hartford,
1864- 6); E. M Pherson, "History of the Re
bellion" (Washington, 1865), and "History of
Reconstruction" (Washington, 1868); A. H.
Stephens, "The War between the States" (2
vols., Philadelphia, 1868- 70); S.J.May, "Rec
ollections of the Anti-Slavery Conflict " (Bos
ton, 1868); and Henry Wilson, "Rise and Fall
of the Slave Power in America" (3 vols., Bos
ton, 187l- 6).

SLAVIC RACE AND LANGUAGES. The Slavs or
Slavi (in the Slavic languages, Slovene, Sto-
wianie, &c., names now commonly derived
from slow or stowo, word ; hence, " peoples of
one tongue") are one of the most numerous
and powerful groups of nations of the Indo-
European or Aryan race, occupying at present
nearly the whole of eastern Europe and parts
of northern Asia, They seem to have ancient
ly been included in the names of the Scythians
and Sarmatians. Roman writers refer to the
Slavs under the name of the Venedi (Winds,
Wends), and later writers under that of Serbs,
both of which still designate branches of the
race. In the most ancient times to which the
history of the Slavs as such can be traced,
their seats were around and near the Car
pathian mountains, whence they spread N.
toward the Baltic, W. toward the Elbe and
Saale, and finally, after the destruction of the

empire of the Huns, S. across the Danube oyer
the territories of modern Turkey and Greece.
With this extension the unity of the race
ceased, and they split into a number of tribes,
separated from each other by political organ
ization and different dialects. The eminent
Slavic scholars Dobrovsky, Kopitar, and Scha-
farik divide the Slavs into the eastern and
western or southeastern and northwestern
stems. The former of these contains three
branches: 1, the Russians, who are subdivi
ded into Russians and Rusniaks or Ruthenians
(in W. Russia, E. Galicia, and N. E. Hungary) ;
2, the Illyrico-Servian branch, comprising the
Serbs proper, the Rascians or Hungarian Serbs,
the Bosnians, Herzegovinians, Montenegrins,
Slavonians, Dalmatians, Croats, and Slovens or
Winds; 3, the Bulgarian branch. The west
ern or northwestern stem comprises : 1, the
Lechian or Polish branch, to which belong the
Poles, the Slavic Silesians, and an isolated tribe
in the Prussian province of Pomerania called
Kassubs ; 2, the Czecho-Slovak branch, which
embraces the Bohemians, Moravians, and Slo
vaks in N. W. Hungary ; and 3, the Sorabo-
Wendic or Lusatian branch, containing the
remnants of the Slavs of N. Germany. A
number of Slavic realms have perished in suc
cession, as those of Bohemia, Moravia, and Po
land ; and at the beginning of the present cen
tury only one, Russia, was left, besides which
Servia and Montenegro maintain a semi-inde
pendent position. In modern times a Pansla-
vic movement, aiming at a closer union of all
Slavic tribes, has arisen and gained consider
able political importance. One of the first
publicly to advocate it was the C/echo-Slovak
poet Kollar, who published an address to all
the Slavs, urging them to drop their numerous
family feuds, to consider themselves as one
great nation, and their related languages essen
tially as one. The idea was seized upon with
eagerness by the Bohemians and other Slavs of
Austria, who by a Slavic union hoped to pre
vent their being absorbed by the German and
Hungarian races. It has since gained great
strength in Austria by the endeavors of Scha-
farik, Palacky, Gaj, arid other eminent Slavists,
and has also found many distinguished advo
cates in Poland and Russia, in literary as well
as in political circles. From a federative union
of all Slavs under a democratic form of govern
ment to a union under the sceptre of the czar,
every possible form of future organization has
found advocates, the movement being princi
pally fostered by Russian, and according to cir
cumstances also by Austrian, influence. In the
Slavic congress of Prague, assembled in the
spring of 1848, the revolutionary element pre
vailed, leading to a bloody conflict with the
Austrian troops under Windischgratz, and the
severe persecution of various members of the
congress. The opening of the Austrian pro
vincial diets and central Reichsrath in 1861
was productive of new Panslavic manifesta
tions. An important Panslavic gathering took

KM: SLAVIC RACE AND LANGUAGES

SLAVONIA

place in Moscow on occasion of the ethno
graphic exhibition opened in May, 1867. The
aggregate number of the Slavs was estimated
by Schafarik about 35 years ago at about 80,-
000,000, of whom about 39,000,000 were Rus
sians, 13,000,000 Rusniaks or Ruthenians (in
a wider sense, including the Little Russians),
10,000,000 Poles (including Silesians and Kas-
subs), 4,500,000 Bohemians and Moravians,
3,500,000 Bulgarians, 2,800,000 Slovaks, &c.
More recent estimates place the aggregate num
ber of the Slavs nearer to 90,000,000. (See
EUROPE, vol. vi., p. 787.) The Old or Church
Slavic (so called because it is still used in
divine service) is the oldest branch of the Sla
vic languages. The Bible or parts of it were
translated into it by Cyril and Methodius in
the 9th century, the former of whom also in
vented an alphabet for it, which was called
after him the Cyrillic, and is still used by the
Serbs belonging to the Greek church, and in
a modified form by the Russians, while the
Poles, Bohemians, and others use the Roman
alphabet. (See GLAGOLITIC.) The church books
written in Old Slavic are still used by the Serbs
and Russians. Among the most important
documents of this language are old gospels.
The oldest works of the Servian and Russian
literature, as the works of Nestor, were also
written in this language. There is a grammar
of it by Miklosich (Vienna, 2d ed., 1854).
Formerly this was regarded as the common
language of the ancient Slavs and as the
mother of all the present Slavic idioms, but
modern investigations have clearly shown that
it was only their elder sister. Where this
idiom was spoken is a controversy not yet
settled ; but the best authorities favor the
claims of Bulgaria, regarding the present Bul
garian as its direct descendant. It is no longer
a living tongue, but its treasures are still an
inexhaustible mine for its younger sisters. Of
the living Slavic languages, the Russian, Po
lish, Bohemian, and Servian have considerable
literature. These languages, as well as their
literatures, are treated separately under their
respective heads. Among the peculiarities of
the Slavic languages are the following. They
have three genders. . Like the Latin, they have
no articles, with the exception of the Bulga
rian, which suffixes one to the noun. The
nouns, pronouns, and adjectives have seven
cases. Some dialects have a dual. The verbs
are divided into perfect and imperfect, whose
relation to each other is about the same as that
of the perfect and imperfect tenses in the con
jugation of the Latin verb. All the dialects
are comparatively poor in vowels and defi
cient in diphthongs. There is a great variety
of consonants, and especially of sibilants, but
no / proper is to be found in any genuine
Slavic word. Slavic words very seldom begin
with a, and hardly ever with e. The letters I
and r have in some Slavic languages the value
of vowels, and words like tvrdy, vjtr, are in
metre used as words of two syllables. The

primitive religion of the ancient Slavs seems
to have been a kind of monotheism, which
gradually passed into polytheism, and lastly
into pantheism. Yet the idea of one divine
essence was never completely lost, at least
among the priests. All Slavs worshipped as
their highest .god Sviatovist, beside whom the
other divinities were accounted as mere demi
gods. Among these Per.un and Radegast re
ceived the highest honors. In addition to
their gods, they believed in good and evil spir
its and demons of different kinds, in the im
mortality of the soul, and in a retribution after
death. Worship was held by their priests in
forests and temples, and sacrifices of cattle and
fruit were offered. The dead were burned,
and their ashes preserved in urns. See Scha
farik, Slawische Alterthilmer (2 vols., Leipsic,
1843) ; Talvi, " Historical View of the Lan
guages and Literature of the Slavic Nations"
(New York, 1850) ; Miklosich, Vergleicliende
Grammatik der slawischen Sprachen (Vienna,
1852- 7l), and Beitrage zur Kenntniss der sla
wischen Vollcspoesie (1870); and Naake, "Sla
vonic Fairy Tales" (London, 1874).

SLAVONIA, or Selavooia (Hun. Totorszdg), a
province of the Austro-IIungarian monarchy,
forming with Croatia a kingdom united with
that of Hungary, bounded N. and E. by Hun
gary proper, W. by Croatia, and S. by Turkey ;
area, inclusive of the recently annexed por
tions of the former Military Frontier, about
0,000 sq. m.; pop. about 000,000, chiefly be
longing to the Greek church. It is divided
into the counties of Pozsega, Verocze, and Szc-
rem (Sirmia). Capital, Eszek. The Danube
and the Drave separate Slavonia from Hun
gary, and the Save from Turkey. A branch
of the Carnic Alps traverses its whole length.
The mountains abound in coal and marble
and in mineral springs, and the forests yield
valuable timber. There are many extensive
plains covered with vineyards, which produce
largo quantities of excellent red and white
wines. Cattle are largely exported to Cis-
leithan Austria and Turkey, along with many
other products, among which are grain, hemp,
flax, tobacco, and silk. The chief manufac
ture is glass. Among the principal towns are
Peterwardein, Carlovitz, and Semlin on the
Danube, and Mitrovitz (anc. Sirmium}, Brod,
and Old Gradiska on the Save, all formerly in
cluded in the Military Frontier. The inhab
itants belong to the Illyrico-Servian branch
of the Slavs. (See SERVIAN LANGUAGE AND
LITERATURE.) Under the Romans Slavonia
formed part of the province of Pannonia, and
was called Pannonia Savia. Later it belonged
to the Byzantine empire, until it was occupied
by the Avars and Slavs. In the time of Louis
le D6bonnaire it had its own prince, who sub
mitted to the sovereignty of the Franks. In
the llth century it was incorporated with
Hungary. It was conquered by the Turks in
1524, and was formally ceded to them in 1562 ;
but in 1099, by the peace of Carlovitz, it was

SLAVS

SLIDELL

105

retroceded to Austria, resuming also its rela
tion to Hungary. Separated from Hungary
in 1849, it was reunited with it in 1867- 8 as
a part of the kingdom of Croatia and Slavo-
nia. (See CROATIA, and HUNGARY.)

SLAYS, or Sclaves. See SLAVIC RACE AND
LANGUAGES.

SLEEP, a period of repose in the animal sys
tem, in which there is a partial suspension of
nervous and muscular activity, necessary for
the reparation of the vital powers. In sleep
there is more or less complete unconscious
ness of external impressions, which may be
dissipated by any extraordinary excitement,
in this respect differing from the torpor of
coma produced by abnormal conditions with
in the cranium or the action of narcotic poi
sons. In the deep sleep after extreme fatigue
there may possibly be a complete suspension
of the activity of the cerebrum and the sen
sory ganglia ; some consider dreams a proof
of imperfect sleep, while others maintain that
there are always dreams during sleep, though
they may not be remembered. The refresh
ing power of sleep depends on the nutritive
renovation effected during its continuance ; it
is a necessity of the system, and must be pe
riodically indulged in. After 12 to 10 hours
of waking a sense of fatigue is experienced
under ordinary circumstances, showing that
the brain needs rest, and this cannot be shaken
off unless by some strong physical or moral
stimulus ; more sleep is required by the young,
and less by the aged, in proportion to the
rapidity of waste of the tissues. When the
sense of fatigue has reached its maximum,
sleep will supervene, even under the most un
favorable circumstances. It may be retarded
by uncommon mental concentration, excite
ment, suspense, or the exercise of a strong
will, out always with an exhaustion of nervous
power which requires a proportionally long
period of repose. Stillness, the absence of light,
and monotonous low noises, like the buzzing of
insects, the murmur of the wind in the trees,
the purling sound of running water, the rip
pling on a beach, the suppressed hum of a dis
tant town, the droning voice of a dull reader,
or the mother s lullaby, promote sleep ; gentle
movements, like the swinging of a hammock
or the rocking of a cradle or boat, are also
conducive to sleep ; in reading a dull book the
eyes wander fatigued from page to page, and
the excitement of the mind is not enough to
overcome the tendency to sleep. Persons
may become so accustomed to continuous loud
noises, as in the vicinity of mills, forges, and
factories, that they cannot readily fall asleep
in their absence. The transition from sleep to
the waking state, and vice versa, is generally
gradual, but sometimes sudden. The foetus
may be said to be in a continued sleep, and
the excess of the sleeping over the waking
hours prevails during infancy and childhood,
or while growth is greater than the decay of
the tissues, and this sleep is more profound as

well as longer. Persons of plethoric habit,
with good appetite and powers of digestion,
are usually sound sleepers ; the nervous sleep
comparatively little , lymphatic, passionless
individuals, who vegetate rather than live, are
generally long sleepers. The amount of sleep
required depends much on constitution and
habit, and the smallest sleepers have sometimes
been men of the greatest mental activity. Most
men require from six to eight hours of sleep
daily, and this amount cannot be materially
diminished without injury to the health. As
a general rule, the amount necessary to refresh
the system is in proportion to the amount of
bodily and mental exertion of the individual.
In natural sleep, during the repose of the
voluntary muscles, the senses, and the per
ceptive and intellectual faculties, the functions
of respiration, circulation, nutrition, secretion,
and absorption continue. The respiration and
the pulse, however, are both diminished in
frequency ; and the temperature of the body
is somewhat reduced from its usual standard.
Hence the chilliness generally felt during a nap
in the daytime, and the propriety of throwing
some covering over the body during sleep, even
in summer, to avoid taking cold; in this state
there is also less power of resisting diseases,
especially malarious ones. Nothing is so re
freshing during sickness, or so conducive to
rapid convalescence, as quiet sleep; and few
symptoms are more unfavorable than contin
ued sleeplessness. A habitual deficiency of
sleep, from excitement or excessive study, pro
duces sooner or later headache, cerebral dis
turbance, restlessness and feverislmess, and,
if the warning be not seasonably heeded, a
serious impairment of the vital powers. (See
COMA, DREAM, and SOMNAMBULISM.)

SLEIDA1V, or Sleidanns, Joliaiiu, a German au
thor, whose real name was Philipson, born at
Schleide n, near Cologne, in 1506, died in Stras-
burg, Oct. 31, 1556. After studying in many
universities, he was employed in diplomacy by
King Francis I. of France. Having secretly
adopted Lutheranism, he went to Strasburg,
where in 1542 he was appointed by the Protes
tant princes historian of the Smalcald league,
and by the town council professor of law.
Subsequently he conducted negotiations with
France and England, and attended the council
of Trent as deputy from Strasburg, His repu
tation rests on his great work entitled De Statu
Beligionis et ReipiilUca, Carolo Quinto Ccemre,
Commentarii (1555 ; best ed., 3 vols., Frank
fort, 1785- G), in 25 books, to which a 26th
was added from a manuscript found among his
papers. It embraces a history of the reforma
tion from 1517 to 1556, and is remarkable for
impartiality and for its simple and elegant
Latin. The best English version is that of E.
Bohun, with a continuation to 1562, entitled
" General History of the Reformation begun in
Germany by M. Luther " (fol., London, 1689).

SLIDELL, John, an American politician, born
in the city of Xew York in 1793, died in Lon-

106

SLIGO

SLOE

don, July 29, 1871. He graduated at Colum
bia college in 1810 and entered commercial
life, but was not successful, and removed to
New Orleans, where he became a prominent
member of the Louisiana bar, and was Uni
ted States district attorney from 1829 to 1833.
He was frequently elected to the state legis
lature, and was a representative in congress
from 1843 to 1845. In the latter year he was
sent as envoy extraordinary and minister pleni
potentiary to Mexico. In 1853 he was chosen
United States senator for the unexpired term
of Senator Soule, and was afterward reelect-
ed for six years. He was a supporter of the
southern rights party, and when Louisiana
had passed the ordinance of secession, in Jan
uary, 1861, he withdrew on Feb. 4 from the
senate, after delivering a menacing and defiant
speech. In the autumn he was sent as com
missioner to France, together with Mr. Mason
of Virginia, who was appointed in the same
capacity to England. Sailing from Charleston,
they ran the blockade, and embarked at Ha
vana on board the English mail steamer Trent.
On Nov. 8 Capt. Wilkes, of the United States
steam frigate San Jacinto, boarded this ves
sel, and arrested the commissioners, who were
confined in Fort Warren, Boston harbor. But
as their capture was informal, they were re
leased on the reclamation of the British gov
ernment, and on Jan. 2, 1862, sailed for Eng
land. Mr. Slidell proceeded to Paris, where
through the banker Erlanger (who became his
son-in-law) he secured some aid in money and
ships for the confederates, and after the close
of the war settled in London.

SLIGOt I. A county of Ireland, in the prov
ince of Oonnaught, on the N. W. coast, border
ing on Leitrim, Roscommon, Mayo, and the
Atlantic ocean; area, 721 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871,
115,311. The chief towns are Sligo, Dromore,
and Tobercurry. The coast line is generally
rugged, and is deeply indented by the bays
of Sligo and Killala. Sligo bay is about 6 m.
wide at the mouth, and extends inland 10 m.
to the town of Sligo. The principal rivers are
the Sligo, Moy, Arrow, Awinmore, and Easky.
Lough Gill, the chief lake, is about 5 m. long
and 1|- broad, and is remarkable for the beau
ty of its scenery. A great deal of the surface
is mountainous or boggy. Iron ore is found,
and copper and lead mines were formerly
worked. Coarse woollens are manufactured.
There are many remains of antiquity. II. A
town, capital of the county, at the head of an
arm of the bay of the same name, 107 m. N.
W. of Dublin; pop. in 1871, 9,340. It has
considerable commerce, but vessels drawing
more than 13 ft. are obliged to anchor a mile
below the town. In 1870 Sligo was disfran
chised as a parliamentary borough.

SLOANE, Sir Hans, a British naturalist, born
at Killyleagh, county Down, Ireland, April 16,
1660, died in Chelsea, near London, Jan. 11,
1753. He studied medicine, natural history,
and chemistry in London, where he became

acquainted with Ray and Boyle. After a tour
on the continent, he settled in 1684 in London,
and was soon after elected a fellow of the
royal society. In 1687 he accompanied the
duke of Albemarle to Jamaica in the capacity
of physician, and during a residence of 15
months made large collections of natural cu
riosities, particularly of plants. Returning to
London, he was chosen physician of Christ s
hospital in 1694, a post which he filled for 36
years. Being shortly before this time elected
secretary of the royal society, he revived the
" Philosophical Transactions," and until 1712
was editor of the work. Meanwhile he had
formed the nucleus of a comprehensive cabinet
of curiosities, which it became one of the chief
objects of his life to enrich and enlarge, and
which in 1702 received a very considerable
augmentation by the bequest of the collection
of William Courten. In 1716 he was created
a baronet, and was appointed physician general
to the army, which office he held till 1727,
when he became physician in ordinary to the
king. In 1719 he was elected president of the
college of physicians, and in 1727 president
of the royal society. In 1741 he removed his
library and collections to an estate in Chel
sea, purchased in 1720, where he spent the
rest of his life in retirement. His collections,
amounting to 200 volumes of dried plants and
over 30,000 other specimens of natural history,
besides a library of 50,000 volumes and 3,566
manuscripts, were by the direction of his will
offered to the nation for 20,000, less than a
quarter of their real value. The legacy was
accepted by parliament, and in its purchase
originated the British museum. Among many
important benevolent schemes he was en
gaged in the establishment of a dispensary
for providing the poor with medical services
and medicines, and of the foundling hospital.
He also presented the apothecaries company
with the freehold of their botanic garden,
which formed part of his estate at Chelsea.
His writings comprise " The Natural History
of Jamaica " (2 vols. fol., 1707- 25), a Latin
catalogue of the plants of Jamaica, a treatise
on sore eyes (once highly esteemed), and
contributions to the " Philosophical Trans
actions." He aided in the introduction of the
use of Peruvian bark and other new remedies,
and gave a considerable impulse to the prac
tice of inoculation by performing that opera
tion on several of the royal family.

SLOE (A. S. sla}, a wild plum, primus spino-
sa, native in Europe and Russian and central
Asia, and sparingly naturalized in the New
England and some others of the older states.
It is a shrub or low tree, with its smaller
branches ending in sharp thorns, which, with
the blackish color of the bark, give it the name
of blackthorn by which it is frequently called
in England ; the leaves are ovate or oblong ;
the small, white flowers are succeeded by a
small, globular, black fruit, with a fine bloom ;
stone turgid; pulp greenish and astringent.

SLOTH

107

As stated tinder PLUM, this is thought to be
the original of all the cultivated European va
rieties of that fruit. The sloe is sometimes
used as a hedge plant in Europe, and is planted

Sloe or Blackthorn (Prunus communis).

around trees in parks to protect them while
young from injury by animals; it is sometimes
seen in this country in collections of shrubs,
its chief merit as an ornament being its early
flowering. The wood is hard, heavy, and dark-
colored, takes a fine polish, and is used for
handles to tools, flails, teeth to rakes, and the
like ; upright shoots make favorite walking-
sticks. The leaves when dried are regarded
as more like tea than any other substitute;
they were at one time largely collected for the
adulteration of tea in England, but this is now
forbidden under a heavy penalty. The fruit
when mellowed by frost is eaten in some parts
of Europe, and is made into a conserve; its
expressed juice is used in Germany to mark
clothing, it being nearly indelible, and in Eng
land it forms the basis of "British port."

SLOTH, the name of the edentate mammals
of the family tardigrada (111.) and genus ~brady-
pus (Linn.) ; both the family and generic names
are derived from the extreme slowness of the
gait; it is le paresseux of the French. The
skull is small, rounded, flat, and truncated in
front ; the jaws very short and the face very
little projecting beyond the line of the crani
um ; the malar bone gives off a zygomatic pro
cess which runs backward and passes above
the corresponding one of the temporal bone
without touching it, a second process descend
ing outside the lower jaw, which is very strong.
The fore legs are much longer than the hind,
and all the toes end in long curved claws, chan
nelled underneath, the bones firmly united
together and the claws naturally turned in
against the soles; the fore feet have either
three or two toes, and the hind feet three
toes; the latter are articulated obliquely on
the leg, so that only the exterior edge touches
the ground, of course making progression on
a level surface very awkward ; the pelvis is so

wide and the thighs so laterally directed that
the knees cannot be brought together. The
ears are very short, and concealed under the
hair, which is dry, harsh, and coarsft. The
axillary and iliac arteries, instead of pursuing
their usual course down the limbs as single
vessels, suddenly subdivide into from 40 to 60
small trunks of equal size, freely anastomosing
with each other, looking somewhat like a mass
of varicose veins, and distributed chiefly to the
muscles ; the arrest of the circulation by pres
sure on a single trunk is thus prevented, and
its retardation permits slow and long continued
contraction of the muscles of the arms and
legs. The stomach is divided into four cavi
ties without folds, the intestine is short, and
the caecum absent; the mammaa are two, and
pectoral ; there is a common cloaca, as in
birds, for the expulsion of the urine and faeces.
The dental formula is |i|, the teeth being
simple, separated, nearly cylindrical, without
roots, with an undivided hollow base contin
ually growing as they are worn by use, and
composed of dentine and cement without en
amel ; there are no incisors ; the anterior mo
lars are very small in the three-toed sloth, but
in the two-toed are long, pointed, resembling
canines, and the lower placed behind the up
per. The tail is very short, or absent. The
sloths were considered by the early naturalists
as imperfect and deformed creatures ; but in
the trees, their natural home, their peculiari
ties of structure are as admirably adapted for
their convenience and enjoyment as in any
other animal; the fore limbs have great free
dom of motion, and all are so constructed that
by means of the claws they suspend them
selves to the branches and hang for a long time,
and even sleep, back downward. They are
rarely seen on the ground, for the reason that
they can pass from one tree to another by the
interlocking branches for miles in the thick
forests of South America, which they inhabit
from Guiana to Paraguay, some species extend
ing to Peru, and according to some authors
into Central America. They are rarely more
than 2 ft. long, and their hair resembles in
color the bark of the trees upon which they
live ; the food is entirely vegetable, the leaves
and twigs of trees. They have one young one
at a time, which clings to the mother s back,
hiding among the hair ; the native name is ai,
from their feeble plaintive cry; they are re
markably tenacious of life, and apparently un
conscious of pain. Linnasus gave the name of
B. tridactylm to a three-toed sloth, under the
impression that there was only one species
thus characterized, whereas Wagner describes
several in the ArcJiin far NaturgescTiiclite for
1850. The animal referred to by Linnaeus is
grayish, with the body 14 in. long, the head
about 3, the tail 1, the fore limb 11, the hind
G, and the claws 2 to 2^ ; it has 9 cervical ver
tebrae, and 14 ribs on each side, of which 9 are
true ; the thumb and little finger are rudimen
tary and hidden under the skin ; there is a ru-

108

SLOTH

SLUG

dimentary clavicle attached to the acromion ;
the hair is reversed on the forearm. It has
been calculated that it can take only 50 steps a
day, consuming a month in traversing a mile ;

Three-toed Sloth (Bradjrpus tridactylus).

if by chance it ascends a tree too remote from
another to admit of a passage across, the na
tives say that it rolls itself in a ball and drops
to the ground, and the thick wiry hair would
render such a fall comparatively harmless ; from
its habits it can rarely if ever drink ; its flesh
and skin are useless ; in captivity it is exceed
ingly stupid and uninteresting. The unau or
two-toed sloth (B. didactylns, Linn. ; genus

Unau or Two-toed Sloth (Bradypus didactylus).

cholce.pus, Illig.) is mixed brown and white,
paler below; it is about 2 ft. long, with, ac
cording to Daubenton, 23 ribs on each side, of
which 12 are true; the clavicles are complete,
and the tail is wanting ; it has a longer muzzle
and shorter fore legs than the three-toed spe
cies, and is more active, especially at night;
it inhabits the same region, and is sometimes
eaten by Indians and negroes. For the fossil
edentates, see MEG-ALONYX, MEGATHERIUM, and
MYLODON ; for anatomical details, see COM
PARATIVE ANATOMY, and EDENTATA.

SLOVAKS, a Slavic people, belonging to the
western stem of the race, and inhabiting chiefly
the mountainous regions of N. "W. Hungary
and the adjoining portions of Moravia. Their
number is estimated at nearly 3,000,000, more
than two thirds of whom are Catholics, and
the remainder Lutherans. They are of medium
stature, have blue eyes, straight and long hair,
a yellowish skin, and generally coarse features.
They are chiefly engaged in agriculture and
mining. Numbers of them spend their lives
wandering through various countries of Eu
rope, selling linen, mouse traps, and other
articles of wire work. The language of the
Slovaks is a sub-dialect of the Bohemian or
Czech, which latter is generally used by them
as a literary medium, as by Kollar, Schafarik,
Holly, and other writers, and is also the lan
guage of their church services. The Slovaks
occupied their present abodes early in the mid
dle ages, and in the 9th century they formed
the nucleus of the Moravian empire until its
destruction by the Magyars.

SLOVENS, or Sloventzi. See TVixDS.

SLUG (Umax, Lam.), a genus of mollusk, be
longing to the air-breathing gasteropods. The
form is elongated, tapering, snail-like, the head
having two long and two short tentacles which
can be extended and drawn in like the finger
of a glove by being turned inside and out ; the
naked body is covered anteriorly by a cori
aceous mantle, under which is the branchial
cavity, the respiratory orifice and vent open
ing on the right side of it, and the generative
orifice beneath the right tentacles ; the man
tle in some contains a calcareous grit, and in
others a small, thin, nail-like shell; the head
can be partly drawn under the mantle ; at the
posterior end of the body is a small aperture
whence proceed the adhesive threads by which
they let themselves down from plants which
they ascend in search of food. Their motion
is proverbially slow, and effected by the con
tractions of the flat disk or foot on the ventral
surface. The upper jaw is in the form of a
toothed crescent, by which they gnaw plants
with great voracity ; the stomach is elongated ;
the skin secretes a great quantity of mucosity,
which serves to attach them to the surfaces on
which they creep; the eyes are small black
disks at the end of the posterior tentacles ; the
sense of touch is delicate. The reproductive
season is in spring and summer ; they are
hermaphrodite, and mutually impregnate each
other ; the eggs, to the number of 700 or 800,
are laid in moist and shady places; at the ap
proach of winter they burrow into the ground,
where they hibernate; they hide under decay
ing logs and stones in damp places, and are
seen in gardens and orchards in evening and
early morning, especially after gentle and warm
showers. They are found in the northern
temperate zones of both hemispheres. The
common slug of New England, L. tunicata
(Gould), is nearly an inch long, varying in
color from dark drab to blackish brown ; the

SLUG WORM

SMALLPOX

109

back is wrinkled, and the upper tentacles gran
ulated and black at the tips ; the foot is very
narrow; it is found almost always with the
isopod crustaceans commonly called sow bugs.
Other species are described ; they are compara
tively rare in the United States, and by no
means so troublesome as in Europe. The com
mon European slug, L. agrestis (Linn.), is small
and unspotted, and very abundant and destruc-

Slug (Limax agrestis).

tive ; they are killed by solutions of tobacco,
salt, or other irritants, or by covering a spot
infested by them with ashes, lime, line sand,
or any powder which attaches itself to the
body and prevents their walking, or they may
be arrested by some sticky substance; many
are devoured by mammals, birds, and reptiles.
SLUG WORM, the common name of the larvte
of the sawflies, or the hymenopterous insects
of the family tenthredinidw. The slug worm
described by Prof. Peck in his prize essay
(Boston, 1799), and called by him tenihredo
cerasi (Linn.), has been placed by Harris in
the genus selandria (blennocampa). The fly
is black, with the first pair of legs yellowish
clay-colored ; the body of the female is about
a fifth of an inch long, that of the male a little
smaller. They usually appear in Massachusetts
on the cherry and plum trees toward the end
of May, disappearing in three weeks after lay
ing their eggs singly in incisions on the lower
surface of the leaves ; the young are hatched
in two weeks, coming out from June 5 to July
20, according to season; they have 20 short
legs, a pair under every segment except the
fourth and the last, and are half an inch long
when fully grown ; in form they resemble small
tadpoles, and are covered with a thick slimy
matter which has given them the name of slugs ;
they also emit a disagreeable odor. They come
to their full size in 26 days, casting their skin
five times, after which they enter the ground,
change to chrysalids, and come out flies in 16
days ; they then lay eggs for a second brood,
which enter the ground in autumn, and appear
as flies in the ensuing spring, some remaining
unchanged for a year longer. They feed on
leaves, and in some seasons have been so nu
merous as to strip trees entirely of their foliage
and even cause their destruction; they are
eaten by small mammals and birds, and the

eggs are destroyed by the larvae of a tiny ich
neumon fly (encyrtus). The trees may be best
preserved against their attacks by showering
them w r ith a mixture of whale-oil soap and
water, or powdering with ashes or quicklime.

SM1LCALD (Ger. Schmalkalderi), a town of
Prussia, in the province of Hesse-Nassau
(before 1866 of Hesse-Cassel), 34 m. E. N. E.
of Fulda; pop. in 1871, 5,792. It manufac
tures iron, steel, and salt. The Smalcald
league was concluded here in 1531, by various
Protestant princes and free cities, for mutual
defence of their religious and political inde
pendence against Charles V. and the Catholic
states of the empire. It was limited at first to
six years, but in 1535 new members were ad
mitted at a second convention in Smalcald, and
the term was extended ten years, with a reso
lution to maintain an army of 12,000 men.
The elector John Frederick of Saxony and the
landgrave Philip of Hesse became the leaders
of the league, whose war against the emperor
(1546- 7) was terminated by the victory of the
latter at Muhlberg, April 24, 1547. In 1537 a
confession of faith was drawn up in several
articles by Luther, known subsequently as the
"Articles of Smalcald," which became one of
the symbolical books of the Lutheran church.

SMALLPOX (variola), a contagious fever, char
acterized by a pustular eruption having a de
pressed centre. The terms variola and pacce
first occur in the Bertinian chronicle of the
date 961. Variola is derived from the Latin
varus, a blotch or pimple, while pox is of Sax
on origin and signifies a bag or pouch ; the
prefix small was added in the 15th century.
The era commonly assigned for the first ap
pearance of smallpox is A. D. 569 ; it seems
then to have begun in Arabia, and the raising
of the siege of Mecca by an Abyssinian army
is attributed to the ravages made by smallpox
among the troops. The new part which Ara
bia under Mohammed and his followers was
made to play in history contributed to the
rapid propagation of the disease throughout
the world. Rhazes, an Arabian physician who
practised at Bagdad about the beginning of the
10th century, is the first medical author whose
writings have come down to us who treats ex
pressly of the disease ; he however quotes sev
eral of his predecessors, one of whom is be
lieved to have flourished about the year of the
Hegira, A. D. 622. Measles and scarlet fever
were at first confounded with smallpox, or
considered as varieties of it ; and this error
seems to have prevailed more or less until
Sydenham finally showed the essential differ
ences between them. Boerhaave was the first
to insist that contagion is essential to the prop
agation of the disease. The period of incuba
tion, that is, the time that elapses from the
moment the patient receives the contagion
until it begins to manifest its effect in the
initiatory fever, is usually 14 days, though it
sometimes varies. During this time there is
usually no disturbance of the ordinary health.

110

SMALLPOX

The invasion of the disease is announced by
chills followed by fever ; this is apt to be at
tended with pain in the back, particularly in
the loins, and with nausea and vomiting. If
the fever runs high, with violent pain in the
back and much delirium, the disease commonly
assumes a severe form. In children the inva
sion is often announced by an attack of con
vulsions. The eruption begins to show itself
on the third day of the fever. As a rule, it
appears first on the face, then on the neck and
wrists, then on the trunk, and finally on the
extremities. On the fifth day the eruption is
complete, and after this few or no new spots
appear. It at first consists of minute rounded
papules or pimples of a characteristic solid
consistency, feeling like small shot beneath the
skin. It is by this peculiar solidity of the spots
that smallpox at this period is distinguished
from other papular eruptions. By the fourth
day from their first appearance the papules are
converted into vesicles filled with a thin lymph
and having a depressed centre, whence they are
termed umbilicated. The vesicles begin now to
be surrounded by an areola, or circular flush
upon the skin, which soon becomes dark crim
son ; the lymph, at first colorless and transpa
rent, is gradually converted into pus, which
increases in quantity and distends the vesicles
until they become hemispherical. About the
eighth day of the eruption a dark spot makes
its appearance at the centre of the pustule,
and gradually dries up and is converted into
a scab. When this scab falls it leaves either an
indelible cicatrix or a purplish red mark which
fades very slowly, and which long exposure to
a cool atmosphere renders very distinct. In
passing away, the eruption follows the course
which it took on its first appearance, the scabs
first falling from the face, then from the trunk,
and last from the extremities. When the pus
tules are comparatively few, they are separated,
sometimes widely, from each other, and the
disease is termed discrete (variola discretci) ;
when they are very numerous, they touch each
other and run together, and then it is termed
confluent (variola confluens) ; and between the
two a third variety, the semi-confluent or co
herent, is often spoken of. In the discrete
form the fever commonly subsides on the ap
pearance of the eruption, and when the pus
tules are few it may not return ; but where
they are at all numerous, their maturation is
commonly attended with more or less fever.
With the appearance of the eruption on the
surface, more or less sore throat is complained
of ; the fauces and tonsils are red and swollen,
and pustules make their appearance upon them,
upon the roof of the mouth, and the inside of
the cheeks ; the patient at the same time is
commonly troubled with salivation. When
smallpox is confluent, the subcutaneous cellular
tissue seems involved in the disease, the swell
ing is very great, and by the fifth day the
patient is commonly unable to open his eyes.
The eruption on the face sometimes coalesces

into one huge sore ; it is attended with a tor
menting itching, and the fever is of the ty
phoid kind, the debility being extreme, and the
patient restless, sleepless, and often delirious,
while the pulse is small, frequent, and feeble.
In such cases the accompanying inflammation
of the mouth, nasal passages, pharynx, and
larynx adds greatly to the distress of the pa
tient and the danger of the disease, sometimes
even producing suffocation. The disease is
always attended by a peculiar odor, but in
confluent cases this is nauseous and offensive
to an excessive degree. In this form the fever,
which commonly abates on the corning out of
the eruption, is aggravated as the eruption ap
proaches maturation. The eighth day of the
eruption or the eleventh of the disease is com
monly the most fatal day, while more patients
die during the second week of the disease than
either earlier or later. A second attack, even
after free exposure to the contagion, is very
rare. Only widely separated instances have
been known. When patients recover from
severe attacks of smallpox, blindness from an
intercurrent inflammation of the conjunctiva
is an occasional result, and before the general
introduction of vaccination blindness from
smallpox was common. Besides inflammation
of the eyes, glandular swellings and abscess
es, bed sores, and phlebitis are occasional com
plications. It is also sometimes complicated
with a diseased condition of the blood, produ
cing hamiorrhage from various organs, togeth
er with petechia3. These cases are always at
tended with great debility ; the accompanying
fever is typhoid, and the eruption itself does
not come out freely. They are almost invari
ably fatal. Pregnancy is a serious complica
tion. Abortion or premature delivery with
the death of the child is commonly produced,
but the mother frequently recovers. Some
times the child presents the characteristic
eruption of the disease, but this is rare. Still
more rarely a mother whose system has been
protected by vaccination or a previous attack
of the disease, communicates it, after exposure,
to thefcetus in utero, while she herself escapes.
Confluent smallpox is always dangerous, and
the danger is aggravated if the patient be still
in infancy or over 45 years of age, or of a
feeble or strumous constitution. The mortality
from smallpox is estimated at one fourth or one
fifth of all who are attacked ; that of the Lon
don smallpox hospital has long averaged 30 per
cent. Like many other contagious diseases, it
is subject to epidemic influence, and when it
prevails epidemically it seems to be severer
and more fatal. It is remarkable that when it
is communicated by a minute portion of the
virus being inserted under the cuticle by inocu
lation, as it is termed, the disease is far less
violent than if communicated through the at
mosphere ; and yet a second attack in such a
case is as improbable as in any other. When
patients are inoculated the mortality is rarely
greater than 1 in GOO or TOO. Inoculation was

SMART

SMELL

111

introduced into civilized Europe from Constan
tinople through the sense and courage of Lady
Mary Wortley Montagu, but since the discov
ery of vaccination hy Dr. Jenner has been dis
continued. (See VACCINATION.) For a long
time the dangers of smallpox were aggravated
by the means used for its cure ; in accordance
with the theories of the time, which still have
their influence among the vulgar, the eruption
was looked upon as an effort made by nature
to free the system of morbid matter ; the more
abundant it was, the -better for the patient.
The eruption was accordingly encquraged by
warm drinks and a heated atmosphere. Syden-
ham was the first to inculcate the necessity of
free ventilation and a cooling regimen. Mild
cases require little except attention to hygienic
measures; the disease is attended with little
danger, and should run its course uninfluenced
by art. When it is severe, attention should be
early directed to supporting the strength of
the patient. The diet should be as nutritious
as he can bear, and, when indicated by the
pulse, wine and stimulants should be freely
administered. The troublesome itching, which
causes great suffering, may be alleviated by
the application of sweet oil, cold cream, or
lard ; opiates may be useful to procure sleep,
and the bowels should be occasionally moved
by mild laxatives or enemata.

SMART, Christopher, an English author, born
at Shipborne, Kent, April 11, 1722, died in
the king s bench prison, London, May 18, 1770.
He was educated at Cambridge, and elected a
fellow of Pembroke hall in 1745, and gained
the Seatonian prize for poems on the Supreme
Being for five years consecutively. In 1753
he married, removed to London, and support
ed himself by writing. Through intemperance
and extreme poverty he lost his reason, and
was confined in a lunatic asylum for two
years. He made a prose translation of Hor
ace, and metrical versions of Horace and Pha?-
drus, and of the Psalms. Among his other
works is " The Hilliad, an Epic Poem," a satire
on Sir John Hill, who had criticised him. In
1752 he published a collection of his poems.
A posthumous edition appeared in 1791 with
a memoir (2 vols. 12mo). His Horace has had
several editions in the present century.

SMARTWEED. See POLYGONUM.

SMEATON, John, an English civil engineer,
born at Austhorpe, near Leeds, May 28, 1724,
died there, Oct. 28, 1792. Before he reached
his 15th year he had made mechanical inven
tions and discoveries. He began to study law,
but in 1750 took up the business of a mathe
matical instrument maker, and in 1751 invented
a machine for measuring a ship s way at sea.
He made valuable improvements in hydraulic
machinery, and in 1759 read a paper on this
subject before the royal society, for which he
received the Copley gold medal. The Eddy-
stone lighthouse being destroyed by fire in
1755, Smeaton rebuilt it. (See LiGHTiiorsE.)
He afterward built canals and locks on the
VOL. xv. 8

Derwentwater estate, constructed the great
canal from the Forth to the Clyde, improved
the Calder navigation, supplied Greenwich and
Deptford with water, erected the Spurn light
house, preserved the old London bridge, and
erected several bridges in Scotland. About
1783 he withdrew from business. He pub
lished a volume on the Eddystone lighthouse
(1791), and his professional reports were pub
lished by the institution of civil engineers (3
vols. 4to, 1812- 14). See Smiles s "Lives of
the Engineers."

SMELL, the special sense by which we take
cognizance of the odoriferous qualities of for
eign bodies. The main peculiarity of this sense
is that it gives us intelligence of the ph} T sical
properties of substances in a gaseous or vapor
ous condition. An odoriferous body gives off
emanations which diffuse themselves through
the atmosphere, and we thus perceive its ex
istence at a distance and when it may be con
cealed from sight. The actual quantity of
vaporous material necessary for making an
impression upon the olfactory organ is very
small ; and a substance like musk or attar of
roses may fill an entire apartment or even a
house for days or weeks with its peculiar
odor, readily perceptible by all the occu
pants, without suffering any appreciable loss
of weight. The organ of smell is the mucous
membrane of the upper part of the nasal pas
sages, supplied by the filaments of the olfac
tory or first pair of cranial nerves. These
nerves are endowed with the special sense of
smell, but are destitute of ordinary or general
sensibility. Thus they can perceive the odors
of foreign substances, but not the physical
contact of a solid body. On the other hand,
the lower portion of the nasal passages is sup
plied by filaments from the fifth pair of cranial
nerves, which are nerves of general sensibility,
but not susceptible to the impression of odors.
Not all vapors are odoriferous ; some are
simply irritating or stimulating to the mucous
membrane. The odors proper are generally
of an organic origin, such as those of musk,
asafoetida, the leaves and blossoms of plants,
and the exhalations of living or decomposing
animal bodies. Other gaseous emanations are
simply irritating, like those of ammonia, chlo
rine, and acetic acid. Sometimes the two kinds
oij exhalations are mingled ; thus pure alcohol
is nearly or quite destitute of odor, but in
cologne water we have the stimulating prop
erties of the alcohol, mingled with odoriferous
ingredients of a vegetable origin. Ammonia
is irritating to the mucous membrane of the
nose for the same reason that it is irritating
to the skin when brought in contact with it ;
but the skin is incapable of perceiving a true
odor. The dissemination of odors is favored
by the movement of the atmosphere ; and
when a disagreeable or noxious odor is con
tained in the air of an apartment, a free ven
tilation is the readiest method of expelling it.
When we wish to perceive more distinctly a

112

SMELT

SMEW

faint or a delicate odor, we direct the air forci
bly upward, by a peculiar inspiratory effort of
the nostrils, through the superior part of the
nasal passages. This movement is especially
observable in many of the inferior animals, in
whom the sense of smell is remarkably acute,
and the olfactory mucous membrane unusually
extensive and sensible. The dog, for instance,
will not only distinguish different kinds of ani
mals by their odor, but will recognize different
individuals of the human species, or particular
articles of dress belonging to them. He will
even follow the track of wild game by the
minute quantity of animal odor left by their
footsteps upon the grass or dried leaves. The
sense of smell, like the other senses, becomes
habituated to particular impressions when long
continued; even disagreeable odors gradually
lose in this way their offensiveness, and we
become after a time more or less insensible to
their presence. A disagreeable odor is not
invariably injurious in itself ; but it is almost
always the indication or accompaniment of a
gaseous emanation which is in reality noxious,
or will become so if allowed to accumulate.
The offensive odor is a warning to the senses
that the atmosphere is no longer pure and
should be renovated; and if this warning be
neglected, it at last ceases to make itself felt,
and the exhalations may then imperceptibly
increase until they produce serious injury.

SMELT, a soft-rayed fish of the salmon fam
ily, and genus osmerus (Artedi). The body is
elongated and covered with small scales ; there
are two dorsals, the first with rays and the
second adipose and rayless ; ventrals under
the anterior rays of dorsal ; teeth on the jaws
and tongue very long, and on the premaxilla-
ries small and hooked; gill openings wide; air
bladder silvery within. The common Amer
ican smelt (0. viridcsccjis, Los.) is about. 10
in. long ; the tipper parts with the dorsal and
caudal fins are yellowish green with coppery
reflections, with very minute black dots ; sides
silvery white ; abdomen and lower fins milky
white; gill covers golden. It is found from

American Smelt (Osmerus viridescens).

New York to Labrador, going up rivers in
early spring and returning to the sea late in
autumn, at which times immense quantities
are taken by hook and nets ; the flavor is very
delicate. They bear transfer from salt into
fresh water, and have become permanent resi
dents in Ohamplain, Squam, and Winnipiseogee
lakes, and in Jamaica pond near Boston ; these
are smaller and more slender than the marine
smelt. The European smelt (0. eperlanus,

Art.) is from 7 to 9 in. long, lighter colored
above, with thicker body and narrower head.
They are found in all the rivers opening into
northern seas; they are the eperlans of the
French and the spirling or sparling of the
English ; when recently taken from the water,
they have a sweetish, not disagreeable, and
cucumber-like odor, from which the generic
and the common names are derived. Smelts
eat small fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.

SMELTING. See COPPER SMELTIXG, IRON
MANUFACTURE, LEAD, and SILVER.

SMET, P^ter John de, an American mission
ary, born in Dendermonde, Belgium, Dec. 31,
1801, died in St. Louis, May 23, 1873. He
arrived in Philadelphia in August, 1821, en
tered the Jesuit novitiate at Whitemarsh, Md.,
went to Missouri in 1823, and aided in found
ing the university of St. Louis, in which he
labored till 1838, when he was sent to found a
mission among the Pottawattamies. His suc
cess caused him to be sent to the Flatheads
in 1840, and to the Blackfeet soon afterward.
He then planned a regular system of mission
ary establishments, which were taken charge
of by his brother Jesuits, reserving to himself
a general superintendence over them and the
duty of providing funds for their support. He
published several papers in the United States
and in Europe for the purpose of creating
public interest in favor of these missions, re
peatedly visited Belgium and other Catholic
countries to collect alms and obtain mission
aries, and established several new missionary
centres on both sides of the Rocky mountains.
During a last voyage undertaken for the mis
sions he sustained injuries which resulted in
his death. His principal works are: "Letters
and Sketches, and Residence in the Rocky
Mountains" (Philadelphia, 1843); "Oregon
Missions, and Travels over the Rocky Moun
tains" (New York, 1847); "Western Missions
and Missionaries " and " New Indian Sketch
es " (New York, 1863) ; and Eeisen zu den
Fehengebirgeh und ein Jalir unter den wil-
den Indianerstdmmen des Oregon- Gebietes (St.
Louis, 1865).

SMEW {mergellus alliellus, Selby), a web-
footed bird differing from the typical mer
gansers, to which subfamily it belongs, in hav
ing the bill much shorter than the head and
elevated at the base, and the mandibles with
short and closely set lamella?. It is about 17^-
in. long and 27 in. in alar extent ; the general
color is white, whence its common name of
white nun ; around the eyes, a patch on each
side of the nape, semi-collar on each side of
lower neck, middle of back, tail, and wings
black ; scapulars, middle wing coverts, tertials,
and secondary tips white ; in the female the
head is reddish brown. It is found in the
northern parts of the old world, in winter
coming down to central Europe, frequenting
the sea coast, lakes, and rivers ; it is an expert
swimmer and diver, and feeds on fish and
crustaceans ; the nest is made near the water,

SHIBERT

SMILAX

113

and the eggs are 8 to 12 ; like other mergansers
it hybridizes with the ducks, especially with
the genus clangula (Flem.). It is generally

Smew (Mergellus albellus).

believed to be accidental in America, only a
single female specimen having been obtained
by Audubon, near New Orleans.

SMIBERT, or Smybert, John, a Scottish painter,
born in Edinburgh about 1684, died in Bos
ton, Mass., in 1751. He studied in Italy for
three years, and attained a respectable stand
ing as a portrait painter in London. In 1728
he accompanied Dean Berkeley to America,
after whose return he settled in Boston. He
painted most of the contemporary worthies of
New England and New York. His most cele
brated picture is a large portrait piece repre
senting Berkeley and several members of his
family, togeifcij^L with the artist himself, on
their first landing in America. It is now in
the possession of Yale college.

SMILAX, a genus of endogenous, mostly
shrubby, often prickly plants, which climb by
tendrils. They are abundant in warm cli
mates, and are represented in the Atlantic
states by several species, some of which are
popularly known as greenbrier, catbrier, or
brier. The genus is the only one in the flora
of the northernmost states which affords an
example of a woody endogenous stem ; the
general aspect of the plants is that of the exo-
gens, as their leaves are netted-veined, while
in the great majority of endogens they are
parallel-veined ; the petioles are furnished with
a tendril upon each side. The flowers, in ax
illary umbels, are small, dioecious, with the
greenish or yellowish regular perianth in six
parts ; the sterile flower has six stamens ; the
fertile has a free ovary of three or more cells
and as many thick and spreading stigmas ;
fruit a small berry with one to three seeds.
The best known species is the common green-
brier (smilax rotundi folia), which extends from
Canada through the southern states; it often
forms, by spreading over the shrubs and trees,
impenetrable thickets, its stems extending from
one tree to another for 30 or 40 ft., and very
slender and strong; the smooth leaves are
nearly orbicular, often broader than long, and

somewhat heart-shaped at base, of a pleasing
soft^green color, which turns to deep yellow
in Autumn, and later to a rusty brown, though
in the southern states they are nearly ever
green ; the small clusters of berries are black,
with a bloom, and have a tempting appear
ance, but are very nauseous to the taste. The
plant is variable, and forms of it have been
described as distinct species. It is a handsome
ornamental climber, which has received no
attention because it is common. There are
about a dozen other species, from New Jer
sey southward, with variously shaped leaves,
some of them evergreen, and differing in their
fruit clusters. The most important of these
is popularly known in the southern states as
China brier (S. pseudo- China), which extends
northward to New Jersey ; its stems, especially
near the base, have weak blackish prickles;
the leaves are ovate heart-shaped, often with
a fringe of rough hairs on the margins and a

Greenbrier (Srnilax rotundifolia).

slender point. The young and tender shoots
of this are eaten as asparagus; the mature
stems have a reputation as an alterative ; the
rootstocks, which are tuberous, brownish red,
and sometimes as large as the two fists, con
tain considerable starch, which the Seminoles
formerly used in times of scarcity, both by
separating the starch and by cooking the whole
root ; a kind of beer has been made from them,
with molasses, parched corn, and sassafras ;
the root is light, porous, easily worked, and
is largely used for tobacco pipes. A few spe
cies are herbaceous, the most common being
the variable S. herlacea, 1 to 6 ft. high, with
mostly heart-shaped leaves ; the flowers are in
large umbels, upon stalks 3 to 8 in. long, the
fertile ones succeeded by a showy, nearly glob
ular cluster of berries. This is sometimes a
troublesome weed in pastures ; when in bloom
its presence is readily detected from the odor
of its flowers, which has given the plant the
well merited name of carrion flower. Two

114:

SMILES

SMITH

other species belong to this section, which Tor-
rey at one time regarded as a distinct genus,
to which he gave the appropriate name of
coprosmanthus. Nearly 200 species of smilax
are enumerated as growing in various parts of
the world, but, judging from the confusion of
names existing among our own, the number
of real species is much less. The most impor
tant exotic species are those which furnish the
drug sarsaparilla. (See SAESAPAEILLA.) An
other medicinal product is the China root, the
rhizome of S. China and several other east
ern species, which, under the name of radix
Chinee, came into use about A. D. 1535 as a
remedy for syphilis, gout., and rheumatism ; it
is now little used except in the East. The
fresh rootstoeks of this and other species
are cooked and eaten by the Chinese. Under
the name of smilax florists cultivate in green
houses large quantities of myrsiphyllum aspa-
ragoides, a liliaceous plant from the Cape of
Good Hope, closely
allied to asparagus;
it has small tuberous
roots, and very slen
der, strong, branching
stems, which climb by
twining to the height
of 20 ft. or more;
its proper leaves are
minute scales, from
the axils of which, as
in asparagus, appear
small branches, so
modified that they
look like true leaves,
the functions of which
they perform ; the
flowers are small,
whitish, and incon
spicuous, and are fol
lowed by green ber
ries about the size of
those of asparagus. It
is raised from seeds,
the roots being kept from year to year. This
plant is one of the most valuable and popular
of all greens used for decorations, as it does
not readily fade, and its thread-like steins al
low it to be used in the most delicate work.
It is a very useful window plant if the atmos
phere of the room is not excessively dry.

SMILES, Samuel, a British author, born at
Haddington, Scotland, in 1816. After practis
ing as a surgeon for some time at Leeds, he
became editor of the Leeds "Times" in 1845,
secretary of the Leeds and Thirsk railway, and
in 1852 secretary of the Southeastern railway,
from which post he retired in 1866. He has
published "Physical Education, or Nature of
Children" (Edinburgh, 1837); "History of
Ireland and the Irish People under the Gov
ernment of England" (London, 1844); "Life
of George Stephenson" (1857); "Self-Help,
with Illustrations of Character and Conduct "
(1859) ; " Brief Biographies " (Boston, 1860) ;

Sinilax Vine (Myrsiphyllum
asparagoides).

" Workmen s Earnings, Strikes, and Savings "
(London, 1861) ; " Lives of the Engineers, with
an Account of their Principal Works" (4 vols.
8vo, 1861- 5; new ed., 5 vols., 1875), inclu
ding that of Stephenson; "Industrial Biogra
phy" (1863); "The Huguenots, their Settle
ments, Churches, and Industries in England
and Ireland" (1867); "Character," a com
panion volume to "Self-Help" (1871); "The
Huguenots in France, after the ^Revocation of
the Edict of Nantes" (1874); and "Thrift"
(1875). Most of his works have passed through
several editions in England and America.

SMIRKE. I. Sir Robert, an English architect,
born in London in 1780, died at Cheltenham,
April 18, 1867. He was the oldest son of
Kobert Smirke, a popular genre painter. After
a tour through Germany and southern Europe,
he settled in London in 1805 as an architect.
He brought himself early into notice by his
design for Co vent Garden theatre (1808- 9),
which was destroyed by fire in March, 1856.
Subsequently he was employed in designing
many public buildings in the metropolis, the
most considerable being the mint, a Grecian
Doric edifice erected in 1811 ; the post office
(1823- 9) ; the college of physicians; King s
college, as the eastern wing of Somerset
house (1831); and the British museum (1823-
47). .These were all in the classical style.
His chief Gothic works are the restorations of
York minster and the improvements and ex
tensions of the Inner Temple. He also erected
buildings for the United Service, Carlton, and
Oxford and Cambridge clubs, the last in con
junction with his brother Sydney. He was
elected a royal academician in 1812, and in
1831 was knighted. He published " Specimens
of Continental Architecture " (fol., London,
1806). II. Sydney, younger brother of the pre
ceding, also an architect. His style is more
ornate and florid than that of his brother, and
has been employed with effect upon several of
the London club houses, especially the Carlton
in Pall Mall. He also directed the restorations
of the Temple church and Lichfield cathedral,
and in 1847 succeeded his brother as architect
of the British museum. He was elected a
member of the royal academy in 1860, pro
fessor of architecture in 1861, and treasurer
in 1862. He has published " Suggestions on
the Architectural Improvements of the West
of London" (1834), and "Architecture of the
Temple Church" (4to, 1842).

SMITH, the name of four counties in the
United States. I. A central county of Missis
sippi, intersected by Strong river and drained
by the head streams of Leaf river ; area, 620
sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 7,126, of whom 1,711
were colored. The surface is generally level
and the soil poor. The chief productions in
1870 were 144,688 bushels of Indian corn,
28,286 of sweet potatoes, 45,040 Ibs. of rice,
5,666 of wool, and 2,411 bales of cotton.
There were 1,065 horses, 2,027 milch cows,
4,308 other cattle, 3,694 sheep, and 11,254

SMITH

115

swine. Capital, Raleigh. II. A 1ST. E. county
of Texas, bounded N. by the Sabine river and
W. by the Neches, and drained by the sources
of the Angelina; area, 900 sq. m. ; pop. in
1870, 16,532, of whom 7,131 were colored.
The greater portion of the surface is prairie
land, and the soil is fertile. It is traversed by
the International and Great Northern railroad.
The chief productions in 1870 were 420,646
bushels of Indian corn, 22,017 of barley, 54,987
of sweet potatoes, 100,856 Ibs. of butter, 1,878
gallons of molasses, and 9,322 bales of cotton.
There were 1,988 horses, 1,189 mules and asses,
4,975 milch cows, 9,954 other cattle, 2,726
sheep, and 22,658 swine. Capital, Tyler. III.
A N. county of Tennessee, intersected by the
Cumberland river and drained by Caney fork ;
area, about 300 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 15,994,
of whom 3,536 were colored. The surface is
rough, but the soil is generally fertile. The
chief productions in 1870 were 126,837 bushels
of wheat, 888,078 of Indian corn, 72,528 of
oats, 17,996 of Irish and 15,163 of sweet pota
toes, 2,250,202 Ibs. of tobacco, 32,674 of wool,
255,723 of butter, 39,061 of honey, and 40,344
gallons of sorghum molasses. There were 4,857
horses, 3,715 milch cows, 6,117 other cattle,
17,591 sheep, and 33,687 swine. Capital, Car
thage. IV. A N. county of Kansas, bordering
on Nebraska, and intersected by the N. fork
of Solomon river ; area, 900 sq. m. ; pop. in
1870, 66 ; in 1875, 3,876. The surface is un
dulating and fertile. Capital, Smith Centre.

SMITH, Adam, a Scottish philosopher, born
at Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire, June 5, 1723, died in
Edinburgh, July 8, 1790. He studied at the
university of Glasgow for three years, and for
seven years at Oxford. In 1748 he fixed his
residence in Edinburgh, where under the pat
ronage of Lord Kames he delivered lectures
on rhetoric and belles-lettres. He was elected
in 1751 professor of logic in the. university of
Glasgow, and was transferred in 1752 to the
chair of moral philosophy in the same univer
sity, which he filled nearly 12 years. His
course was divided into four parts. The first
treated natural theology ; in the second, de
voted to ethics, he developed the doctrines
contained in his "Theory of Moral Senti
ments ;" in the third, the subject of which was
justice, he traced the gradual progress of juris
prudence and government ; and in the fourth,
the subject of which was expediency, he ex
amined those political regulations which relate
to commerce, finances, and ecclesiastical and
military establishments, and which are calcu
lated to increase the power and prosperity of
a state. The last division included the sub
stance of his work on the "Wealth of Na
tions." He published in 1759 his "Theory of
Moral Sentiments," in which he maintains the
doctrine that all moral emotions and distinc
tions spring from sympathy. (See MORAL PHI
LOSOPHY.) From this time he devoted a larger
portion of his lectures to jurisprudence and
political economy. Near the close of 1763 he

resigned his professorship to accompany the
young duke of Buccleugh on his travels. They
visited Paris, resided 18 months at Toulouse,
passed two months at Geneva, and returning
to Paris at the end of 1765, remained there
nearly a year. He returned with his pupil to
London in October, 1766, and soon after fixed
his residence for ten years with his mother at
Kirkcaldy, engaged in severe study, and occa
sionally visiting Edinburgh and London. For
many years he enjoyed an intimate friendship
with Hume. In 1776 appeared his "Inquiry
into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of
Nations," which was the first complete and
systematic statement of the principles of po
litical economy. It received several additions
in the third edition (1784), and was translated
into the principal European languages. A new
edition by J. E. T. Rogers was published in
London and New York in 1870 (2 vols. 8vo).
(See POLITICAL ECONOMY, vol. xiii., p. 668.)
Smith resided for two years after its publica
tion chiefly in London, and in 1778 was ap
pointed one of the commissioners of customs
for Scotland, removing to Edinburgh. In 1787
he was elected lord rector of the university of
Glasgow. A large proportion of his savings
was allotted to secret charity.

SMITH, Albert, an English author, born at
Chertsey, May 24, 1816, died at Fulham, near
London, May 23, 1860. He was educated for
the surgical profession in London and Paris,
and joined his father in practice at Chertsey,
but soon became a writer for the periodical
press. Settling in London in 1841, he became
a contributor to " Bentley s Miscellany," and
within a few years produced "The Wassail
Bowl," "The Adventures of Mr. Ledbury,"
"The Scattergood Family," "The Marchio
ness of Brinvilliers," "Christopher Tadpole,"
and "The Pottleton Legacy." He was also
engaged for some time upon "Punch," his
contributions to which included " The Physi
ology of Evening Parties," " The Medical Stu
dent," and other light varieties ; and in* 1847
- 9 he produced a number of amusing trifles
entitled "The Natural History of the Gent,"
"The Natural History of the Ballet Girl,"
"Stuck-up People," and "The Flirt" He
also wrote Christmas adaptations from the
tales of Dickens, burlesques, and other stage
pieces, and was the dramatic critic of the "Il
lustrated London News." A journey to Con
stantinople in 1849 furnished him with mate
rials for his " Month at Constantinople " (1850),
and also for the public entertainment called the
"Overland Mail," first brought out in May,
1850. In August, 1851, he made the ascent of
Mont Blanc, and his " entertainment " found
ed thereon proved his most successful venture,
being constantly repeated till 1858. He then
visited China, and after his return gave a Chi
nese entertainment, which in the spring of
1860 was replaced by the more popular story
of Mont Blanc. This he repeated until within
two days of his death. His entertainments

116

SMITH

were published under .the titles " Story of Mont
Blanc" (1853), and "To China and Back"
(1859) ; and since his death his brother, Ar
thur Smith, has published from his sketches
"Wild Oats and Dead Leaves" (1860), and
"Paris and London " (1867).

SMITH, Alexander, a Scottish poet, born in
Kilmarnock, Dec. 31, 1830, died at Wardie,
near Edinburgh, Jan. 5, 1867. He was the
son of a pattern designer, and himself became
a pattern designer for a lace factory in Glas
gow. In 1852 he published serially in the
" Critic " his poem " A Life Drama," issued
with other poems in book form in 1853. In
1854 he was appointed secretary of the uni
versity of Edinburgh (a post which he re
tained till his death), and about the same time
delivered a series of lectures. His later poeti
cal works are: "Sonnets of the War," in con
junction with Sydney Dobell (1855) ; " City
Poems" (1857); and "Edwin of Deira" (1861).
He also wrote in prose "Dreamthorp " (1863) ;
"A Summer in Skye" (2 vols., 1865); "Al
fred Hagart s Household" (2 vols., 1866) ; and
"Miss Oona McQuarrie" (1866). A posthu
mous volume, "Last Leaves," was edited by
P. P. Alexander, with a memoir (1868).

SMITH, Eli, an American missionary, born at
Northford, Conn., Sept. 15, 1801, died in Bey-
rout, Syria, Jan. 11, 1857. He graduated at
Yale college in 1821, and at Andover theologi
cal seminary in 1826, and on May 23 of the
latter year sailed as a missionary of the Ameri
can board for Malta, where he took charge
of the missionary printing establishment. In
1827 he went to Beyrout to study Arabic, and
in 1828 returned to his work at Malta. In 1829
he made a tour with Dr. Anderson through
Greece, and in 1830- 31 with Dr. Dwight of
Constantinople through Armenia and Georgia
to Persia, opening the way for the Nestorian
mission at Urumiah. In 1832 he visited the
United States, and published a work by him
self and Dr. Dwight entitled " Missionary Re
searches in Armenia." He returned to Bey-
rout in 1833. In 1838 and again in 1852 he
was the travelling companion and coadjutor
of Dr. Edward Eobinson in his explorations
in Palestine. After the journey of 1838 he
went to Leipsic to superintend the casting of
a new font of Arabic type, in which he im
proved the form of the letters, making them
more distinct and nearer the style of the writ
ten letters. lie revisited the United States in
1839, and again, on account of severe illness,
in 1845. From 1847 he was engaged upon a
translation of the Bible into modern Arabic,
which has been completed since his death by
Dr. C. C. Van Dyke. He published a volume
of sermons and addresses (1834).

SMITH, George, an English oriental scholar,
born about 1825. In 1866, while examining
the large store of Assyrian paper casts in the
British museum, he discovered an inscription
of Shalmaneser II., which gave nn account of
the war against Hazael. In 1867 he assisted

in preparing a new volume of " Cuneiform In
scriptions of Western Asia " for the British
museum. Thereafter the study of the cunei
form texts became his sole occupation. His
principal earlier discoveries, published in the
" Transactions of the Society of Biblical Ar-
chasology," are : a tablet noticing the eclipse
of June 15, 763 B. C. ; notices of the Israeli-
tish kings Azariah, Pekah, and Hoshea ; ac
counts of the conquest of Babylonia by the
Elamites in 2280 B. C. ; a curious religious
calendar of the Assyrians; and a tablet con
taining the Chaldean account of the deluge,
which he afterward discovered to be the elev
enth in a series of twelve giving the history
of an unknown hero, whom he believes to
be the same as the Nimrod of the Bible. In
1871 he published, at the cost of Mr. Fox
Talbot and Mr. J. W. Bosanquet, his great
work on the history of Asshur-bani-pal, giv
ing the cuneiform texts, transcriptions, and
translations of the historical documents per
taining to this reign. In 1873 the proprietors
of the "Daily Telegraph" sent him on an ex
ploring expedition to Nineveh, and in 1874
he went there again. lie obtained over 3,000
entire or fragmentary inscriptions, and many
other objects of great importance. lie pub
lished in 1875 an account of these explora
tions, and contributed a volume on the history
of Assyria to the series of "Ancient History
from the Monuments;" also "The Chaldean
Account of Genesis" (German translation by
II. Delitzsch, with notes by F. Delitzsch, 1876),
a series of legends from the cuneiform inscrip
tions resembling the Biblical accounts. He is
now (1876) exploring the Euphrates valley.

SMITH, Gerrit, an American philanthropist,
born in Utica, N. Y., March 6, 1797, died in
New York, Dec. 28, 1874. He inherited from
his father Peter Smith, a partner of John Ja
cob Astor in the fur trade, one of the largest
estates in the country, consisting chiefly of
land in almost every county of New York
and in nearly all the states of the Union. He
graduated at Hamilton college, Clinton, N. Y.,
in 1818, and for many years his chief occu
pation was the management of his property,
his residence being at Peterboro, Madison co.
He studied law, and was admitted to the bar
when 56 years old (1853). In 1825 he joined
the colonization society, and contributed large
ly for the removal of colored people to Africa.
Ten years later he withdrew from it and joined
the American anti-slavery society. He gave
away large quantities of land in public and pri
vate charity, and in 1848 distributed 200,000
acres, in parcels averaging 50 acres. In 1852
Mr. Smith was elected a representative in con
gress ; but he did not like public life, and re
signed at the close of the first session. While
in congress he voted with the party opposed
to slavery, and made several speeches on that
side. A few years later he contributed large
ly to the struggle for free institutions in Kan
sas, in which his friend John Brown became

SMITH

117

prominent ; and in 1859 he gave pecuniary aid
to Brown in preparing for the attack on Har
per s Ferry, though he probably had no pre
cise knowledge of his plans. The failure of
that attempt, and grief and anxiety for the
loss of life which it occasioned, temporarily
overthrew his reason, and for some months
he was an inmate of the insane asylum at
Utica. During the civil war he strongly ad
vocated the cause of the Union and contrib
uted largely for the raising of troops. After
its close, he joined with Horace Greeley in
1867 in signing the bail bond by which Jef
ferson Davis was liberated. Mr. Smith was
of a strongly religious nature, and he was in
the habit of preaching in a church built by
himself. His originally orthodox views un
derwent great changes, but he is said to have
finally returned to them. He printed and dis
tributed gratuitously many pamphlets, speech
es, and addresses, and published in book form
"Speeches in Congress" (1855); "Sermons
and Speeches" (1861); "The Religion of Rea
son " (1864) ; " Speeches and Letters " (1865) ;
" The Theologies " (2d ed., 1866) ; " Nature the
Base of a Free Theology " (1867) ; and " Cor
respondence with Albert Barnes " (1868).

SMITH, Goldwin, an English author, born in
Reading, Aug. 13, 1823. He was educated at
Eton and Oxford, and was called to the bar at
Lincoln s Inn, but never practised. In 1858
he became regius professor of modern history
at Oxford. During the American civil war he
was a warm friend of the federal government,
and published "Does the Bible sanction Slave
ry?" (1863), "On the Morality of the Eman
cipation Proclamation" (1863), " Letter to a
Whig Member of the Southern Independence
Association" (1864), "England and America"
(1865), and "The Civil War in America" (1866).
In September, 1864, he visited the United States.
In 1866 he resigned his chair at Oxford, with
a view of taking up his residence in America.
Coming to this country in 1868, he became
professor of English history in Cornell univer
sity, and resided at Ithaca till 1871, when he
exchanged his chair for that of a non-resident
professor, and removed to Toronto. He has
since been appointed a member of the senate
of the university of Toronto, and from 1872 to
1874 was the editor of the " Canadian Month
ly." In 1874 he revisited England. He con
tributed to the " Anthologia Oxoniana," the
" Oxford Essays," and the " Encyclopedia
Britannica." His other publications are : "In
augural Lecture before the University of Ox
ford " (1859) ; " Lectures on Modern History,"
"Lectures on the Study of History," "Foun
dation of the American Colonies," " On some
supposed Consequences of Historical Progress,"
and "Rational Religion" (1861); "Irish His
tory and Irish Character," and "On Church
Endowments" (1862); "Empire, a Series of
Letters" (1863); "Plea for Abolition of Tests
in Oxford" (1864); "Three English States
men," sketches of Pym, Cromwell, and Pitt

(1867); "Reorganization of the University of
Oxford " (1868) ; and " Relations between
America and England " (1869).

SMITH, Henry Boynton, an American clergy
man, born in Portland, Me., Nov. 21, 1815.
He graduated at Bowdoin college in 1834, was
a tutor there in 1836- 7 and in 1840- 41, and
studied theology at Andover and Bangor, and
subsequently at Halle and Berlin. He was
pastor of the Congregational church in "West
Amesbury, Mass., from 1842 to 1847, when he
became professor of mental and moral philos
ophy in Amherst college. In 1850 he became
professor of church history in the Union theo
logical seminary, New York, and in 1855 of
systematic theology, which chair he resigned
in 1873. He was elected in 1863 moderator of
the New School general assembly of the Pres
byterian church, and at the opening of the
next general assembly in Dayton, Ohio, in
1864, delivered a discourse which was pub
lished under the title " Christian Union and
Ecclesiastical Reunion." He was subsequently
a member of the general assembly s committee
on reunion with the Old School general as
sembly, and presented a report on a doctrinal
basis of union (" The Reunion of the Presby
terian Churches," 8vo, 1867). In 1867 he was
a delegate to the evangelical alliance in Am
sterdam, where he read a " Report on the
State of Religion in the United States." He
was a founder of the "American Theological
Review," and its editor from 1859 to 1862,
when it was consolidated with the " Presbyte
rian Review," which he edited till 1871. His
principal works are : " The Relations of Faith
and Philosophy" (8vo, 1849); "The Nature
and Worth of the Science of Church History "
(1851); "The Problem of the Philosophy of
History" (1853); "The Idea of Christian
Theology as a System" (1857); "An Argu
ment for Christian Colleges " (1857) ; " His
tory of the Church of Christ, in Chronological
Tables" (fol., 1859); a new edition of the
Edinburgh translation of Gieseler s " Church
History " (5 vols. 8vo, 1859- 63), of which vols.
iv. and v. were chiefly translated by Prof.
Smith ; a revised edition of the Edinburgh
translation of Hagenbach s " History of Chris
tian Doctrine" (2 vols. 8vo, 1861- 2); with
James Strong, a new edition of the Edinburgh
translation of Stier s "Words of the Lord
Jesus " (in parts, 1864 et seq.) ; and with R.
D. Hitchcock, " The Life, Character, and Wri
tings of Edward Robinson " (1864).

SMITH, James, a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, born in Ireland about 1719,
died in York, Pa., July 11, 1806. He came
to America with his father s" family in 1729,
studied law in Lancaster, Pa., and after his
admission to practice removed to the neigh
borhood of Shippensburg, and engaged in sur
veying. After a few years he removed to
York, which became his permanent home, and
entered upon the legal profession. In 1774 he
] was chosen a deputy to attend the provincial

118

SMITH

meeting, or rather " Committee for the Prov
ince of Pennsylvania," which convened at
Philadelphia July 15. At this meeting he was
one of those who were appointed to " prepare
and bring in a draught of instructions to the
representatives in assembly met." In 1776 he
was chosen a member of the continental con
gress, in which he continued till 1778; and
when congress held its sessions in York, the
board of war occupied his law office.

SMITH, James and Horace, English authors,
associated together in literary history. The
former was born in London, Feb. 10, 1775, and
died there, Dec. 24, 1839; and the latter was
born in London, Dec. 31, 1779, and died at
Tunbridge Wells, July 12, 1849. They were
the sons of Robert Smith, a legal practitioner
of London, and were early trained to an active
business life, James in the professional busi
ness of his father, and Horace as a member of
the stock exchange, in which business he ac
quired a fortune. The poetical imitations en
titled "Horace in London," originally contrib
uted to the "Monthly Mirror," and afterward
republished in England and America, were
written principally by James. In 1812 the
rebuilding of Drury Lane theatre led to the
offer of a prize for an opening address; the
brothers, in six weeks, completed a series of
parodies on the popular authors of the day, in
the form of addresses for the prize, and thus
arose the well known volume of "Rejected
Addresses." The publisher Murray originally
declined giving 20 for the copyright, but
after it had run through 16 editions (1819) he
purchased it for 131. James Smith during
the remainder of his life wrote anonymously
for amusement or relief from physical suffer
ing, contributing vera de societe and epigrams to
the magazines or annuals, or assisting Charles
Mathews the actor in the preparation of his
" Country Cousins," his " Trip to France," and
other "entertainments." A collection of his
miscellaneous pieces in prose and verse was
published after his death by his brother (2
vols., 1840). Horace, subsequent to 1820, when
he retired from business, was for 25 years one
of the most industrious authors of England.
In 1826 appeared "Brambletye House," one
of his earliest novels, and his most successful
one. It was succeeded by "Tor Hill," "Reu
ben Apsley," "Jane Lomax," "The New For
est," and other novels, few of which are now
known outside of the circulating libraries. In
1845 the author took a formal leave of the
public in the preface to "Love and Mesmer
ism." A selection from the poetical works of
Horace and James Smith, including the "Re
jected Addresses," with a memoir by Epes
Sargent, was published in New York in 1857.
"The Tin Trumpet" (2 vols. 8vo), published
anonymously in 1836, was republished in 1869
as the work of Horace Smith.

SMITH, Sir James Edward, an English botan
ist, born in Norwich, Dec. 2, 1759, died there,
March 17, 1828. lie studied medicine at Ed

inburgh, purchased the books, manuscripts, and
herbarium of Linnasus, commenced the prac
tice of his profession in London, received the
degree of M.D. at Leyden, and in 1788 founded
the Linnsean society of London, of which he
was the first president. In 1796 he returned
to Norwich, though he lectured on botany for
two months each year at the royal institution.
He wrote "English Botany" (36 vols., with
2,592 colored figures by Sowerby, London,
1792-1807) ; Flora Britannica (3 vols., 1800-
4) ; " Exotic Botany " (2 vols., 1804- 5) ; "In
troduction to Systematical Botany" (1807);
and "The English Flora" (3 vols., 1823- 5);
and he edited Sibthorp s Flora Grceca (1808).

SMITH, John, the founder of Virginia, born
at Willoughby, Lincolnshire, England, in Jan
uary, 1579, died in London, June 21, 1631.
When young he took part in the wars in the
Netherlands, and after four years service re
turned home, but went abroad again to fight
against the Turks. He distinguished himself
by daring exploits in Hungary and Transylva
nia, and received from Sigismund Bathori a
patent of nobility and a pension, but finally
was taken prisoner, and sent as a slave to Con
stantinople. Here he gained the affection of
his young mistress, who to secure his safety
sent him to her brother, a pasha on the sea of
Azov, with a letter in which she confessed
her feelings. The proud prince, indignant at
the attachment of his sister to a Christian, mal
treated Smith, who at length, maddened by an
insult, beat out his master s brains with a flail,
put on the dead man s clothes, mounted his
horse, and finally reached a Russian garrison
on the Don. He was here kindly treated and
helped on his journey to Transylvania, where
he was furnished with money to repair his
losses. Smith now returned to England, reach
ing it after a long journey and an attempt to
take part in a war in Barbary, and was per
suaded by Capt. Gosnold, who had already vis
ited the coasts of America, to engage in the
founding of a colony. The expedition, con
sisting of three vessels and 105 men, under the
command of Newport, set sail Dec. 19, 1006.
By the charter, the government of the colony
was placed in the hands of a council appointed
and removable by the crown ; their names were
in a sealed box, not to be opened until their
arrival at Virginia. On the voyage dissensions
sprang up among the leaders, and much enmity
was shown to Smith. At the Canaries he was
charged with a conspiracy to make himself
king of Virginia, and was kept prisoner for the
rest of the voyage. After landing the box was
opened, and although Smith was named one of
the council, he was excluded. With Newport
he headed a party of 20 men to discover the
source of the James. About six weeks after,
when Newport was returning to England,
Smith s enemies urged him to return and be
reprimanded by the council in England rather
than suffer the disgrace of a public conviction
in the colony ; but he demanded a trial, which

SMITH

119

resulted in his acquittal, and he was made a
member of the council. Bad and scanty food
brought on disease among the colonists and re
duced their number. The president, Wingfield,
embezzled the stores and was deposed. Eat-
cliffe was made his successor, but the real head
was Smith, and to his efforts the salvation of
the infant colony was owing. He set about
the building of Jamestown, and after providing
the settlers with lodgings made excursions into
the neighboring country to obtain corn. On
one of these expeditions he was taken prison
er by the Indians, and his life was saved, it is
said, by the interference of Pocahontas. (See
POCAIIONTAS.) Sent back to Jamestown by
Powhatan after an absence of seven weeks, he
found the colony reduced to 40 men, and the
most of these had determined to return to Eng
land. This, however, Smith prevented, and
the arrival of Newport with 120 men raised
the spirits of the colonists. In June and July,
1608, Smith explored the coasts of Chesapeake
bay as far as the mouth of the Patapsco. On
July 24 he started on another expedition, and
explored the head of the Chesapeake, returning
to Jamestown on Sept. 7. In these two voy
ages Capt. Smith sailed, by his own computa
tion, about 3,000 m., and from his surveys con
structed a map of the bay and the country bor
dering upon it. Being now president of the
colony, he administered its affairs with ener
gy ; and his influence restored quiet to the col
ony, which had been filled with dissensions and
disturbed by -fears of the Indians. Smith s
administration, however, had not been satis
factory to the company in England, whose too
brilliant hopes had been disappointed, and
whose irritation Smith s soldierly bluntness did
not conciliate. A new charter was granted,
and the powers previously reserved to the king
were transferred to the company. Lord Del
aware was made governor, and three com
missioners, Newport, Sir Thomas Gates, and
Stir George Somers, were empowered to man
age the affairs of the colony till his arrival.
They set sail with more than 500 emigrants,
and a part of the fleet, in a shattered condi
tion, and without the commissioners, reached
Virginia in August, 1609. The new emigrants
were -mostly "dissolute gallants, packed off to
escape worse destinies at home, broken trades
men, gentlemen impoverished in spirit and in
fortune, rakes and libertines, men more fitted
to corrupt than found a commonwealth." Dis
orders quickly ensued, and Smith, at the re
quest of the better part of the colony, resumed
the government. The refractory were put in
prison, and new settlements established. Ee-
turning from one of them, he was severely in
jured by the explosion of a bag of gunpowder,
and in September, 1609, returned to England.
In 1614 he explored with two ships the New
England coast, and on his return presented to
Prince Charles a map of the country between
the Penobscot and Cape Cod. In 1615 he
sailed again to New England, to found a col

ony. His vessel was captured by a French
man-of-war, and he was carried to La Eo-
chelle. He escaped, and on his return home
wrote an account of his voyages to New Eng
land, which was published in 1616. The re
mainder of his life was passed in retirement.
He published several works, the most impor
tant of which are "The Generall Historic of
Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles"
(1626), and "The True Travels, Adventures,
and Observations of Captain John Smith, in
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, from 1598
to 1629" (1630). These two works were re
printed at Eichmond in 1819. In 1631 he
published also " Advertisements for the Unex
perienced Planters of New England, or any
where, or the Pathway to Experience to Erect
a Plantation." This has been reprinted with
a facsimile of Smith s map of New England
(4to, Boston, 1865); also the "Description
of New England" (4to, 1865), and "A True
E elation of Virginia," reprinted from the
London edition of 1608, with an introduction
and notes by Charles Deane (4to, 1866). See
" Life of Capt. John Smith," by G. S. Ilillard,
in Sparks s "American Biography," vol. ii.

SMITH, Jolm Augustine, an American physi
cian, born in Westmoreland co., Va., Aug. 29,
1782, died in New York, Eeb. 9, 1865. He
went in 1809 to New York, where he edited
the "Medical and Physiological Journal," and
was a lecturer on anatomy in the college of
physicians and surgeons. In 1814 he removed
to Virginia, and was president of William and
Mary college till 1826, when he resigned and
returned to New York. He was president of
the college of physicians and surgeons from
1831 to 1843, and editor of the "Medical and
Physiological Journal." He published "Intro
ductory Discourse at the New Medical Col
lege in Crosby Street" (1827); "Select Dis
course on the Functions of the Nervous Sys
tem" (1840); "The Mutations of the Earth"
(1846) ; " Monograph upon the Moral Sense,
two Discourses " (1847) ; " Prelections on Mor
al and Physical Science" (1853); and numer
ous essays and lectures on moral philosophy,
physical science, &c.

SMITH, John Lawrence, an American chemist
and mineralogist, born near Charleston, S. C.,
Dec. 16, 1818. He graduated at the universi
ty of Virginia and at the medical college of
S^outh Carolina, and for three years studied
chemistry, physiology, physics, mineralogy, and
geology in Europe. In 1844 he commenced
the practice of medicine in Charleston, deliv
ered lectures on toxicology, paid attention to
agricultural chemistry, and ascertained the
character and value of the marl beds extend
ing 100 m. back of Charleston. In 1846 he
was employed by the Turkish government- to
suggest improvements in the cotton culture in
Asia Minor, and accepted the appointment of
mining engineer. He remained four years,
and in 1849 made a report on the "Thermal
"Waters of Asia Minor." His mining researches

120

SMITH

in Asia Minor led to the subsequent discov
ery of emery and corundum in localities in the
United States. After his return in 1851 he in
vented the inverted microscope, and was pro
fessor of chemistry in the university of Vir
ginia, and subsequently in the medical depart
ment of the university of Louisville, Ky., and
is now (1870) scientific -superintendent of the
Louisville gas works. In 1867 he was a com
missioner to the Paris exposition, making a re
port on " The Progress and Condition of Sev
eral Departments of Industrial Chemistry,"
and in 1873 to the Vienna exhibition. In
1872 he was elected president of the American
association for the advancement of science.
His scientific reports are numerous, and his
original researches, about 50 in number, have
been collected in a volume, "Mineralogy and
Chemistry: Original Researches" (8vo, Louis
ville, 1873). (See EMERALD, and EMERY.)

SMITH, John Pye, an English clergyman, born
in Sheffield, May 25, 1774, died in Guildford,
Surrey, Feb. 5, 1851. In his 22d year he en
tered the Independent academy at Eotherham,
and in 1800 was chosen classical tutor in the
Homerton theological academy. He subse
quently became pastor of a church at Homer-
ton, and in 1813 he was appointed divinity
tutor. From 1843 to 1850 he was again classi
cal tutor ; but on the consolidation of Ilomer-
ton, Highbury, and Coward academies into
New college, he resigned. He was a fellow
of the royal and of the geological society. His
principal works are : " The Scripture Testimo
ny to the Messiah" (3 vols., 1818- 21 ; 5th ed.,
2 vols., 1868); "Four Discourses on the Sac
rifice and Priesthood of Jesus Christ" (3d ed.,
1827); "On the Personality and Divinity of
the Holy Spirit" (1831); ""The Mosaic Ac
count of the Creation and the Deluge illus
trated by the Discoveries of Modern Science"
(1837); and "Scripture and Geology" (1839;
4th ed., greatly enlarged, 1848; 5th ed., 1854).
See "Memoirs of the Life and Writings of
John Pye Smith," by J. Mod way (1853).

SMITH, Joseph, founder of the Mormon church,
or church of Latter Day Saints, born at Sharon,
Vt., Dec. 23, 1805, killed at Carthage, 111.,
June 27, 1844. His parents, of Scotch descent,
early removed to Palmyra, N. Y. The family
was disreputable, and Joseph s education was
very defective. "With the aid of Sidney Eigdon
he brought forth the " Book of Mormon,"
which he pretended to have discovered under
angelic guidance, written on plates and hidden
in the earth ; and on this he founded and or
ganized his church in Manchester, N. Y., April
6, 1830. In 1831 he went with his disciples to
Kirtland, O., and erected a costly but very
singular temple. Here Smith and Eigdon en
gaged in fraudulent banking, were tarred and
feathered for this arid other offences in 1832,
and after the failure of their bank in January,
1838, fled to Missouri. There, in a town
named Far West, Smith s disciples gathered ;
but their irregularities occasioned an outbreak

against them, and their speedy removal to
Hancock county, 111., where they built a city
called Nauvoo, and constructed another costly
temple. Here Smith, who combined in his
own person the chief military, municipal, and
ecclesiastical offices, introduced polygamy un
der a pretended revelation; but several out
raged husbands revolted and established an op
position press, which Smith with a mob de
molished. For this warrants were issued
against Smith, his brother Hyrum, and others.
The Smiths refused obedience to the authori
ties, the state militia were summoned, and Avar
was threatened ; but they were finally induced
to surrender, and were imprisoned. Fearing
their release, a mob gathered, overcame the
prison guard, and shot the prisoners dead,
Joseph defending himself with a revolver till
his ammunition failed. (See MORMONS.)

SMITH, Joseph Blather, an American physi
cian, born at New Eochelle, 1ST. Y., March 14,
1789, died in New York, April 22, 1866. He
graduated in medicine in 1815 at the college of
physicians and surgeons, New York. In 1826
he was appointed professor of the theory and
practice of medicine in the college of physi
cians and surgeons, and in 1829 attending phy
sician to the New York hospital. In 1855 his
chair was exchanged for that of materia med-
ica and clinical medicine. His most important
publications are: "Elements of the Etiology
and Philosophy of Epidemics" (New York,
1824) ; " Report on Practical Medicine"
(" Transactions of the American Medical As
sociation," 1848, vol. i.); "Report on Public
Hygiene " (ibid., 1850, vol. iii.) ; " Medical To
pography and Epidemics of the State of New
York " (ibid., 1860, vol. xiii.) ; and " Therapeu
tics of Albuminuria " (" Bulletin of the New
York Academy of Medicine," 1863, vol. ii.).

SMITH, Robert Payne, an English orientalist,
born in Gloucestershire in November, 1818.
He graduated at Pembroke college, Oxford, in
1841, took orders, was curate of Trinity church
and master of the academy in Edinburgh, and
subsequently was head master of the proprie
tary school in Kensington. In 1857 he was
appointed sub-librarian of the Bodleian library,
with special charge of the oriental manuscripts.
In 1865 he was made canon of Christ church,
Oxford, and regius professor of divinity in the
university. Since 1871 he has been dean of
Canterbury. He has published annotated cop
ies and English versions of Syriac manuscripts,
including " Cyril of Alexandria s Commentary
on St. Luke s Gospel" (4to, Oxford, 1858;
English version, 2 vols. 8vo, 1859) and "Ec
clesiastical History of John of Ephosus " (8vo,
1860). He has also published a Latin " Cata
logue of the Syriac MSS. in the Bodleian Li
brary" (4to, 1864), "Authenticity and Mes
sianic Interpretation of the Prophecies of
Isaiah" (8vo, 1862), and "Prophecy a Prep
aration for Christ" (Bampton lectures for
1869). In 1873: he prepared a paragraphic
Bible for the society for promoting Christian

SMITH

121

knowledge. In 1874 lie was understood to be
preparing a commentary on Jeremiah, for the
" Speaker s Commentary, 1 and was engaged
upon the Thesaurus Syriacus, of which up to
1872 two parts had been published.

SMITH, Samuel Stanhope, an American clergy
man, born at Pequea, Pa., March 10, 1750,
died in Princeton, N. J., Aug. 21, 1819. He
graduated at Princeton college in 1767, and
from 1770 to 1773 was tutor there. He was
then for some time a missionary in western
Virginia, and was principal of the seminary
which became the Hampden Sidney college.
In 1779 he was appointed professor of moral
philosophy in the college of New Jersey, of
which he was president from 1794 to 1812.
In 1786 he was associated with several other
clergymen of the Presbyterian church in pre
paring the form of presbyterial government
which continues to the present time. He pub
lished "Causes of the Variety in the Figure
and Complexion of the Human Species " (8vo,
1787) ; " Sermons " (1799) ; " Lectures on the
Evidences of the Christian Religion " (12mo,
1809) ; and " A Comprehensive View of the
leading and most important Principles of Nat
ural and Revealed Religion " (8vo, 1816). His
" Sermons," with a memoir of his life and
writings, were published in 1821 (2 vols. 8vo).

SMITH. I. Seba, an American author, born in
Buckfield, Me., Sept. 14, 1792, died in Patch-
ogue, L. L, July 29, 1868. He graduated at
Bowdoin college in 1818, and settled in Port
land, where he edited the "Eastern Argus"
(1820- 24) and the " Courier" (1830- 37). In

1842 he removed to New York. He published
" Life and Letters of Major Jack Downing "
(Boston, 1833), a celebrated series of humorous
political letters ; " Powhatan," a metrical ro
mance (1841); "Dewdrops of the Nineteenth
Century," miscellanies (1846); "New Ele
ments of Geometry " (1850) ; " Way Down
East, or Portraitures of Yankee Life" (1854) ;
and "My Thirty Years out of the Senate, by
Major Jack Downing " (1859- CO). II. Elizabeth
Oakes (PRINCE), an American authoress, wife of
the preceding, born in North Yarmouth (now
Cumberland), Me. She married Mr. Smith at
the age of 16, and about the same time became
an anonymous contributor of poems to the pe
riodical press. After her removal with her
husband to New York in 1842 she frequently
appeared before the public as a lecturer. In

1843 appeared the first considerable collection
of her poetical pieces under the title of " The
Sinless Child and other Poems," and her metri
cal contributions to the magazines have since
been numerous. She is the author of " The
Roman Tribute" and "Jacob Leisler," trage
dies ; " The Western Captive " and " Bertha and
Lily," novels; "The Salamander, a Legend
for Christmas;" and children s books and mis
cellaneous publications. In 1851 she published
"Woman and her Needs," a work devoted to
the rights of woman, which Mrs. Smith has
at various times advocated by* her pen and

as a lecturer. Among her later publications
are : " Hints on Dress and Beauty " (1852) ;
"Shadow Land" (1852); "The Newsboy"
(1855) ; " Bald Eagle, or the last of the Rama-
paughs" (1867); "Two Wives" (1871); and
"Kitty Howard s Journal" (1871). She now
(1876) resides at Hollywood, Carteret co., N. C.
SMITH, Sydney, an English author, born at
Woodford, Essex, June 3, 1771, died in Lon
don, Feb. 22, 1845. He was educated at New
college, Oxford, where in 1790 he obtained a
fellowship of 100 a year. He took orders,
and in 1794 became curate in the parish of
Netheravon, in Salisbury plain ; but three
years later he went to Edinburgh as a private
tutor. In 1802 he was associated with Mur
ray, Jeffrey, Brougham, Horner, and others in
establishing the "Edinburgh Review," to the
first number of which, as editor, he contributed
seven articles. Soon afterward he went to
London, where his sermons attracted large and
fashionable congregations, and in 1804- 6 he
delivered courses of lectures on moral phi
losophy before the royal institution. A post
humous volume, entitled " Elementary Sketch
es of Moral Philosophy" (1850), contains the
substance of these. Upon the return of the
whigs to power in 1806, he was presented to
the living of Foston-le-Clay in Yorkshire,
worth about 500 a year. In 1807- 8 ap
peared anonymously his "Letters on the Sub
ject of the Catholics, by Peter Plymley," which,
owing to an admirable mixture of sound sense,
irony, and pleasantry, had an immense circu
lation ; and his efforts in the cause of Cath
olic emancipation were never relaxed until
that measure was accomplished. In 1809 he
published two volumes of sermons, and in
the summer of that year removed with his
family to Heslington, near York, where he re
sided for a few years, in the hope of being
able to exchange Foston-le-Clay for some more
desirable parish. Failing in this, he turned
his thoughts toward Foston, the forlorn con
dition of which he characteristically described
by saying it was " actually twelve miles from
a lemon," constructed a parsonage, and in the
spring of 1814 moved with his family into his
new quarters. In 1828 Lord Lyndhurst ap
pointed him canon of Bristol and rector of
Combe-Florey, near Taunton, and three years
later he received a prebendal stall in St. Paul s.
The remainder of his life was devoted to the
discharge of his official duties, and to literary
labors ; but he wrote nothing for the " Edin
burgh Review" subsequent to 1827. Having
come into the possession of a considerable es
tate by the death of his brother Courtenay in
1843, he invested largely in the public stock of
Pennsylvania ; and tlie neglect of that state to
pay the interest on her bonds called out his
" Petition to Congress " and "Letters on Amer
ican Debts," writings overflowing with hu
morous invective. His humor never left him,
and under the last regimen of his physician
he expressed his longing for " even the wing

122

SMITH

of a roasted butterfly." A collection of his
writings, comprising his review articles, "Pe
ter Plymley s Letters," and various pamphlets
and miscellanies, was published in 1839- 40 (4
vols. 8vo ; afterward in several other forms).
He left also in manuscript an account of Eng
lish misrule in Ireland, which his widow was
advised by Macaulay not to publish. In 1855
appeared a memoir of him by his daughter
Saba, the wife of Sir Henry Holland; and a
volume of his writings and sayings, entitled
"The Wit and Wisdom of Sydney Smith," was
collected with a memoir by E. A. Duyckinck
(New York, 185G).

SMITH, Thomas Sonthwood, an English physi
cian, born at Martock, Somersetshire, Dec. 21,
1788, died in Florence, Italy, pec. 10, 1861.
He studied medicine at the university of Ed
inburgh, and settled in the country, but in
1820 removed to London, and was one of the
founders of the " Westminster Review." His
work on " The Use of the Dead to the Liv
ing," reprinted from the earlier numbers of
the " Review," was instrumental in the pas
sage by parliament of the anatomy act, which
put an end to the business of "resurrection."
In 1824 he was appointed physician to the
London fever hospital, and somewhat earlier
to the eastern dispensary. In 1832 he was
one of the commissioners to inquire into the
condition of factory children, and his report
led to the passage of the factory act. In 1838
ho presented to the poor-law commission
ers the first of a series of reports on the
"Physical Causes of Sickness and Mortality
which are capable of Removal by Sanitary
Regulations." This led to the appointment
of a sanitary committee by the house of com
mons in 1840, and of the health of towns
commission in 1842. Dr. Smith was appointed
in 1840 a commissioner to inquire into the
condition of children and young persons in the
mines and factories not readied by the factory j
act, and his reports induced the exclusion of
young children and women from mining la
bor. In 1847, as one of the metropolitan san
itary commissioners, he made a report on the
means requisite for the improvement of the
health of the metropolis, of which the result
was the public health act of 1848 and the es
tablishment of a general board of health. On
its abolition he received a pension of 300.
His principal works are: "Illustrations of the
Divine Government" (Glasgow, 1814; 5th ed.,
London, 1866); "Treatise on Fever" (1830),
long a standard with the profession ; and " The
Philosophy of Health" (2 vols. 12mo, 1835- 7;
12th ed., 1868).

SMITH, William, called the father of English
geology, born at Churchill, Oxfordshire, March
23, 1769, died in Northampton, Aug. 28, 1839.
In his youth he was a land surveyor and civil
engineer, and was led to geological studies by
his professional observations. He began in
1794 a "Map of the Strata of England and
Wales," and in 1799 published in tabular form

"The Order of the Strata and their Organic
Remains in the vicinity of Bath, examined
and proved prior to 1799." In 1801 a small
geological map of England was produced, and
in 1815 the " Geological Map of England and
Wales, with Part of Scotland," with a trea
tise. Between 1819 and 1824 he published
21 geological maps of English counties, col
ored to represent the strata, and some works
on organic remains. In 1824- 8 he lectured
on geology. In 1831 he received from the
geological society the Wollaston medal for his
discoveries in geology.

SMITH, William, an English scholar, born in
London in 1814. He was educated at Univer
sity college, London, and studied law, but be
came professor of the Greek, Latin, and Ger
man languages at the Independent collegiate
schools of Highbury and Homerton. In 1850
he was appointed professor of Greek and Latin
in New college, London, and in 1853 classi
cal examiner in the university of London.
In 1867 he became editor of the "Quarterly
Review." He has edited a "Dictionary of
Greek and Roman Antiquities " (8vo, 1842) ;
" Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography
and Mythology " (3 vols. 8vo, 1843- 9) ; " Dic
tionary of Greek and Roman Geography" (2
vols,, 1854- 7) ; and " Dictionary of the Bible "
(3 vols., 1860- 63). All these dictionaries have
been abridged by him for the use of schools.
The first and the abridged edition of the sec
ond and third combined have been edited by
Charles Anthon (New York, 1843 and 1850).
The " Dictionary of the Bible " has been
abridged by the Rev. S. W. Barnum (New
York, 1868), and edited and enlarged by Prof.
II. B. Hackett (4 vols., New York, 1868- 70).
He has also published a "History of Greece,"
and an abridgment of the same, an edition of
Gibbon s "Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire,"-and a "Student s Gibbon," a "Stu
dent s Hume," and "Student s Hallam s Mid
dle Ages," each in one volume; a Latin-Eng
lish dictionary (1855), based on Forcellini
and Freund ; with J. D. Hall, "A copious
and critical English-Latin Dictionary " (1870) ;
with George Grove, a "Historical Atlas of
Ancient Geography, Biblical and Classical "
(1873) ; and " Modern Geography for Schools "
(1873). In 1874 he was preparing "A Dic
tionary of Christian Antiquities" and "A Dic
tionary of Christian Biography and Doctrines."
He has also published Latin and Greek courses
for schools, and other educational works, of
which numerous editions have been issued.

SMITH, William Andrew, an American clergy
man, born in Fredericksburg, Va., Nov. 29,
1802, died in Richmond, March 1, 1870. In
1825 he was admitted to the Virginia confer
ence of the Methodist Episcopal church. In
1833 he became agent of Randolph Macon col
lege, after which he served as pastor of the
principal Methodist churches of Richmond,
Petersburg, Norfolk, and Lynchburg. He was
a member of every general conference from

SMITH

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 123

1832 to 1844, and also of the Louisville con
vention at which was organized the Methodist
Episcopal church, South, and of every general
conference of this body until his death. From
1846 to 1866 he was president of Randolph
Macon college, and during this period not only
filled the chair of moral science and presided
over the college, but lectured extensively in
Virginia and North Carolina. In the autumn
of 1866 he was transferred to the St. Louis
conference, and in 1869 was chosen president
of Central university, Missouri. lie was for
a time editor of the Richmond "Christian
Advocate," and published " Lectures on the
Philosophy of Slavery " (Richmond, 1860), a
defence of the institution as it existed in the
southern states.

SMITH, Sir William Sidney, an English admi
ral, born at Midgham, Sussex, in 1764, died in
Paris, May 26, 1840. He entered the navy at
the age of 12, and before he was 20 was post
captain, serving to the close of the American
war. He subsequently participated in the war
between Sweden and Russia as a captain in the
Swedish service. Afterward, in command of
a small English flotilla, he harassed French
commerce in the channel, but in April, 1796,
was captured by a superior force and confined
in the prison of the Temple in Paris. The
French government refused to exchange him,
but he escaped by French aid after an impris
onment of two years. In 1798 he was put in
command of a squadron to operate against the
French on the coast of Egypt, and conducted
the memorable defence oi St. Jean d Acre
against Gen. Bonaparte. He signed a treaty
with Gen. Kleber for the evacuation of Egypt
by the French, which was disavowed by the
British government ; and he continued to par
ticipate in the war until compelled by wounds
to return to England in 1801. He afterward
returned to service, and at the close of the
war received a pension of 1,000. In 1821 he
was made an admiral. He was an early advo
cate of the abolition of the slave trade. Me
moirs of his " Life and Times " were written
by Sir John Barrow (2 vols., London, 1847).

SMITHSON, James, an English physicist, foun
der of the Smithsonian institution, born about
1765, died in Genoa, June 27, 1829. He was
a natural son of Hugh, third duke of North
umberland, and Mrs. Elizabeth Macie, heiress
of the Hungerfords of Audley, and niece of
Charles, duke of Somerset. In 1786 he took
the honorary degree of A. M. at Oxford, under
the name of James Lewis Macie, but between
1791 and 1803 adopted the name of Smithson,
the family name of his father. At the univer
sity he distinguished himself as a chemist, and
was one of the first to adopt the method of
minute analysis. He became the friend and
associate of Wollaston, Banks, and Davy, and
in 1787 was elected a fellow of the royal soci
ety and contributed eight papers to its " Trans
actions." His papers subsequent to 1818 were
published in the "Annals of Philosophy" and

other scientific periodicals. At his death he
left about 200 manuscripts, probably intended
to form portions of a philosophical dictionary.
He bequeathed to his nephew 120,000, the
whole of his property, which in case of the
death of the latter without heirs was to go to
the government of the United States to found
at Washington, under the name of the Smith
sonian institution, an establishment for the
increase and diffusion of knowledge. (See
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.)

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, a scientific estab
lishment in Washington, D. C., organized by
act of congress in August, 1846, to carry into
effect the provisions of the will of James Smith-
son. The condition on which the bequest was
to take effect in favor of the United States
having occurred in 1835, by the death of a
nephew of the testator without issue, the Hon.
Richard Rush was sent to London to prose
cute the claim. On Sept. 1, 1838, he deposit
ed in the United States mint the proceeds in
English sovereigns, which amounted to $515,-
169. Suggestions were invited by the presi
dent as to the mode of disposing of the fund,
which was in the mean time lent to Arkansas
and other states to aid in internal improve
ments. The first section of the act of 1846,
passed after several years discussion of con
flicting plans, creates an " establishment " for
the increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men, to consist of the president and vice pres
ident of the United States, the several mem
bers of the cabinet, the chief justice of the
supreme court, the commissioner of the pat
ent office, and the mayor of Washington, du
ring their respective terms of office, with such
other persons as these may elect honorary
members of the institution. The second de
clares the original fund to be lent in perpetu
ity to the treasury of the United States at 6
per cent., payable semi-annually ; appropriates
the interest from Sept. 1, 1838, when the
money was received, to July 1, 1846, amount
ing to $242,129, or so much thereof as might
be necessary, for the erection of buildings
and other current incidental expenses ; and
provides that all expenditures and appropria
tions shall in future be made exclusively from
the accruing interest and not from the princi
pal of the fund. By the third section a board
of managers is constituted, under the name of
"Regents of the Smithsonian Institution," to
be composed of the vice president of the United
States, the chief justice, the mayor of Wash
ington, three members of the senate and three
of the house of representatives, to be select
ed by the president and speaker thereof, witli
six other persons not members of congress,
of whom two shall be resident in the city of
Washington and the other four inhabitants of
the United States, but no two of the same state.
This board is required to elect one of its
members as presiding officer, to be styled the
chancellor of the institution, and also a suitable
person to act as secretary both of the institu-

124

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

tion and the board. To this body is assigned
the duty of a general superintendence, and of
making an annual report to congress on the
operations, expenditures, and condition of the
institution. Sections 4, 5, and 6 assign a lo
cation and give power for "the erection of a
suitable building of sufficient size, with apart
ments for the reception and arrangement upon
a liberal scale of objects of natural history,
including a geological and mineralogical cab
inet ; also a chemical laboratory, a library,
a gallery of art, and the necessary lecture
rooms;" and provision is made that all objects
of art, natural history, &c., belonging to the
United States, with such as may be collected
from whatever source by the institution itself,
shall be deposited in the building. Section
7 devolves on the secretary the charge of the
building and property, and the duties of li
brarian and keeper of the museum, with the
power of employing assistants, subject to the
approval and removable at the discretion of

Smithsonian Institution.

the regents. Section 8 defines the visitorial
relations of the members of the establishment
toward the board of regents, and also limits
the expenditure for the library. Section 9
authorizes the managers to dispose of such
portion of the interest of the fund as the act
has not otherwise appropriated, in such man
ner as they shall deem best suited for the
promotion of the purpose of the testator. On
this clause the present organization of the in
stitution principally depends. In accordance
with the requirements of this act of congress,
a spacious building was erected, making pro
vision for a library, museum, gallery of art, and
lectures. The entire cost of the building, im
provement of the grounds, &c., has been up
ward of $500,000. A library was begun, con
sisting chiefly of transactions and proceedings
of learned societies obtained by exchange, and
of other works by purchase necessary for gen
eral use, which has become unequalled in this
country as a resource for scientific reference.

The museum, enriched by the fruits of govern
mental expeditions and the contributions of
individual explorers under the direction of the
institution, has attained a magnitude and com
pleteness seldom surpassed in collections for
the illustration of natural science. A gallery
of art was commenced, consisting principally
of Indian portraits, engravings, and such ar
ticles as were presented to the institution by
foreign governments ; and lectures, chiefly on
scientific subjects, were delivered up to 1865,
when they were abandoned in consequence of
a fire which destroyed the lecture room and
afforded an opportunity of making important
changes in the operations of the institution.
The library was incorporated with that of
congress, making the latter at once the largest
in the United States, to which the institution
annually contributes a copy of the transac
tions and proceedings of each of the principal
societies of the world, and in return receives
the use of all the books in the collection. Mr.
W. W. Corcoran of Washington
having founded a free public gal
lery of art, the institution has de
posited in it its art collection.
This is in accordance with the
general plan of- cooperating with
the different establishments in
the city of Washington, the in
stitution having transferred to
the department of agriculture its
botanical collections, and to the
army medical museum all speci
mens relating to medicine and
anatomy, while it receives in re
turn from these departments
everything which relates to nat
ural history and ethnology. The
expense of the care of the grounds
around the building, which at
first devolved upon the institu
tion, has been subsequently de
frayed by government, and con
gress has been induced to make an annual ap
propriation for the support of the museum of
$20,000. By these changes the burdens which
congress placed upon the institution have been
.removed, and an opportunity is afforded for
the expenditure of the income of the Smith-
son legacy, in strict conformity with the terms
of the will, for the "increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men." In December,
1840, the board of regents selected Prof. Jo
seph Henry, then of the college of New Jer
sey at Princeton, as their secretary, which
office he still holds (1876). His assistants are
Prof. Spencer F. Baird, formerly of Dickinson
college, Carlisle, Pa., in the natural history de
partment (appointed in 1850), and William J.
Ehees as chief clerk (appointed in 1853). The
board of regents from its composition has ne
cessarily changed to some extent almost every
year, and of its original members none now
remain. Soon after his appointment Prof.
Henry submitted to the board a "programme

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

SMOLENSK

125

of organization" of the proposed operations
under the 9th section, which was adopted, and
still constitutes the basis of management. He
suggested that men of talent and erudition
should be afforded the means of conducting
researches, and stimulated to exertion through
facilities of publication and occasional . com
pensation; and for its diffusion, the publica
tion of such works as, while adding materially
to the sum of human knowledge, would not
find a remunerative sale in the ordinary chan
nels of trade. He insisted that it ought to be
a rule of the institution to do nothing which
can be equally well done by any organization
or instrumentality already in action. The re
sults are as follows : 1. Researches. The claims
of different classes of scientific research to the
countenance and aid of the institution have
always been pressing and difficult of adjudica
tion ; yet a preference has been given to those
of widest influence and benefit to the race.
Ethnology was believed to be one of these,
and a valuable and expensive memoir on the
archaeology of the Indian tribes was the first
to receive assistance. In connection with this,
aid was extended to the compilation of a Da
kota grammar and dictionary, and a grammar
of the Yoruba language. The circulation of
these has led to other researches in ethnol
ogy and kindred branches of science, some
of which are receiving or will receive assis
tance. Astronomy has also engaged the ear
nest and continued efforts of the institution
for its promotion theoretically and practically,
and pecuniary assistance has been furnished
to expeditions undertaken with a view to as
tronomical and other observations. It has not
only furnished instruments for physical obser
vation to expeditions, but in most cases has
defrayed the expense of the reduction and
publication of the results. In meteorology it
had for many years 500 regular observers scat
tered over every part of the continent, and
accumulated data through this and other mea
sures steadily and systematically pursued for
developing the laws which govern the phe
nomena of the weather. In accordance with
the plan of cooperation adopted, this sys
tem has been transferred to the United States
signal service. The natural history, geogra
phy, climatology, geology, mineralogy, bot
any, and archaeology of this continent have
through its aid received a greater impulse, and
more material has been collected for increas
ing and diffusing the knowledge of them than
through all other instrumentalities during the
national existence. 2. Publications. These
are of three classes. 1st. " The Smithsoni
an Contributions to Knowledge," comprised
up to 1875 in 20 large quarto volumes, and in
many cases expensively illustrated. No me
moir is admitted into this series which rests
on unverified hypothesis, or which does not
offer some positive addition to the sum of ex
isting knowledge ; and the pretensions of each
in this respect are decided by submission to

the judgment of two or more arbiters of un
questionable competence and impartiality. The
volumes thus far issued form a series for the
publication of which no learned society in this
country possessed the means, and which have
only been equalled by foreign societies when
aided by their governments. They have been
distributed gratuitously among all the impor
tant libraries and learned associations of the
world, and have afforded the means of obtain
ing by exchange those invaluable sets of the
"Transactions" of foreign learned societies,
not otherwise to be found in this country. 2d.
The "Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections,"
an occasional series comprising meteorological
and physical tables, treatises on subjects of
practical or scientific interest, and manuals for
the collection and preservation of objects of
natural history, as well as methods for various
physical observations. This series includes 12
octavo volumes. 3d. The "Annual Reports"
to congress, which, besides a popular analysis
of the memoirs to be contained in the sev
eral forthcoming volumes of the " Contribu
tions," are accompanied by a synopsis of lec
tures and original or translated articles, which
introduce the student to information and topics
of discussion much above the range of those
usually presented even to the educated public.
These are printed at the expense of congress,
and are circulated through the members of
both houses, as well as by the institution it
self. 3. Exchanges. The institution now acts
as the principal, and is gradually becoming the
exclusive means of communication between
the literary and scientific associations of. the
old and the new world. 4. Scientific Corre
spondence. The correspondence of the Smith
sonian institution with all quarters of the
globe is vast and constantly increasing. Al
most every day brings narratives of real or
supposed discoveries which are referred to the
institution, inquiries on scientific topics of all
kinds, or unusual phenomena, etc. These let
ters are all answered. In 1805 a residuary
legacy of Smithson was received, amounting
to~$26,210 63 ; and in 1874 a bequest of $1,000
from James Hamilton of Carlisle, Pa. With
these, and savings of income and increased
value of investments, the total permanent
Smithson fund in the United States treasury,
drawing interest at G per cent, in gold, now
amounts to $051,000. There are besides de
preciated investments valued in January, 1875,
at $35,000, which with a cash balance on hand
of $15,909 99 made the total resources at that
time $701,909 99.

SMOKE TREE. See SUMACH.

SMOLENSK. I. A "W. government of Russia,
bordering on Tver, Moscow, Kaluga, Orel,
Tchernigov, Mohilev, Vitebsk, and Pskov; area,
21,637 sq. in. ; pop. in 1870, 1,140,015. The
surface is an elevated undulating plain, broken
occasionally by low hills. The chief rivers are
the Dnieper and Desna. It is interspersed with
numerous small lakes and morasses ; and there

126

SMOLLETT

are immense forests of excellent timber, which
abound with game. The soil is generally pro
ductive. Great numbers of cattle and of the
celebrated Lithuanian horses are raised. Much
attention is given to raising bees, and honey
and wax form important articles of export.
Iron, copper, and salt are found. Linen and
woollen goods are manufactured, and tine car
pets are exported. II. A city, capital of the
government, on both sides of the Dnieper, 230
m. W. S. W. of Moscow ; pop. in 1867, 22,977.
It is considered the key to Moscow, and is
strongly walled and fortified. It is the seat of
a bishop, and has a remarkable cathedral and
more than 20 other Greek churches. Its manu
factures consist chieliy of linen and woollen
cloths, leather, hats, and soap. It was impor
tant in the 9th century, and was long inde
pendent under its own princes. The Tartars,
Lithuanians,, and Russians afterward held it
successively; and in the 16th and 17th centu
ries it was the scene of conflicts between the
Poles and Russians, often changing masters,
but finally taken by the latter in 165-4. On
Aug. 17, 1812, was fought the battle of Smo
lensk, between the French and the Russians.
In the night the Russians abandoned the town,
and on the morning of Aug. 18 it was occu
pied by the French, who next marched upon
Moscow, leaving most of Smolensk in ashes.
The town was subsequently rebuilt and great
ly embellished.

SMOLLETT, Tobias George, a British author,
born in Dalquhurn house, parish of Oardross,
Dumbartonshire, in 1721, died at Monte Nero,
near Leghorn, Oct. 21, 1771. He was educated
at the grammar school of Dumbarton and at
the university of Glasgow, and was apprenticed
to a medical practitioner. When his appren
ticeship expired, in his 19th year, he set out
for London, carrying with him a tragedy en
titled "The Regicide," which he vainly at
tempted to produce on the stage. Thwarted
in his purpose, he accepted in 1741 the post of
surgeon s mate on an 80-gtin ship, and sailed
on the disastrous expedition against Cartagena,
which he has described in " Roderick Random,"
and with more detail in the " Compendium of
Voyages." He left the navy at Jamaica, and
while there became acquainted with Anne
Lascelles, whom he married in 1747. Return
ing to England in 1746, after the battle of Cul-
loden, he produced anonymously "The Tears
of Scotland," an ode lamenting the atrocities
of the royal army. He also published " Ad
vice, a Satire " (1746), and " Reproof, a Satire "
(1747), and wrote "Alceste, an Opera," for
the Covent Garden theatre, which was with
drawn in consequence of a quarrel with the
manager. In 1748 appeared the first of his
novels, "The Adventures of Roderick Ran
dom." lie made a short visit to Paris in 1750,
and in 1751 published "The Adventures of
Peregrine Pickle," which is disfigured by an
episode detailing the intrigues of Lady Vane,
for inserting which he is said to have received

a liberal reward from her. He now resumed
the medical profession, settled at Bath, and
published in 1752 "An Essay on the External
Use of Water." Obtaining no practice, he re
moved to Chelsea, and devoted himself again
to literary pursuits. In 1753 appeared his
"Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom."
In 1755 he published by subscription his trans
lation of " Don Quixote," more animated and
elegant but less accurate than that of Jarvis,
on which it was founded. Afterward he un
dertook the management of the "Critical Re
view." His irritable temper and capricious
tastes involved him in numerous vexations
and quarrels ; a contemptuous critique on the
"Rosciad" provoked against him the spleen
of Churchill; and in 1759 an attack on Ad
miral Knowles, one of the commanders at
Cartagena, caused him to be arraigned for
libel and sentenced to a fine of 100 and three
months imprisonment. He had meantime
produced a " Compendium of Authentic and
Entertaining Voyages " (7 vols., 1757), a come
dy entitled "The Reprisals," which Garrick
brought out on the stage, and a " Complete
History of England" (4 vols., 1757- 8), written
in 14 months, which became very popular.
While in prison he wrote " The Adventures of
Sir Launcelot Greaves," a sort of travesty of
"Don Quixote," which appeared in the "Brit
ish Magazine " in 1760- 1 61. He afterward con-
.tributed the accounts of France, Italy, and
Germany to the "Modern Universal History,"
and continued his " Complete History of Eng
land," bringing the narrative down from 1748
to 1764. The whole work was in 16 vols.
8vo, of which only the last 5 vols., forming
a continuation to Hume, are how read. On
the accession of George III. he undertook to
defend the administration of Lord Bute in a
weekly paper entitled " The Briton." He was
effectively and abusively answered by Wilkes
in his "North Briton," and his services being
unpaid, and his side most unpopular, he with
drew from the contest. His health was shat
tered by this discomfiture, by his labors on
a translation of the works of Voltaire and
on a compilation entitled "The Present State
of All Nations," and by the death of his
only child; and in 1763 he went abroad for
two years. In 1766 he published " Travels
through France and Italy," which was ridi
culed by Sterne in his "Sentimental Jour
ney." On returning from Italy he visited
Scotland, resided at Bath during the following
year, and there wrote " The Adventures of an
Atom," a political satire, in which he assailed
Lord Bute and the earl of Chatham. His
broken health obliged him again to seek a
milder climate, and he went to Italy in 1770,
beginning on his way to write "The Expedi
tion of Humphrey Clinker," which appeared
in 1771, just before his death. His life has
been written by Thomas Roscoe, Dr. Moore,
and others. One of the best editions of his
works appeared in 1873 (8 vols. 8vo, London).

SMYRNA

127

SMYRNA (Turk. Ismir), a town of Asiatic |
Turkey, capital of the vilayet of Aidin, near
the head of the gulf of Smyrna, on the W.
coast of Asia Minor, 210 m. S. "W. of Constan
tinople; pop. (according to the Austrian con
sul general Scherzer s estimate in 1873) about
155,000, including 75,000 Greeks, 45,000 Turks,
15,000 Jews, 10,000 Roman Catholics, 6,000
Armenians, and 4,000 Europeans and Ameri
cans. Another estimate places the population
at 180,000. Owing to the large preponderance
of the Christians, it is called by the Turks the
Giaour city. It stands upon a plain between
the ancient Mt. Pagus and the sea, part of it
on the slope of the hill. The streets are gen
erally narrow and dirty. An interesting local
ity is the so-called caravan bridge, with adjoin
ing grounds for the accommodation of camels
during the night. Along the shore and in its
vicinity reside the Christians, excepting the

Armenians, whose quarter is partly on the
lower slopes of the hill, the upper slopes being
occupied by the Turks ; and in the region be
tween the Armenians and Turks live the Jews,
who are chiefly of Spanish descent and mostly
poor. On the summit of the hill is a castle.
A quay is in course of construction. Smyrna
contains a governor s palace, churches for va
rious denominations, a convent, and several
schools, that of the Prussian deaconesses being
the best. A large Roman Catholic cathedral is
in course of construction. An archaeological
school was projected in 1874 for promoting
excavations at the site of ancient Ephesus, ad
joining a station on the Smyrna and Aidin
railway. Another line to Ala-Shehr (the an
cient Philadelphia) was extended from Kas-
saba in 1875. A Turkish governor general,
and Greek, Armenian, and Roman Catholic
archbishops reside in the city ; and there are

Smyrna.

American and other missionaries. In the ad
joining villages of Burnabad and Budja are
fine villas. Smyrna is an important station
for steamers and a great commercial empo
rium ; the harbor is magnificent, and at all
times crowded with shipping. The entrances
in 1873 were 630 steamers and 785 sailing
vessels, tonnage 659,247; clearances, 627 and
693, tonnage 648,579. The imports, chiefly
cotton and other manufactured goods, amount
ed to $23,332,780, and the exports, including
cotton, figs, raisins, opium, sponges, and valo-
nia, to $20,794,332. The shipments of cotton,
now so important, were insignificant previous
te the American civil war. In 1873- 4 the im
ports from the United States, chiefly petroleum,
were valued at $300,000, and the exports to the
United States, including opium, figs, liquorice
root, wool, and rags, at $2,234,344. Smyrna
was probably colonized by ^Eolians from Cyme,
VOL. xv. 9

but early fell into the hands of the Colopho-
nians, and in the 7th century B. C. formed the
13th city of the Ionian league. According to
Strabo, it was destroyed by Sadyattes of Lydia
about 627, and remained in ruins for several
centuries, It was rebuilt and enlarged by An-
tigonus and Lysimachus, successors of Alex
ander the Great, and became one of the first
cities of that era. One of the seven churches
mentioned in the book of Revelation was at
Smyrna, and Polycarp was its first bishop.
The town was destroyed by an earthquake in
A. D. 178, and rebuilt by Marcus Aurelius. It
afterward had many changes of fortune ; and
being occupied by a Seljuk chieftain about the
end of the llth century, it was nearly destroyed
by the Byzantine fleet. It was again rebuilt,
and subsequently the Genoese held it for a
long period. In the latter part of the 14th
century it was taken by the Turks, in whose

128

SMYTH

SNAIL

possession it ultimately remained, after being
captured in 1402 by Tamerlane. Among its
many calamities in modern times were the
conflagration of 1841 and the earthquake of
1846. In July, 1853, Martin Koszta was de
livered here from the hands of the Austrians
by Capt. Ingraham. See Scherzer s La pro
vince de Smyrne (1875).

SMYTH, a S. W. county of Virginia, bounded
S. E. by the Iron mountain range and drained
by the head streams of Holston river; area,
about 500 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 8,898, of whom
1,244 were colored. The surface is an ele
vated valley between the Iron mountain range
and Walker s mountain; the soil is very fer
tile. Limestone, gypsum, and salt are found.
It is traversed by the Atlantic, Mississippi, and
Ohio railroad. The chief productions in 1870
were 44,681 bushels of wheat, 96,829 of Indian
corn, 66,323 of oats, 3,327 tons of hay, 1,575
Ibs. of tobacco, 10,514 of wool, 64,910 of but
ter, 26,820 of cheese, 3,113 of flax, and 9,897
of honey. There were 1,595 horses, 1,846
milch cows, 3,193 other cattle, 4,553 sheep,
and 4,059 swine. Capital, Marion.

SMYTH, Thomas, an American clergyman,
born in Belfast, Ireland, June 14, 1808, died
in Charleston, S. C., Aug. 20, 1873. He was
educated in Belfast and London, and in 1830
entered the theological seminary at Princeton,
N. J. From 1832 till his death he was pastor
of the second Presbyterian church in Charles
ton, S. C. Among the numerous works of Dr.
Smyth are: " Lectures on. the Prelatical Doc
trine of Apostolic Succession " (Boston, 1841);
" The Ecclesiastical Catechism " (1841) ; " Ec
clesiastical Republicanism" (1843); "Presby
tery and not Prelacy the Scriptural and Primi
tive Polity " (1843) ; " Calvin Defended " (Phil
adelphia, 1844); "The Rite of Confirmation"
(1845); "The Name, Nature, and Functions
of Ruling Elders " (1845) ; " The History,
Character, and Results of the Westminster
Assembly of Divines" (New York, 1847);
" The Unity of the Human Races proved to be
the Doctrine of Scripture, Reason, and Sci
ence" (1850); "Nature and Claims of Young
Men s Christian Associations " (Philadelphia,
1857) ; " Faith the Principle of Missions "
(1857); "The Well in the Valley" (1857); and
"Obedience the Life of Missions" (1860).

SMYTH. I. William Henry, a British naval
officer, born in Westminster, Jan. 21, 1788,
died near Aylesbury, Sept. 9, 1865. He en
tered the navy in 1805, and rendered impor
tant aid in the defence of Cadiz in 1810. He
became lieutenant in 1813, and soon afterward
was appointed to a command in the flotilla
under Sir Robert Hall detailed for the defence
of Sicily. By order of the lords of the ad
miralty he made an elaborate survey of Sicily
and the adjacent islands, which occupied him
for several years, and resulted in the publica
tion by the admiralty of an atlas of Sicily. As
an accompaniment to this, he published a " Me
moir descriptive of the Resources, Inhabitants,

and Hydrography of Sicily and its Islands,
interspersed with Antiquarian and other No
tices" (4to, 1824). He afterward completed
the survey of the shores of the Adriatic, and
was employed in 1823 and 1824 in a survey of
the coasts of Sardinia, and published a " Sketch
of the present State of the Island of Sardinia "
(8vo, 1828). He attained the rank of post
captain in February, 1824, and settled soon
after at Bedford, where he built a small ob
servatory, and in 1844 published a " Cycle of
Celestial Objects, for the use of Naval, Mili
tary, and Private Astronomers " (2 vols. 8vo).
In 1853 he attained the rank of rear admiral,
and in 1857 he was appointed hydrographer
to the admiralty. His most valuable work is
entitled " The Mediterranean, a Memoir, Physi
cal, Historical, and Nautical" (8vo, 1854), in
which he gives in systematic and condensed
form the results of his numerous surveys and
observations on the physical geography of that
sea. He also wrote " Sidereal Chromatics "
(1864), and "The Sailor s Word Book " (1867).
II. Charles Piazzi, son of the preceding, has held
the post of astronomer royal for Scotland.
In 1856 he transported a large collection of
meteorological, magnetical, and astronomical
instruments to the peak of Teneriffe, where he
selected two stations, one 8,840, and the other
10,700 ft. above the sea, and obtained impor
tant results detailed in his "Teneriffe, an As
tronomer s Experiment " (London, 1858). He
has since written "Three Cities in Russia"
(1862) ; " Our Inheritance in the Great Pyra
mid " (1864; new ed., 1874) ; " Life and Work
at the Great Pyramid" (1867); "On the An
tiquity of Intellectual Man, from a Practical
and Astronomical Point of View" (1868) ; and
"Equal Surface Projection for Maps of the
World" (1871). He maintains that the pyra
mids are memorials of a system of weights
and measures intended to be perpetual.

SNAIL, the common name of the helicida, a
large family of gasteropod mollusks, terrestrial
and air-breathing. The number known is now
so large that the treatment of the subfamilies
and genera would require a volume. Restrict
ing the name heticidcB to such as have a well
developed external spiral shell, the snails may
be characterized as animals breathing air by
means of branchial vessels spread like a net
work over the internal walls of a cavity in the
anterior part of the body, covered by the shell,
and communicating with the atmosphere by a
small valvular opening on the right side ; they
have four retractile tentacles, the upper two
the largest and having eyes at the apex ; there
is a dentated horny jaw on the upper lip,
which is opposed by the tongue; the gullet
is wide, with large white salivary glands on
its sides, and the liver is well developed ; the
whole body is very glutinous ; the locomotion
is slow, by means of the ventral foot ; they
are hermaphrodite, with reciprocal impregna
tion. The shells are always external, vary
much in form, and contain the entire animal ;

SNAIL

SNAKE RIVER

129

they have no operculum, the opening during
hibernation being closed by a secretion from
the mantle, which hardens into what is called
the epiphragm ; the shell is generally turned
from left to right, the free edge to the right,
but they are often reversed ; the newly hatched
young resemble their parents, and have a shell
of one whorl and a half. They are sensitive
to cold, and like moist places; the sense of
touch is acute, especially in the tentacles, and
they appear to have a sense of smell ; they are
nocturnal, and feed principally on plants, though
sometimes devouring each other. The repro
ductive season is toward the end of spring;
the eggs, to the number of 30 to 100, are de
posited in moist places, in natural or artificial
holes ; the young come out in 20 to 30 days.
Snails are distributed very widely, from the
northern limit of trees to Tierra del Fuego,
from the hot and moist plains to a height of
11,000 ft. on mountains; some are cosmopo
lite, ranging wherever their food is found, and
others are restricted within narrow limits.
About 1,500 species have been described, some
of which from their voracity are very injurious
to vegetation, and some useful to man as food;
they are very tenacious of life, and able to re
sist long droughts. A specimen of the desert
snail of Egypt (helix desertorum), which re
mained dormant in the British museum four
years, afterward lived in the possession of one
of the curators more than two years. The
genus helix (Lam.) is the type of the family.
The Eoman or vineyard snail (II. pomatia,
Linn.) is a large species, reddish brow r n with
paler bands ; these snails were used as food by
the ancient Romans, who reared them in parks,
and fattened them on cooked meat and flour,
obtaining them from the islands of the Medi
terranean ; they are still eaten in many coun
tries of Europe, especially by Roman Catholics
during Lent, being considered as fish ; great
numbers are eaten in France ; they are also
recommended as an ingredient in soups for con
sumptive persons. The reproductive internal
organs, in the apex of the shell, consist of many
parallel cooca, each of which has an external
layer producing eggs, and an internal sac pro
ducing semen ; the apparatus is very complex.
The H. aspersa (Linn.), or common garden
snail, originally from Europe, but now natu
ralized in most parts of the globe, is also used
as food, when boiled in milk, for consumptives.
These species w T hen abundant are very destruc
tive, laying waste whole gardens in a single
night, always attacking the tenderest and most
succulent plants ; besides their natural ene
mies, mammals and birds, great numbers are
killed by fires, inundations, sudden changes of
temperature, felling of forests, cultivation of
the land, and by hogs and poultry following
the plough ; the remedies for their depreda
tions are the same as for the slugs. The largest
of the American snails is the H. albolabris
(Say), of a yellowish horn color, with white,
broadly reflected lip ; the shell has five or six

whorls, with minute revolving lines and the
umbilicus closed ; in October they cease feed
ing, and select a place under some log or stone,
where they fix themselves for the winter,

American Snail (Helix albolabris).

mouth upward. For details on the American
species, see Dr. A. Binney s " Terrestrial Air-
breathing Mollusks of the United States" (3
vols., Boston, 1851, and vol. iv., a continuation
by G. W. Binney, Boston, 1859).

SNAKE. See SEBPENT.

SNARE BIRD. See DAETEE.

SNARE RIVER (also called Lewis fork or
river, Saptin river, and Shoshone river), a
tributary of the Columbia, rising in the Rocky
mountains in N. W. Wyoming, near the sources
of the Yellowstone and Madison rivers, at an
elevation of about 8,000 ft. above the sea,
about lat. 44 K, Ion. 110 30 W. It flows
1ST. W. to the junction of Lewis fork, the out
let of Shoshone and Lew r is lakes ; then S., ex
panding in its course into Jackson lake, and
again N. W. to the junction of Henry s fork (a
total course of nearly 200 m.) in Idaho, about
lat. 43 15 , Ion. 112. Henry s fork rises in
Henry lake (6,443 ft. above the sea, about lat.
44 30 , Ion. 111 30 ) in E. Idaho, on the border
of Montana, near the head w r aters of Jefferson
river, and has a S. course. From the junction
the Snake describes a curve of more than 350
m. through S. Idaho, flowing S. W. and then
N. W., and strikes the Oregon border in about
lat. 44 40 ; it then flows K about 200 m.,
separating Idaho from Oregon and Washington
territory, when in about lat. 46 30 it turns
W. into Washington, and after a further course
of about 150 m. falls into the Columbia about
20 m. above the Oregon boundary, about lat.
46 15 , Ion. 119. Its total length is upward
of 900 m. Steamers ascend to Lewiston on
the Idaho border ; navigation is then impeded
for more than 100 m. by shallows and rapids,
above which the river is again navigable for
150 or 200 m. In its course through S. Idaho,
the Snake flows through a vast canon, vary
ing in depth from 100 to 1,000 ft. ; many of
its tributaries sink, and, passing under the
strata of lava, fall from the sides of the canon
into the main stream; and here occur the
American, Shoshone, and Salmon falls, for an
account of which see IDAHO, vol. ix., p. 167.
Its chief tributaries on the right bank are the
Malade from the north ; the Boise, Payette,
Weiser, Salmon, and Clearwater (which enters
at the point where the Snake leaves the Idaho
boundary) from the east ; and the Palouse (in

130

SNAZEBOOT

Washington) from the north. On the left
bank it receives among others the Blackfoot,
Port Neuf, Bannack, Raft, Goose, Salmon, and
Bruneau, in Idaho ; the Owyhee, Malheur,
Burnt, and Powder, in Oregon ; and the Grande
Eonde, just within Washington territory.

SNAKEROOT, a common name, usually with a
prefix, for several plants which are botanical-
ly very distinct, applied to them because they
were supposed, especially by the Indians, to be
efficacious against the poisonous bites of ser
pents. 1. Seneca snakeroot (officinal as sene
ga) is polygala senega. The genus polygala
(Greek Tro/lvf, much, and yd/la, milk, as some
species were formerly supposed to increase the
secretion of milk) has about 200 species, widely
distributed, about 25 of which belong to this
country, and a few showy exotics are grown
as greenhouse plants. The flowers have the
general appearance of those of the leguminosce,
but their structure is quite different and is dif-

Seneca Snakeroot (Polygala Senega). Part of Eoot of
natural size.

ficult to describe; two of the five sepals are
colored and petal-like, while the three proper
petals are united, the middle one keeled- shaped
and often bearing a crest ; the six or eight sta
mens are united by their filaments in two sets,
the anthers one-celled and opening by a hole
at the top ; pod small and two-seeded. Poly
gala polygama and P. pauciflora, both pretty
native species, produce, besides ordinary flow
ers, numerous fertile flowers on short under
ground runners. P. senega, the thick, hard,
and knotted rootstocks of which are the seneca
snakeroot of the shops, is found from New
England southward and westward ; the stems
are about a foot high; leaves lanceolate, and
the white flowers in close terminal spikes. The
dried root has a peculiar odor and an acrid
taste when chewed ; it contains a principle
called senegine, probably the same that has
been called polygalic acid, and closely allied to
saponine. The drug was first introduced into

Europe as the Seneca rattlesnake root about
1734, and in 1749 Linnaeus wrote a dissertation
upon the drug. It is a stimulant expectorant,
and in large doses emetic and diaphoretic ;
it is chiefly used
in the compound
sirup of squills,
or hive syrup. 2.
Virginia snake-
root, as found in
the shops, is the
root of aristolo-
chia serpentaria
and its varieties.
The genus aris-
tolochia is apet-
alous, and com
prises low herbs
and climbing
vines; the tubu
lar calyx is often
curiously bent
and inflated, and
in some of the hot
house exotic spe
cies presents some

Of the Strangest Virginia Snakeroot (Aristolochia
forms to be found serpentaria).

among flowers.

The best known species is A. sipho, which,
under the name of Dutchman s pipe (from the
shape of the flowers), is often cultivated as a
vine for verandas. The medicinal species has
a weak stem about a foot high, usually heart-
shaped leaves, and a few inconspicuous flowers
close to the root, the calyx tube being curved
like the letter S. It is most abundant in the
middle states and southward, but like most
medicinal plants has become rare in the older
states. The dried root, when bruised, has a
marked odor and taste, which have been com
pared to camphor, valerian, and turpentine
combined ; it contains an essential oil and a
resin. Virginia snakeroot had a high reputa
tion with the Indians as a cure for snake bites,
and was early introduced into England as a
remedy for the bite of reptiles and rabid dogs,
and was officinal in the London Pharmacopoeia
of 1650. It is now used only as a stimulant
tonic and diaphoretic, and has been employed
in the treatment of intermittent fevers. 3.
Canada snakeroot, also called wild and Indian
ginger, is asarum Canadense. The genus asa-
rum, with the preceding one, belongs tc the
family of aristolochiacece, and consists of low
stemless herbs, from the creeping rootstocks
of which rise usually one or two heart-shaped
leaves on long petioles, and a short-peduncled
flower, which appears in early spring ; the
regular calyx has three equal lobes, brownish
purple, enclosing 12 stamens and the large pis
tils. A. Canadense has broadly heart-kidney-
shaped deciduous leaves, in pairs, with the
flower between them. The dried rootstock is
in contorted pieces about the size of a quill,
with an odor and a taste somewhat between

SNAKES

SNEEZING

131

those of ginger and cardamoms ; it contains an
essential oil ; it is an aromatic stimulant, and
is sometimes used to modify the action of other
medicines ; in domestic practice a tincture is
used in colic, and in some parts of the country
it is made to serve the purpose of ginger in
cookery; it is one of the things chewed to
conceal a bad breath. Two evergreen species
are found from Virginia southward : A. Vir-
ginicum, with small round-heart-shaped, and
A. arifolium, with large halberd-shaped leaves;
both possess similar aromatic rootstocks, and
the leaves of all three, when dried, powdered,
and used as snuff, are said to have similar
properties with the foreign A. Europaum, or
asurabacca, in producing sneezing and a copious
flow of mucus from the nose. Black snake-
root is sanicula Canadensis and S. Marilan-
dica. Button snakeroot is eryngium yucccefo-
lium ; the same name is also given to some

Canada Snakeroot (Asarum Canadense).

species of liatris. White snakeroot is eupato-
rium ageratoides. Snakehead is chelone glabra.

SHAKES, a family of American Indians. See
SHOSHONES.

SNAPPING TURTLE (cJielydra serpentina,
Schweig. ; genus clielonura, Fleming), an
American species of fresh-water chelonians,
characterized by a large head, with both jaws
strongly hooked and two barbels under the
chin, short and pointed snout, the nostrils
near together, and the eyes large, prominent,
and far forward; the sternum is small, cru
ciform, immovable, and covered with twelve
plates and three supplemental ones ; the cara-
p#ce oblong, depressed, more or less tricari-
nated, deeply notched behind with three points
on each side of the central notch; the neck
long and thick, with a warty skin ; tail very
long, surmounted by a scaly or tuberculated
crest; the anterior limbs with five nails, the
posterior with four; the skin of the limbs
above and below scaly. The head may be in

great part retracted within the shell, whence
it can be very suddenly extended by the long
and extensile neck, but the limbs and feet are
mostly exposed. The shell is dusky above,

Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina).

and the lower parts yellowish ; it attains a
length of more than 4 ft. and a weight of 50
Ibs. ; it prefers sluggish and deep water in
ponds or rivers, keeping principally at the bot
tom ; it is very voracious, and feeds on fish,
reptiles, and such aquatic birds as come within
its reach, especially young ducks and goslings
and wounded birds ; it has been known to at
tack man, and is not unfrequently caught with
hooks; its flesh is much esteemed for soups,
though in the old animals it has a musky odor.
It goes far from water to deposit its eggs;
though an excellent swimmer, it is awkward
on land, walking slowly, with the head, neck,
and tail extended, raised on the legs like an
alligator, whence it is called by the negroes
alligator cooter ; it is very savage if attacked,
raising itself with such quickness on its legs as
to elevate the whole body from the ground and
enable it to make considerable hops, snapping
with great ferocity and quickness at any object
coming within reach of its long neck ; its bite
is severe and tenacious. It is distributed from
Maine to Georgia, and westward to the Missis
sippi, being replaced further west by the C.
Temminckii (Troost; genus gypochelys, Ag.),
characterized by a larger triangular head,
rougher shell, and neck and limbs covered
with spiny warts. In the northern states it
lays its eggs, 20 to 40, between June 10 and
25, generally in the forenoon, and in captiv
ity a month later ; it excavates a hole at first
directly down and then laterally, so that the
widest part, where the nest is, is on one side ;
sometimes several holes are dug, before one is
found to suit; the females lose their shyness
at this time, and smooth the earth over with
care after the eggs are deposited. In some
parts of the country, the soft-shelled turtles
(trionycidce) are called snapping turtles. The
eggs in these species are nearly globular, about
an inch in diameter, white, and with hard shells.
SNEEZING, a modification of the ordinary
respiratory movements, accompanied by a vio
lent expiratory effort, sending forth a blast of
air from the lungs intended to expel some irri
tating substance from the nasal air passages.
It differs from coughing in the communication
between the larynx and mouth being partly or
wholly cut off by the drawing together of the

132

SNELL

SNIPE

sides of the soft palate over the back of the
tongue, so that the blast of air, by a convul
sive movement, passes through the nose with
more or less noise instead of through the
mouth. It may be excited by acrid vapors,
irritating liquids or solids, diseased secretions,
or the simple entrance of air when the Schnei-
derian membrane is peculiarly irritable.

SNELL, WHIebrord, a Dutch mathematician,
born in Leyden in 1591, died there, Oct. 31,
1626. He studied law, but devoted himself
principally to mathematics. When 17 years
old he published an essay in which he endeav
ored to restore a lost treatise of Apollonius.
He travelled in Germany, and won the friend
ship and esteem of Kepler. In 1613 he suc
ceeded his father as professor in the univer
sity of Leyden. He was the first to make a
trigonometrical measurement of an arc of a
meridian, and thence to calculate the size of
the earth. His result was erroneous, on ac
count of the imperfection of the instruments
then in use; but he himself discovered the
errors. He also discovered the law of the re
fraction of light (see LIGHT, vol. x., p. 438),
and improved the methods of approximating
to the ratio of the radius to the circumfer
ence of the circle. His most important work
is Eratosthenes Batavus, sive de Terra Am
bitus vera Quantitate (Leyden, 1617).

SNELLING, Josiah, an American soldier, born
in Boston in 1782, died in Washington, D. C.,
Aug. 20, 1828. He was appointed a lieutenant
in the 4th infantry in 1808, became captain in
1809, distinguished himself in the battle of
Tippecanoe in 1811, and was made brevet ma
jor for services at the battle of Brownstown,
Aug. 9, 1812. In 1814 he was made inspector
general with the rank of colonel, and was
prominent in the affair of Lyon s creek. In
1819 he was made colonel of the 5th infantry.
He was a witness against Hull at his trial, and
wrote "Remarks on General William Hull s
Memoirs of the Campaign of the Northwest
ern Army, 1812 " (8vo, Detroit, 1825).

SNETHEN, Nicholas, an American clergyman,
born at Fresh Pond (now Glen Cove)J Long
Island, N. Y., Nov. 15, 1769, died in Princeton,
Ind., May 30, 1845. In 1794 he entered the
itinerant ministry of the Methodist Episcopal
church, travelled and preached for four years
in Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine, labored
at Charleston, S. C., for a year or more, and-
thence was ordered, to Baltimore, where he
attended the general conference in May, 1800,
and took a prominent part in favor of limiting
the episcopal prerogative, a delegated general
conference (his plan for which was finally
adopted in 1808), and a preachers anti-slavery
tract society, and against the future admission
of any slaveholder into the church. He after
ward travelled with Bishop Asbury as his pri
vate secretary. In 1804- 6 he was stationed in
New York, whence he removed to his farrf on
Longanore, Frederick co., Md. By his mar
riage ho became the holder of slaves, whom

he emancipated as soon as the law would per
mit (1820). From 1809 to 1814 he was again
an itinerant, and was stationed successively in
Baltimore, Georgetown, Alexandria, and on
the circuit of his farm residence. While in
Georgetown he was elected chaplain to con
gress. In 1829 he removed to Indiana. He
was the first to introduce camp meetings into
Maryland and New York. In 1821 he began
to write in favor of lay representation. The
refusal of this right by the general conference
in 1828, and the expulsion from the church of
many of its advocates, led to the formation
of the Methodist Protestant church, in which
Mr. Snethen bore a prominent part, and in
connection with which he continued to travel
and preach after his removal to the west till
a short time before his death. He published
"Lectures on Preaching the Gospel" (1822),
"Essays on Lay Representation" (1835), and
"Lectures on Biblical Subjects" (1836). A
volume of his sermons, edited by Worthing-
ton G. Snethen, was published in 1846.

SNEYDERS. See SXYDEES.

SNIPE, a group of wading birds, of the sub
family scolopacincB. It is characterized by a
long, straight, slender bill, obtuse and flexible,
covered with a soft, sensitive skin, abundantly
supplied with nerves towasd the end; the
upper mandible the longest, somewhat bent
down at the end, and grooved on the sides, in
which the nostrils are placed ; the tongue long,
slender, and pointed at the end, the oesophagus
narrow, and the stomach very muscular ; eyes
far back in the head; wings moderate and
pointed ; tail short and rounded ; legs short,
feathered lower down than in most waders ;
hind toe small, elevated, but reaching the
ground, the anterior long and slender, and free
except in the genus macroramphu$. Snipes
are migratory and small, going north to breed ;
they frequent marshy places and the margins
of rivers and ponds, where they probe the soft
mud perpendicularly with the bill in search of
worms, insects, and Iarva3 ; the nest is a slight
hollow on the ground, lined with grass and
sedge, and the eggs, usually four, are placed
with the pointed end inward ; the young are
able to leave the nest as soon as hatched ; the
flesh is considered a great delicacy. The
subfamily includes the genera macroramphus
(Leach), gallinago (Leach), rJiyncJicea (Cuv.),
zcolopax (Linn.), and pMloliela (Gray), of
which the last two will be noticed under WOOD
COCK. In macrorampJius the wings are long
and pointed, with the first and second quills
equal ; the tarsi are longer than the middle toe,
which is united to the base of the outer by a
short web. The species are found in Europe
and North America, occurring in large flocks
near the sea, feeding on small mollusks, worms,
and insects; they fly rapidly and irregularly
with a quivering whistle. The gray or red-
breasted snipe (M. griseus, Leach) is about 10
in. long and 18 in. in alar extent, the bill 2} in.,
and weighs 3J oz. ; the prevailing colors above

SNIPE

SNOEEI STUELASON

133

are dark ashy, pale reddish, and black, with
rump and upper tail coverts white; under
parts pale ferruginous, with spots and bands
of brownish blacl^ ; the quills brownish black,

Wilson s Snipe (Gallinago Wilsonii).

the shaft of the first primary white ; the
young are dull white below, marked with ashy ;
the plumage is more gray in winter, and more
red in summer. It occurs over temperate
North America, in large flocks, occasionally
going inland in autumn on the return from
the north, where it goes to breed ; the flight
is rapid and strong, accompanied by a single
mellow " weet ;" the call note is a whistle ; the
flesh is not so good as that of the common
American snipe. In gallinago the tarsus is
shorter than the middle toe, and there is no web.
The American or Wilson s snipe (G. Wilsonii,
Bonap.) is about 10-J- in. long, with an alar ex
tent of 17 in., the bill 2|- in., and weighs 3 oz. ;
above the feathers are brownish black, spotted
and edged with yellowish brown or ashy white ;
a black line from base of bill over top of head ;

Common European Snipe (Qallinago media).

throat and neck before reddish ashy, under
parts white, quills and tail like back, the latter
widely tipped with bright rufous, with a nar
row subterminal black band. It occurs over

temperate North America, going in summer as
far as Nova Scotia, where it breeds in June in
the elevated moss-covered marshes ; the eggs
are yellowish olive, spotted with brown ; they
return to the south in October, and are very
fond of the rice fields ; they rarely visit the sea
shore, and never the interior of woods; the
cry resembles the syllables "wau-aik." They
are fond of leeches and other food not gen
erally coveted by man, though most epicures,
ignorant of this, are in the habit of cooking and
eating them, contents of intestines included.
The great or double snipe of Europe (G. major,
Steph.) is 11 or 12 in. long, varied with black
and bright reddish above, the red arranged
longitudinally, and whitish red below ; the
shaft of the first quill is whitish ; it inhabits
N. Europe. The common snipe of Europe (G,
media, Steph.) is 10 or 11 in. long, with two
blackish longitudinal bands on the head, the
neck spotted with brown and fawn color, the
mantle blackish with two longitudinal fawn-
colored bands, the wings brown waved with
gray, quill shafts brown, and lower parts white
waved with blackish on the flanks ; it flies very
high, with a shrill cry ; from its wavering-
flight it is generally difficult to shoot; its flesh
is delicious. In rhynchcea the bill is shorter
and more curved, the first three quills equal
and longest, the tertials as long as the quills,
and the tail very short ; the species are adorned
with bright yellow ocellated spots on the quills
and tail ; they occur at the Cape of Good Hope,
in the East Indies, and Australia. The Cape
snipe (J?. Capensis, Cuv.) is 10 in. long, varie
gated with black and cinereous ; around the
eye, a little way down the neck, pectoral band,
and abdomen, white.

SNOHOMISH, a N. W. county of Washington
territory, bordering W. on Puget sound and
E. on the Cascade mountains, and drained by
several streams; area, 1,500 sq. m.; pop. in
1870, 599. Extensive forests skirt the streams,
and lumber is the chief source of wealth. Coal
is found in various places. Along the sound
are extensive cranberry marshes, and in the
interior large tracts adapted to agriculture.
The chief productions in 1870 were 1,290 bush
els of oats, 1,415 of barley, 11,680 of potatoes,
and 857 tons of hay. The value of live stock
was $25,305. Capital, Snohomish City.

SNORRI STURLASON, or Snorre Stnrluson, an
Icelandic historian, born on the shores of
Hvammsfiord, a bay on the W. coast of Ice
land, in 1178, murdered at Eeykholt, Sept. 22,
1241. He was of distinguished family, was
carefully educated, and became proficient in
Greek and Latin. Though originally poor, he
became by marriage the wealthiest man in
Iceland ; and his legal attainments, bravery,
and eloquence obtained for him the highest po
sitions in the field and in the althmg or legis
lature. His residence was a fortified strong
hold, and he appeared in the national assembly
with a retinue of hundreds of armed follow
ers. Traces of his sumptuous abode at Eeyk-

134

SNOW

FI:J.

holt still exhibit stone structures of finished
elegance for hot baths, supplied from boiling
springs through an aqueduct of hewn stone
500 ft. in length. On being elected to the
chief magistracy, he gave proof of great judi
cial learning. In 1213 he produced an ode to
a Norwegian warrior, which
was requited by liberal pres
ents. This poem was fol
lowed by others, one of them
composed in honor of the
king of Norway, Haco V.
On a visit to Norway he was
made an honorary marshal
of the court, and upon re-
embarking for Iceland was
loaded with rich presents. Faction and disor
der prevailed throughout Iceland, and the king
of Norway seized the moment to advance
his designs for the subjugation of the island.
Snorri became involved in domestic feuds, and
in 1237 appeared in Norway as a fugitive. The
king created him a jarl, but soon became hos
tile to him, and Snorri returned to Iceland.
Emissaries were employed
to seize him and send him
in irons to Norway, but he
was murdered at Reykholt by
his son-in-law, Gissur. II is
most .important work is the
Ileimskringla, or " Chroni
cle of the Norwegian Kings."
It is probable that in this
work he made large use of
the writings of Ari Erode,
fragments of whose Scandi
navian histories, composed a
century earlier, still remain.
The Younger Edda also bears
the name of Snorri Sturla-
son alone, but it was gradu
ally formed by the successive
additions of several writers. The first copy
of it was found by Arngrim Jonsson in 1628.
The original Icelandic text of the Ileims kring-
la was first printed by Peringskiold in 1697,
though a Danish translation was current 100
years before. The last edition is by Schoning
and others, in Icelandic, Danish, and Latin (6
vols., Copenhagen, 1777-1826). There is an
English translation, " The Heimskriugla, or
Chronicle of the Kings of
Norway," by Samuel Laing
(3 vols., London, 1844).

SNOW, the fiocculcnt white
masses of crystals in which
the aqueous vapor of the at
mosphere at low tempera
tures is precipitated from the
clouds. The other forms in
which atmospheric vapor appears are treated
of _ under DEW, FEOST, HAIL, and RAIN. The
primary condition necessary to the formation
of snow is the saturation of the air at a freez
ing temperature with vapor ; the exact limits r
of temperature are not known, but probably j

vary with the density of the air and the va
por ; the surplus vapor is precipitated from
its invisible state in minute crystals, the pri
mary form of which is that of a rhomboid
having angles of 60 and 120. (See CEYS-
TALLOGRAPIIY.) By far the larger part of

FIG. 2.

FIG. 3.

FIG. 4.

FIG. 5.

snow falls during the night, and in many lo
calities the maximum fall is between 1 and 7
A. M., which suggests that the cooling neces
sary to the production of snow is mainly due
to radiation ; a secondary maximum between
8 and 10 A. M. is explicable as due to the
influence of the dynamic cooling of rising cur
rents. The complexity of the forms of snow

FIG.

flakes increases with the quantity of moisture
in the air, and probably with the variety of
alternations of temperature to which they are
exposed. Their size increases with the tem
perature and humidity ; thus they are much
larger from 9 to 11 A. M. than before sun
rise. Little however is satisfactorily known
on these points. More than 1,000 forms of
snow crystals have been observed and figured

FIG.

FIG. 10.

FIG. 11.

by Scoresby, Glaisher, Green, Stephen Lowe,
and others. A very beautiful contribution
to this subject was published anonymously
in New York in 1863, under the title of
" Cloud Crystals," iji which over 150 new
forms are added to those described by previ-

SNOW

135

ous authors, and several interesting observa
tions are given upon the conditions of their
formation. The accompanying figures, repre
senting specimens of the simple and the more
complicated forms of crystals, are from Bu-
chau s " Meteorology." Scoresby, who first
studied these forms, classified them into : 1,
thin plates (figs. 1 to 7) ; 2, spherical nuclei
studded with needles (fig. 8) ; 3, three- or six-
sided prisms or needles (fig. 9) ; 4, six-sided
pyramids (fig. 10) ; 5, prisms terminated by
planes (fig. 11). The conditions regulating
the occurrence of each figure are probably
quite definite, inasmuch as it is rare that more
than three or four kinds of flakes occur at the
same time. The high cirrus clouds are prob
ably generally formed of spiculaa, or possibly
small flakes of snow, which when the clouds
are not too thick give rise to the phenomena
of halos (see HALO), and the geometrical ex
planation of these latter seems generally to
require that the snow flakes present in these
clouds should be principally of the simplest
forms. The amount of snowfall in different
parts of the earth is known with less accuracy
than is that of rainfall, owing partly to the
drifting of the snow, but especially to the fact
that a too great diversity has existed in the
methods adopted by the observers to ascertain
either the quantity or the depth of the snow.
It is generally assumed that ^ or TV f tne
depth of snow measured immediately after
falling will give the corresponding depth of
melted snow. Quetelet, as the mean of many
observations, says |-, but for very dry or very
wet snow these fractions are very uncertain.
The total depth of snowfall, is greatest, other
conditions being the same, where the strong
winds of winter are laden with moisture ; thus
it averages annually 4 to 7 ft. in the interior of
Maine, Vermont, New York, and Upper Can
ada, but only 2 ft. for the states in the same
latitude further west. One of the heaviest
snowfalls recorded in America was that which
continued from Feb. 19 to 24, 1717, when the
snow remained 5 or 6 ft. deep over all the set
tled parts of New England. The geographical
distribution of snow at sea level is such that in
general in the eastern parts of North America
and Asia it is rarely seen S. of lat. 30, and in
western Asia S. of lat. 36. On the W. side
of North America it is rarely seen at the sea
level on the immediate coast, but is quite com
mon in the interior. Falls of snow may occur
in any month in extreme polar latitudes; in
New England and Canada snow falls mostly
from November to March inclusive, but in the
latitude of Washington, D. C., it falls mostly
during January and February. The average
number of days on which snow falls is, for St.
Petersburg, 170; Paris, 12; Washington, D. C.,
20 ; Gibraltar, ; San Francisco, ; Charleston,
S. C., 1. But on ascending above the sea level
we soon come to altitudes such that snow may
fall and remain on the ground at any season ;
the altitude at which accumulations remain

throughout the year is called the limit of per
petual snow. The conditions governing this
lower limit were first studied carefully by Hum-
boldt in his climatology of Asia, and more re
cently has been investigated by Grad (1873) ;
according to these, the limit in question has
a general apparent connection with the iso
therms of 32 F., but departs therefrom to an
important degree when the prevailing winds
are dry or moist. Thus the limit is lower in
the southern than in the northern hemisphere ;
lower on the S. than on the N. side of the
Himalaya mountains ; lower within the tropics
than under the latitudes 20 to 35. From
these latitudes it diminishes, according to
Grad, to about 3,000 ft. in lat, 00 S. and
65 N. ; but only in the high polar regions is
the limit below 1,000 ft., it being higher in
Greenland or Spitzbergen, where it is only
the glaciers that descend to sea level. (See
GLACIEE.) Owing to the innumerable reflect
ing facets of the minute crystals and the quan
tity of air caught between the crystals, a layer
of snow is a remarkably perfect non-conductor
of heat ; for this reason the covering of snow
on the ground forms an almost perfect protec
tion to the plants beneath against the freezing
that would otherwise follow the radiation of
their heat into the atmosphere. In Ebermayer s
"Influence of Forests" (1873) a case is quoted
(by no means an extreme one) in which the
temperature of the air was 6 8 F., and that
of the surface of the earth beneath the snow
+ 83-8 F., while -below the surface the earth
was still warmer. On the other hand, the in
dividual crystals of snow have probably the
same large radiating power as ice in larger
solid blocks, which according to Leslie is 85,
that of lampblack being 100. The consequence
of this is, that during the night very hard
frozen crusts are formed on the surface of the
snow which has been somewhat thawed during
the day; the same property, together with
that of regelation, explains the peculiar struc
ture of the surface snows of glaciers, and
assists in the formation of areas of colder air
over snow fields than over bare land. Equally
important is the great absorptive power of
snow for solar heat, since by reason of it the
surface of a layer of snow is melted rapidly,
and a large amount of moisture is thrown
into the air, giving rise to extensive fog and
haze, and having a decided influence on the
development of storms. Snow flakes in falling
bring with them nearly all the fine dust float
ing in the air, leaving the atmosphere extreme
ly pure ; thus in northern Europe Nordens-
kiold has found freshly fallen, snow impreg
nated with a black dust of carbon and iron
such as could only have come from meteors ;
at other times the dust is such as could only
have come from eruptions of volcanoes, espe
cially those in Iceland. Snow is occasionally
tinged black, yellow, red, or green, as was
known to Pliny. These colors are due to
the presence of microscopic organisms, as was

136

SNOWBALL

SNOW BIRD

suspected by De Saussure (1760), which were
described by Dr.- Wollaston as minute spher
ical globules having a transparent covering
and divided into seven or eight cells filled
with a red oily-like liquid insoluble in water.
Girod-Chantraus (1797 and 1802) described
these as plants under the name volvox lacus-
tris. Bauer (1820) demonstrated that they
are a fungous growth, which he named uredo
nwalis. Robert Brown concluded them to be
alga? allied to the tremella cruenta. Agardh
confirmed the views as to their vegetable na
ture, and gave them the title protococcus per-
mesina. Bravais and Martins, as members of
the northern commission, verified the identity
of red (hcvmatococcus nivalis) and green {proto
coccus mridis) globules as being one and the
same plants in different stages of growth, the
green being probably the riper. The most re
cent authority on this difficult subject is Ros-
tafinski (1875), who retains the generic name
hcematococcus, and has farther confirmed the
identity of these microscopic algfe. Ehrenberg
(1847) found, besides vegetable spores, animal
cules properly so called, among which the most
abundant in red snow is that to which he gave
the name philodina roseola. The glare of the
sunlight reflected from snow-covered ground
grves rise, unless the eyes are protected by
glasses or goggles, to a very severe inflamma
tion of the optic nerve. (See AMAUEOSIS, and
BLIND.)

SNOWBALL. See GUELDER ROSE.

S1YOWBERRY, the common name for a native
shrub, given on account of its large, very pure
white berries, which ripen in autumn and re
main after the leaves have fallen. The genus
sympJioricarpus (Gr. avjuQopuv, to bear together,
and Kapirds, fruit, from the clustered berries),
to which it belongs, is exclusively North Amer-

Snowberry (Symphoricarpus racemosus).

ican, extending from British America to Mexi
co, and contains about six species ; it belongs
to the honeysuckle family, and differs from the
honeysuckle (Lonicera) itself in having a regu

lar corolla and a fewer-seeded berry. All are
small branching shrubs, with ovate entire (or
sometimes wavy-toothed), opposite leaves, and
small, bell-shaped, four- to five-lobed, white
or rose-tinted flowers in short spikes or clus
ters. The snowberry (8. ra-ce?nosus) is found
from Vermont westward to Oregon, and as far
south as Pennsylvania ; it is one of the most
common garden shrubs, and is cultivated for
its white berries. The wolfberry (S. occiden-
talis), growing from Michigan westward, has
also white berries. The Indian currant or
coralberry (S. vulgaris\ found from western
New York to Texas, and sometimes cultivated,
has small dark red berries in dense clusters.

SNOAV BIRD, a well known member of the
finch family, and genus junco (AVagler). With
the general characters of the finch family, the
middle toe is shorter than the short tarsus, the
outer the longest ; the wings are rather short,
and the tail slightly notched ; the second quill
is the longest. The common-snow bird (/. Jiye-
Sclater) is about 6^ in. long, and 9 in.

Snow Bird (Junco hycmalis).

in alar extent ; the upper parts are nearly uni
form dark plumbeous, darkest anteriorly, with
out any red in the interscapular region ; lower
parts white ; the external two tail feathers
white, the third white margined with black.
It is found from the eastern United States to
the Missouri and the Black hills of the west,
and from Louisiana to the fur countries. It
appears in New England from the south early
in April, while the ground is covered with
snow, going north to breed, and returning south
late in autumn. They are found in small fami
lies, which usually keep by themselves, often
visiting farm yards and hopping after domestic
poultry, and in cold weather retiring into holes
in hay stacks. They are fond of grass seed
and berries ; the flesh is delicate and juicy, and
is often sold in the New Orleans market ; the
spring notes are agreeable. The nest is on the
ground, the entrance generally concealed ; the
eggs are four, three fourths by five eighths of
an inch, yellowish white with numerous small
reddish brown dots. A nearly allied species
in the Rocky mountains is the J. caniceps
(Baird), having a reddish spot in the inter-
scapular region but not on the wings. On tho

SNOW BUNTING

SNOWFLAKE

137

Pacific coast is the J. Oregonus (Sclat.), head
and neck sooty black, a chestnut patch on the
back and wings, and the belly pure white.

SNOW BUNTING. See BUNTING.

SNOWDROP, an early spring flower, the name
being derived, according to Prior, from the

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis).

German Schneetropfen, which does not refer
to a drop of snow, but, so far as the drop is
concerned, to the pendents or ear drops worn
by ladies in the 16th and 17th centuries. The
genus, galanthus (Gr. yd/la, milk, and avdoc,
flower), belongs to the amaryllis family, and
consists of three or four European species.
The small bulbs throw up two or three nar
row leaves and a flattened scape which bears
(usually) a single fragrant flower on a slender
nodding pedicel ; the* perianth has six separate
divisions, the three inner tipped with green
and shorter than the three pure-white outer
ones. The common snowdrop is G. nivalis,
which, though very common in England, is
supposed to be naturalized there ; its leaves
are very narrow, and its flower stalk 3 to 6
in. high ; there is a double variety ; the plant
blooms early, often appearing in February.
The Crimean snowdrop (G. plicatus) has the
same general appearance as the common, but
is larger in all its parts. The bulbs, which are
small, should be planted in clumps, and bloom
more satisfactorily if left undisturbed for sev
eral years. (For cultivation, see HYACINTH.)

SNOWDROP TREE, a name given to shrubs or
small trees of the genus Halesia, on account of
the pure white pendulous flowers, w r hich have
also suggested the equally common name of
silver-bell tree. Halesia belongs to the storax
family, and is a genus of two or at most three
species, which have large, veiny, pointed, de
ciduous, alternate leaves without stipules ; the
flowers, in clusters or short racemes, open
just as the leaves appear, from axillary buds
of the previous year; the small calyx is four-
toothed, its tube cohering with the ovary;

petals four, united at the base or to the mid
dle, forming a bell-shaped corolla; stamens 8
to 16, more or less united at the base; ovary
two- to four-celled, becoming a large, dry,
bony, two- to four-winged fruit with one to
four cells, each of which contains a cylindrical
seed. The best known species is the four-
winged snowdrop tree (H. tetraptera), so called
from the four wings to the fruit ; it is found
from Virginia southward ; it sometimes reach
es the height of 50 ft., but is more general
ly much smaller ; the bark is dark-colored,
marked by light fissures, which give it a char
acteristic netted appearance ; the ovate-oblong
leaves have glandular petioles, are 2 to 4 in.
long, and finely serrate ; the flowers have four-
lobed corollas, nearly an inch long, with 12 to
16 stamens distinctly united below the middle.
This tree is quite hardy in the northern states.
The two-winged species (H. diptera) is more
southern, and is found from the Carolinas
southward ; the
larger leaves are
coarsely serrate ;
the flowers are
larger than in
the preceding,
and consist of
four nearly dis
tinct petals, and
the 8 to 12 sta
mens are near
ly distinct ; the
fruit, which is
about an inch
long, has only
two wings ; the
tree does not
grow so large as
the other. This
species is quite
rare and difficult
to find in the
nurseries, forms
of the preceding being confounded with it.
Michaux described a third species, H. parm-
flora, which seems to be nearly unknown, if
indeed it be not a form of one of the others.
The trees are raised from seeds, which, unless
sown as soon as ripe, lie in the ground a year
before they germinate.

SNOWPLARE, a name said to have been in
vented by Curtis for leuco ium vernum, to
distinguish it from snowdrop, to which it is
nearly related and which it closely resembles.
Leuco ium (the ancient Greek name) is a small
genus of the amaryllis family, of three species,
all of which are European ; it differs from ga
lanthus (see SNOWDEOP) in having one to seven
flowers upon the scape, and the divisions of the
flower are of equal length. In our catalogues
L. vernum is the plant offered as snowflake,
but the English designate this as spring snow-
flake, as summer and autumnal species are also
sold more commonly than with us. The spring
snowflake comes very early, and is much like

Snowdrop Tree (Halesia tetraptera).

138

SNUFF

SOAP

a large snowdrop, its scape, about 12 in. high,
bearing a single, large, very fragrant, pure
white flower, each division of winch is tipped

Spring Snowflake (Leucomm vcrnutn), Flower and Bulb.

with green. The summer snowflake (L. cesti-
vum) has a scape about 2 ft. high, with three
to seven flowers about an inch long, blooming
in late spring or early summer. The autumnal
snowflake (L. autumnale, also called Acts) has
narrow leaves and a scape 6 in. high, bearing
two to three sm all flowers, which are pure
white or suffused with rose, and appearing
before the leaves in September. This is only
a greenhouse plant here ; the others are treated
like other spring bulbs. (See HYACINTH.)

SNUFF. See TOBACCO.

SNYDER, a central county of Pennsylvania,
bounded E. by the Susquehanna river; area,
about 260 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 15,606. The
surface is hilly and the soil fertile. Iron ore
and coal are found in great abundance. It is
traversed by the Pennsylvania railroad, and
the Pennsylvania canal passes along the E.
border. The chief productions in 1870 were
247,381 bushels of wheat, 12,752 of rye, 255,-
831 of Indian corn, 283,841 of oats, 73,889 of
potatoes, 4,762 of clover seed, 18,939 tons of
hay, 9,366 Ibs. of wool, and 241,246 of butter.
There were 3,964 horses, 3,900 milch cows,
4,489 other cattle, 3,367 sheep, and 9,050 swine ;
3 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 11
of tanned and 10 of curried leather, 21 flour
mills, and 8 saw mills. Capital, Middleburg.

SNYDERS, Sneyders, or Snyers, Francis, a Flem
ish painter, born in Antwerp in 1579, died
there in 1657. He is celebrated for his pic
tures of animals and hunting scenes, excelling
in those which represent violent action. He
produced many pictures jointly with Rubens,
Jordaens, and others, they executing the hu
man figures and Snyders the animals.

SOAP (Gr. ca-uv, Lat. sapo), a compound
formed by the union of alkalies with oils and

fats. The invention of soap is ascribed by
Pliny to the Gauls, and he gives the Germans
credit for manufacturing both hard and soft
soaps. From them the Romans learned the
art, but soap was for a long time principally
used by them as a wash for the hair. A com
plete soap-boiling establishment, and soap in
a good state of preservation, have been dis
covered at Pompeii. Some natural produc
tions possess the qualities of soap, as the ber
ries of the soap tree (sap Indus saponaria) of
South America and the West Indies, and the
bark of the quillaja saponaria, which has been
carried from Peru to Liverpool for washing
woollens. The juice of soapwort or bouncing
Bet (saponaria officinalis) forms a lather with
water, and is used in England for scouring
dresses. In California the roots of the pha-
langium pomaridianum, which grows there
abundantly, and has the odor of brown soap,
is much used for washing clothes. Alkaline
waters, -when used upon greasy fabrics, form
soaps similar to those produced in the regular
manufacture. Different kinds of oils may be
used in soap making, having different pro
portions of the proximate principles of fatty
bodies, stearine, palmitine, and oleine (see
OILS AND FATS), and also upon the kind of
alkali, soda making a harder soap than pot
ash. The hardest soaps are made with stea
rine and soda, the softest with oleine and pot
ash. The natural combination of glycerine
with the fatty acids is broken up by the action
of the alkali, and the glycerine exists in a free
state in the soap, or it may be extracted as a
separate product. The principal fats and oils
used for making soap are tallow, and palm,
cocoanut, rape, poppy, linseed, hempseed, and
olive oils ; the last is used in the manufacture
of the celebrated Castile,- Marseilles, and other
marbled and plain soaps of southern Europe.
The best oils for marbled soaps come from
Naples, and the Spanish oils are also highly
esteemed. The oils from the East are not so
rich in stearine, and are more or less colored
green, which is objectionable. The mottling
or marbling of soaps is produced by sprinkling
the surface of the newly made body succes
sively with lyes of less and less concentration,
by which the soap is again rendered sufficient
ly pasty or semi-fluid to allow of the aggre
gation in different masses of the particles of
coloring matter. The ordinary method of sa-
ponification, as the conversion of fats into
soaps is called, is by boiling them with solu
tions of caustic potash or soda. Most fats re
quire long continued boiling with excess of
alkali, but others, as lard, beef marrow, and
oil of sweet almonds, may be saponified by agi
tation with caustic alkali at ordinary tempera
tures ; and under increased pressure the alka
line carbonates will readily produce saponifica-
tion of fats. Rosin, which is capable of form
ing a soap with either potash or soda, is fre
quently added to soaps. Every kind of soap
contains a variable quantity of water, partly

SOAPSTONE

SOCIALISM

139

in chemical combination. Soap is perfectly
soluble in alcohol and hot water, but both so
lutions solidify to a jelly at a certain stage of
concentration. Opodeldoc is soap mixeowith
alcohol in this state, to which camphor is add
ed. Cold water does not dissolve the alka
line oleates, palmitates, and stearates which
constitute ordinary soap, without decomposi
tion, the alkali being dissolved and the oily
acid precipitated ; and when hot solutions are
cooled the same action takes place. Soap is
quite insoluble in a solution of common salt
containing more than one part in 400 of water,
so that on the addition of salt to the contents
of a soap pan, a curd consisting of a solid
soap will rise to the surface, while the alka
line salts and glycerine remain dissolved in the
water. Some soaps, as those made from co-
coanut oil, are not so easily separated from
their solutions by common salt. Other chlo
rides, as those of potassium and ammonium
(sal ammoniac), have a similar action to that
of common salt. Soaps are scented and col
ored by mixing coloring matter and volatile
oils or odorous matters with them. They are
sometimes medicated with antiseptic and oth
er, substances, such as creosote, carbolic acid,
chlorate of potash, and sulphur, and are used
as detergents and in skin diseases. Arsenic
is sometimes added to soap and used by tax
idermists in preserving their preparations.
Those medicinal preparations called liniments
are soaps whenever they are made by the mix
ture of an alkali or an alkaline earth with an
oil. Silicate of sodium (soluble glass) may be
mixed with soap and used with advantage as a
domestic cleansing agent. Soaps mixed with
fine sand or pumice stone do not possess the
same detergent properties, but are useful for
scouring. The manufacture of soap is more
largely carried on in Great Britain than in any
other country, although great quantities of
toilet soaps are made in France, especially for
the American market. The annual product
of Great Britain is often considerably over
200,000,000. Ibs. The manufacture is also car
ried on to a considerable extent in the United
States, and some fine toilet and other soaps
are made. The history of soap may be found
in Beckmann s "History of Inventions;" its
technology in Parnell s " Chemistry applied to
the Arts," Knapp s "Chemical Technology,"
Wagner s " Chemical Technology," Muspratt s
" Chemistry," Morfit s " Applied Chemistry in
the Manufacture of Soaps and Candles," and
in "A General Treatise on the Manufacture
of Soap," by H. Dussauce (8vo, Philadelphia,
1869). The French manufacture is described
in one of the Manuels Roret entitled Nouveau
manuel theorique et pratique du saxonier, ou
VArt de faire toutes sortes de savons (Paris,
1852).

SOAPSTONE. See TALO.

SOBIESRI. See JOHN III. SOBIESKI.

SOCIALISM, the doctrine that society ought
to be reorganized on more harmonious and

equitable principles. Communism and coop
eration are its principal divisions or varieties.
Communism and socialism are sometimes used
as synonymous ; but generally the former term
specially refers to the plans of social reform
based on or embracing the doctrine of a com
plete community of goods. Cooperation is
understood to be that branch of socialism
which is engaged exclusively with theories
of labor and methods of distributing profits,
and which advocates a combination of many
to gain advantages not to be reached by indi
viduals. Viewed as a whole, socialistic doc
trines have dealt with everything that enters
into the life of the individual, the family, the
church, or the state, whether industrially, mor
ally, or spiritually. The orjgin of all is to be
sought in the desire to ameliorate the con
dition of the less favored classes, and in the
attempt to overcome by association the dep
rivations to which individuals, especially those
without rank, culture, and capital, are ex
posed. After many experimental attempts in
recent times to effect a radical modification of
society in all its parts, the simplified socialism
of the present day mostly aims only to pro
tect the laborer in his rights, or to shield him
against the oppression of capitalists. The his
tory of socialism runs parallel with that of
property. Wherever the power of individual
proprietors became oppressive, communistic
doctrines usually arose. Such was the origin
of the schemes of the ancient Greeks. Pha-
leas of Chalcedon expected gradually to re
move the disparities of property by making
a law that the rich should give but not re
ceive dower in marriage; and in order that
none should be intellectually superior to oth
ers, he desired that all should receive the same
education. Plato s ideal republic was to con
sist of three classes: the educated, who are
the law makers and rulers ; the common peo
ple, including agriculturists and other labor
ers ; and the goldiers. The state was to assign
to every one his rank and sphere of activity ;
the soil was to be the property of all, and its
fruits were to be equally shared by all. The
women also were to be common property, as
well as the slaves. Communistic doctrines
more or less evolved from peculiar religious
views, and advocating the founding of isolated
communes, existed among the ancient Hindoos
and Egyptians. Among the earliest attempts
at socialistic life was that of the Jewish sect
known as the Essenes, who had established
themselves on the western shores of the Dead
sea about the 2d century B. C. Though there
are few trustworthy accounts of their teach
ings and practices, it may be accepted as cer
tain that they held their property in common,
and discountenanced marriage, without really
prohibiting it. (See ESSENES.) The Carpo-
cratians, an early Christian sect, which con
tinued to exist until the middle of the 6th
century, also practised community of goods
and of women. Many features of the monas-

SOCIALISM

ticism of the middle ages are more or less com
munistic. Societies of women were formed
for the relief of the sick and poor in the llth
century, possessing- at first nothing of the later
conventual type. They had clusters of houses
and gardens, whose inmates supported them
selves by their own labor, grouped round a
hospital and similar institutions. In time the
dormitories, refectories, and work rooms were
also occupied in common. Such was the ori
gin of the beguinages of the Netherlands.
Later, various ascetic communistic societies
arose, as the "Brethren and Oferks of the
Common Life," founded by Gerard Groot
about 1378 in the Netherlands, whose mem
bers, chiefly priests, supported themselves by
manual labor and. by teaching and preaching.
Along with these existed communities whose
members indulged in the wildest license, and
were finally extirpated by the authorities ;
such were the Adamites, who walked about
naked. and had a community of wives. At
the reformation a communistic tendency was
wide-spread in Germany, and it led to a re
volt of the serfs against their lords, a move
ment of social reform avowedly tfased upon
the doctrines of the New Testament. (See
PEASANTS WAE.) Some of the Anabaptists,
the movements begun by Storch and Miinzer
(see MU^ZER), the familists, the levellers, and
numerous other fanatical sects of this period,
all show more or less of the same spirit of hos
tility to the rich, of a desire for a better distri
bution of property, and a struggle to realize an
ideal social state. In the same period appeared
the first works which, depicting a more or less
fanciful or ideal community, may be consid
ered the precursors of the more recent scien
tific socialistic schemes. The first edition of
Sir Thomas More s " Utopia," an account of
an imaginary commonwealth, where there are
only good and happy citizens and the govern
ment is perfectly paternal, was printed in Lat
in at Louvain in 1516, and it was soon trans
lated into English, French, Dutch, and Italian.
Another Utopia was depicted by Campanella
in his Civitas Solis (1623). A vast hierarchy
of officials assign and direct the duties of the
people ; four hours a day are devoted to labor,
the women performing the lighter tasks ; the
rest of the day the people are trained in phi
losophy and the sciences. Similar schemes
were sketched by Hall in his Mundus Alter,
Fenelon, Morelly, Defoe in his "Essay on
Projects," and Bacon in the "New Atlantis."
In 1656 Harrington published his "Oceana,"
of which Hume said that it was the most val
uable model of a commonwealth hitherto of
fered. The first complete plan of an industrial
community intended for immediate adoption
was John Boiler s scheme of a " College of
Industry" (169G). The shareholders were to
divide among themselves the profits of the
college, but the laborers were to be guaran
teed all things necessary in case of sickness,
for the education of their children, for the

maintenance of their widows, and the like.
In France there have been at various times
small communities in which work was divided
according to the capacity of the members, who
received equal shares of the profits, and elect
ed a master* of the community, vested with
full power of command, and constituting their
legal representative. In the United States
there are about TO communistic societies, all
based on a religious belief of some form. The
Shakers were established in the northern states
about 1780, and in the west about 30 years
later ; the Eappists were established in 4805,
the Zoarites in 1817, the Eben-Ezer or Amana
communists in 1844, the Bethel community in
1844, the Oneida Perfectionists in 1848, the
Icarians in 1849, and the Aurora commune in
1852. Though the Icarians reject Christian
ity, yet they raise to the position of a creed
their doctrine of brotherly love, or their com
munistic idea. In the Bethel and Aurora com
munes unselfishness takes the place of a reli
gious system. Community of women is prac
tised only by the Perfectionists (see NOYES,
JOHN HUMPIIEEY) ; the Shakers and Eappists
are celibates ; and at Icaria, Amana, Aurora,
Bethel, and Zoar the family relation is held in
honor. Only the Perfectionists are of strict
ly American origin ; the principles of the
Shakers, though first established here, origina
ted in England ; the Icarians are French, and
the others are German. The Shakers are the
most numerous. After the reign of terror in
France, Babeuf and his friends formed a con
spiracy to overthrow the state. They taught
that all men had equal rights in all property
and in the enjoyment of it ; every exclusive
appropriation of the soil or of a branch of in
dustry was a crime ; all persons should receive
the same kind and degree of education ; the
functions of the government should be to su
perintend the division of labor, the collecting
of the produce in public stores, and the dis
tribution of it to communities and individuals.
The marriage relations and religious subjects
were not specially discussed by them. Ba
beuf perished on the scaffold, and his doctrine
seemed to have perished with him ; but in
1834 Buonarotti revived it, and by means of
pamphlets and the Moniteur Repiiblicain, the
Jlomme Libre, and other journals, it was again
propagated. After some vain attempts at in
stituting social equality by insurrectionary
means, the Babeuvists were content to con
tinue as secret organizations, many of them
developing the original doctrine, and the tra-
vailleurs egalitaires going to the extent of ab
rogating marriage as being a species of per
sonal property, of wishing all towns destroyed
as the natural hotbeds of tyranny, &c. In op
position to the travailleurs egalitaires Cabet
(1788-1856) wrote his Voyage en Icarie, advo
cating a comparatively innocent communism,
a small model of which he established in this
country. Saint-Simon (1760-1825) gathered
about him men of science, and travelled in or-

SOCIALISM

141

der to enlarge his views ; gave balls, dinners,
and festivals, to extend his knowledge of man
kind ; and finally, when his wealth had been
scattered, found himself abandoned to the most
painful privations, lie was thus fitted, as he
thought, by a trial of all the conditions of hu
manity, to become their exponent and their
reformer. He contrived what he denominated
a new Christianity, or a scheme for the recon
struction of the religion, politics, industry, and
social relations of mankind. .To each man
according to his capacity, to each capacity ac
cording to its works ; such was the grand for
mula of the St. Simonian gospel. But the au
thor did not live to witness its propagation.
It was reserved for Eodrigues, Enfantin, Ba-
zard, Buchez, and others to disseminate it over
France. By their lectures and a journal estab
lished by them called Le Producteur, it soon
gained many disciples, and at one time seemed
on the point of absorbing the best youthful
mind of the nation. Many men, who have
since attained distinction, as statesmen and
men of letters, took part in the famous expo
sitions of the rue Taranne, Paris, where the
new school had its academy. But Saint-Simon
had left his doctrine in the vague state of an
aspiration or a sentiment rather than a system.
His followers began to differ when they be
gan to define. Sects arose in the bos om of
the new faith. A common family was estab
lished in the rue Monsigny, but the order of
functions had not been arranged in a satisfac
tory way. An open quarrel between two of
the chiefs, Enfantin and Bazard, led to other
dissensions. The finances of the general asso
ciation failed, and the police interfered with its
meetings, which had become, in consequence
of the vivacity of the discussions and the ap
pearance of women on the tribune, more at
tractive than the theatre. Enfantin collected
his friends again at a patrimonial estate which
he held at M6nilmontant, where a multitude
of laborers were organized into groups of in
dustrials, artists, priests, &c. ; but the experi
ment could not be made to pay, Enfantin was
seized and imprisoned, and the new family
gradually dispersed. In spite of its want of
practical success, the school of Saint-Simon ex
ercised and continues to exercise a powerful in
fluence over the French mind. Charles Fourier
(1772-1837) saw very clearly what his prede
cessors had not seen, that society was a growth,
and not a construction ; he saw that as it had
followed fundamental laws of development in
the past, so it must follow the same laws in the
future ; these laws, he also discerned, must be
in analogy with the other laws of the living
universe ; and he concluded that the science of
society must be the flower and consummation
of all other sciences. But not satisfied with
these grand generalizations, and the practical
applications to which they inevitably lead, he
assumed the character of a universal social
philosopher and legislator, and lost himself in
magnificent a priori speculations as to the for

mation and propagation of worlds, and the
future destinies of all humanity. His vigorous
thought procured him many disciples in France,
England, and the United States ; many efforts
have been made to reduce his more practical
maxims to practice, but no signal or decisive
result has anywhere been achieved. (See
FOURIEK.) While Fourier and his disciples
intended to carry out their socialistic reforms
by their own exertions and without receiving
any material aid from the government, Louis
Blanc wanted the government to undertake
the regeneration of society by the u organ
ization of labor," holding that the evils of
large capital and destructive competition could
and ought to be cured by means of the state,
the largest capitalist of all, from which every
laborer that needs it has a right to demand
employment (droit an travail). The govern
ment should purchase or gradually absorb the
large industrial institutions of the country, and
eventually render it more profitable to every
laborer to join the large governmental work
shops than to follow his calling on his own
account. The wages of a]l laborers should be
equal. As soon as the state had succeeded
in becoming the only and general controller
of production in the country, and the work
men had had sufficient opportunity to appre
ciate the abilities of individuals among them,
the governmental administration should be
superseded by the self-government of the la
borers, on democratic principles. Louis Blanc
opposed to the maxim of Saint-Simon, u To
each according to his ability," his own, " From
each according to his ability, to each according
to his need." The revolution of 1848 put him
in a position to experiment with his scheme.
The provisional government erected public
workshops, and paid wages to hundreds of
thousands of laborers ; but these were produc
tive only of confusion, and contributed toward
the socialistic insurrection of June, which end
ed in a crushing defeat. Proudhon (1809- 65)
desired to carry out his reforms without the
aid of the state, and argued in opposition to
Louis Blanc that the state not only should not,
but could not inaugurate new social systems.
In fact, Proudhon was opposed to systematic
socialism of any sort. Though himself a Uto
pian, he combated the Utopias of everybody
else. The infallibility which he claimed for his
own doctrines he rendered still more odious
in the eyes of his opponents by his peculiar
manner of expressing his ideas. In one of his
earlier principal publications, Qii est ce que la
propri etef (1841), he seemed to attack all
property as being a kind of theft, while his in
tention was only to demonstrate the illegality
of incomes received without labor. Similar
ly, his expression that he wanted to reduce the
state to "anarchy" utterly obscured his real
meaning, which was that the artificial central
ization of the French government should give
way to a government controlled by the masses,
Like most socialists, Proudhon considered the

142

SOCIALISM

application of justice in the distribution of
the wages of the labor and the profits of the
capital employed in production to be the most
important problem of political economy. The
means proposed by him for making wages and
profits proportional to each other were, that
each citizen should unite in his own person the
four necessary factors of production : laborer,
capitalist, merchant, and employer. To bring
this about, he held that employment should be
guaranteed to the laborer, and that there should
be a reorganization of the credit system, which
he himself attempted by establishing the banq.ue
du peuple in 1849. This bank was an associa
tion of 20,000 laborers, who pledged themselves
to take the paper issued by it in lieu of cash.
Proudhon believed that a conventional sign of
this sort, costing but little labor to produce,
could take the place of gold and silver coins,
the production of which requires a large amount
of labor. The bank advanced to any member,
on articles produced by him, four fifths of their
value in its own notes, and demanded no in
terest for the loan. On security being given,
it would advance upon work not yet done.
Proudhon expected that this gratuitous credit,
enabling men to consume at any time the
wages of their labor, would be the means of
inciting the members of the association to as
great industry as the hope of accumulating
interest-bearing capital, since their means of
present enjoyment would depend upon their
energy. The government soon closed the bank
for violation of the laws of trade, and Proud-
hon s followers maintain that his scheme has
never had a fair trial. Robert Owen (1771-
1858), in England, was arousing the public
mind to the necessity of a new order of socie
ty at the same time that Saint-Simon and his
disciples were preaching in France. They pro
ceeded, however, on wholly different grounds.
Owen s fundamental axiom was that man was
made entirely by his external circumstances, so
that, to form his character, and to produce his
entire happiness, nothing was requisite but a
change in his external relations. Possessed of
great wealth, he established a manufacturing
colony at New Lanark, in which his principles
were applied to the laboring classes. Justice in
the payment of labor, vast domestic economies,
and a thorough system of infant and adult edu
cation gave it for a time great and increasing
prosperity. Statesmen and churchmen alike
admitted the success of the attempt, and the
system, or parts of the system, were in a fair
way of being introduced into other manufac
turing districts. But Owen was encouraged by
the promise of his plans to step forth as a phi
losopher. He taught in pamphlets, speeches,
letters, and books, his doctrine of the omnipo
tence of circumstances and of human irrespon
sibility, attacking at the same time all religions
and all governments, and thus provoking the
earnest hostility of the clergy as well as of
politicians. Other establishments were sub
sequently erected at New Harmony, Indiana,

and Orbiston, Scotland, but they failed. His
popularity declined rapidly, except among a
portion . of the laboring classes, and he ac
complished nothing beyond his earlier suc
cess. He had travelled over the world to in
doctrinate it with his principles, but the world
remained to the end of his life stubbornly in
credulous. Nevertheless he has a just claim
to be considered the originator of modern co
operation. In 1869 England alone numbered
1,308 cooperative societies, under general reg
ulations prescribed by act of parliament ; 749
of these sent in their returns to government at
the end of 1870, from which their condition
appears to have been as follows : number of
members, 249,113; share capital, 2,034,261 ;
loan capital, 197,128; average stock in trade
during the year, 912,127; value of build
ings, fixtures, and land, 962,276 ; dividend
to members, 467,164; to non-members, 16,-
523 ; allowed for educational purposes, 3,775.
The most successful experiment of the English
cooperators is that of the Rochdale " Equita
ble Pioneers Society," established mainly on
the principles of Owen. Its primary object
was the founding of a store for the sale of the
necessaries of life, which w T as opened in De
cember, 1844. In 1847 the pioneers opened a
drapery department, in 1850 a slaughter house,
in 1852 shoemaking and tailoring establish
ments ; and after a history of continuous suc
cess, in the last quarter of the year 1870 they
numbered 5,560 members, and had a share
capital of 81,232. Similar stores and asso
ciations now exist in various parts of Europe,
America, and Australia. The varieties of co
operation so far developed are numerous, but
they are all founded upon the original idea of
associated as opposed to isolated efforts. The
power which the joint-stock principle places
in the hands of small capitalists, the coopera
tive system places in the hands of the smallest
capitalists; it even enables the man without
capital to accumulate it. Morier describes co
operation as " the child of socialism, rescued
by the economists from the dangerous custody
of its parents." In Germany this movement
on the part of the laborers was urged forward
by Schulze-Delitzsch in opposition to the so
cialism of Lassale and Marx, which led to the
formation of the " International Association."
(See INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION.) Schulze-
Delitzsch originated a new form of coopera
tion, which has been successful in Germany to
an extraordinary degree. He devised a peo
ple s bank, or cooperative credit bank, from
which the members can borrow small sums up
to 1,000 thalers. The capital is derived from
the entrance fees and subscriptions of the
members. The shares are fixed at 40 thalers,
and may be paid by instalments. A 40-thaler
shareholder may borrow 60 thalers without
security ; money is borrowed by the society at
a low rate of interest ; members on leaving re
ceive the amount paid up on their shares, and
are relieved from all liabilities after two years.

UN 1 V i; US IT Y 01

SOCIETIES

In 1870 the number of loan or credit banks in
Germany was estimated at 2,000, and numer
ous associations of a similar nature are now
established in Russia, Denmark, Italy, France,
and England. There is in Germany a politi
cal party of socialists called Socialdemolcraten,
another development of the same movement
which produced the international association,
mainly composed of workingmen and their
friends. This party aims to establish complete
liberty, equality, and fraternity, by uniting all
the working classes in associations, and secu
ring to all the same rights and opportunities
to work; there are to be no favored classes
or individuals, and the whole world is to form
one great solidarity. The so-called Katheder-
socialisten are not socialists in the ordinary
sense of the word, but a school of political
economy opposing the free traders. See, be
sides the works named in the biographies of
the principal socialists, Stein, Der Socialismus
und Communismus des heutigcn Frankreicli
(Leipsic, 1844), and Geschiclite der socialen
Beicegung in Frankreich (3 vols., Leipsic,
1849- ol) ; Bluntschli, Die Communisten in
der Schweiz (Zurich, 1843); Schiifne, Kapita-
lismus und Socialismus (Tubingen, 1870 ; Eng
lish translation by Kaufmann, London, 1875);
Noyes, " History of American Socialisms "
(Philadelphia, 1870); Diihring, KritiscTie Ge-
scliichte der National- Oekonomie und des So-
cialismus (Berlin, 1871); Le Play, Z Organisa
tion du travail (Paris, 1871), and La reforme
sociale en France (Paris, 1872) ; Nordhoff,
" The Communistic Societies of the United
States" (New York, 1875); and Holyoake,
" History of Cooperation" (London, 1875).

SOCIETIES, Literary and Scientific. The origin
of this distinctive title for private intellectual
associations is as ancient as that of academies.
(See ACADEMY.) Societies existed in antiqui
ty and in the middle ages, and in Germany and
the Netherlands they acquired importance in
the 15th century by promoting classical cul
ture. The associations or corporations of the
Meistersingers nourished till the 16th century.
The 17th century witnessed the formation of
bodies in Germany for the improvement of
the language, after the model of the Florentine
La Crusca and the French academy, and the
rise and progress of scientific societies, espe
cially of the " Royal Society of London," incor
porated in 1663 for the investigation and ad
vancement of physical science. Many impor
tant societies were formed in Great Britain
in the 18th century, including the " Society
of Antiquaries" (London, 1717), the "Royal
Society of Dublin" (1731), "Royal Society
of Edinburgh" (1783), "Medical" (London,
1773), and "Linnsean" (1788); and in 1800
sprang up in London the " Royal Institu
tion of Great Britain," celebrated for chemical
and other lectures. (See LONDON, vol. x., pp.
604- o.) The subsequent increase of learned
bodies was still more rapid. The United King
dom now has societies for almost all branches
VOL. xv. 10

of science, letters, learning, and art; and with
a view of establishing greater unity, the royal
society of London, and the astronomical, geo
logical, Linna3an, and chemical societies, are
to meet, after the completion of the palace of
learning in the new Burlington house, in the
same building, which is also to contain their
extensive libraries, collections, and reading
rooms. Most remarkable for stimulating many
of the important discoveries of the century are
the " Geological Society " (1807) and the " Roy
al Geographical Society " (1830). Those en
gaged in antiquarian and archaeological re
searches also display great vigor ; and special
bodies, as for instance those relating to explora
tions in Palestine, have achieved signal results.
Among other peculiarly valuable institutions
are the "Royal Astronomical Society " (1820),
which is one of the most important of the kind ;
the " Statistical Society " p 834 ), which throws
much light upon the national resources; and
the " Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain
and Ireland " (1823), with branches in Bom
bay, Madras, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. The
"Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal," at Calcutta,
dates from 1784. There are learned societies
in other parts of the East, in Canada, Austra
lia, and in almost every important part of the
British empire ; and all the leading societies
publish the results of their labors. The most
important English perambulatory body is the
" British Association for the Advancement of
Science," founded in 1831. (See ADVANCEMENT
OF SCIENCE.) The " National Association for
the Promotion of Social Science " held its first
public meeting at Birmingham, Oct. 12, 1857,
under the presidency of Lord Brougham. It
embraced originally the five departments of ju
risprudence, education, punishment and refor
mation, public health, and social economy ; and
a sixth department relating to trade and inter
national law was added in 1860. The annual
meetings are held at a different place each
year, and are chiefly occupied in reading dis
quisitions and in discussions. The continent
of Europe emulates England in encouraging
explorations, and this is especially the case
with the geographical societies of Berlin, St.
Petersburg, and Vienna, and the "Institute"
at Gotha. In France and Italy the number of
societies is diminished by the omnipotence of
the academies. The former country, however,
has several of importance, especially the so-
ciete geographique of Paris, which publishes a
celebrated monthly Bulletin, and the socicte
asiatique, which has called into existence ori
ental societies in Germany and England. In
the latter part of last century Germany had a
poets union (Gottinger Dichtcrbund or Hain-
fatnd) among its societies, with Klopstock at
its head. In the present century it has initia
ted scientific congresses and other associations
in the interest of political and social science,
and the country abounds with societies de
voted to every branch of knowledge, art, and
industrv. Among the oldest is the Wissen-

144

SOCIETY ISLANDS

scJiaftlicher Verein at Gottingen (1750), and
the best known are devoted to natural history
and geology, especially in Berlin. Switzerland,
Austria, Hungary, Russia, Holland, Belgium,
and the Scandinavian countries have various
learned bodies apart from the academies. They
abound also in the United States, especially in
regard to investigations of local and national
history, nearly every state having a historical
society with a library. The " New York His
torical Society" (founded in 1804) and the
"New York Geographical Society" (1852) are
described under NEW YORK, vol. xii., p. 404.
The most important society in the United
States is the "American Association for the
Advancement of Science," founded in 1847.
(See ADVANCEMENT of SCIENCE.) A " Social
Science Association," organized in Boston in
1865, had in 1874 about 300 members.

SOCIETY ISLANDS, a group in the S. Pacific
ocean, extending between lat. 16 and 18 S.,
and Ion. 148 and 155 W. ; area, GG6 sq. m. ;
pop. about 18,000. The group is formed of
two clusters of islands, one of which lies about
70 m. N. AV. of the other. They were formerly,
and by some geographers still are, distinguished
by the separate designations of the Society
islands (proper) and the Tahiti or Georgian
islands. The latter are under the French pro
tectorate ; area, 453 sq. m. ; pop. 13,800, of
whom about 970 are emigrants, 400 soldiers,
and 600 foreign residents. The former are in
dependent; area, 213 sq. m. ; pop. about 4,000.
Mariners usually speak of one cluster as the
windward and the other as the leeward, ap
plying the term Society islands to both com
bined. The Society islands, thus defined, ex
clusive of several islets, are Tahiti or Otaheite,
Eimeo, Maiaoiti, Haiti a, Tetuaroa, Huahine,
Raiatea, Otaha or Tahaa, Borabora, Marua or
Maupiti, and Tubai, the first five belonging to
the Tahiti group, and the remainder to the So
ciety islands proper. The islands are moun
tainous in the interior, the highest peak, on
the island of Tahiti, reaching an elevation of
7,339 ft., and have a border from 1 to 5 m.
wide of rich level ground extending from the
base of the high lauds to the sea. In general
appearance they are alike, and lava, basalts, and
pumice stone, which are found in several places,
indicate that their origin was volcanic. They
are surrounded by belts of coral rock, of va
rious width, situated from a few yards to 5 m.
from the shore, with openings which permit
the passage of canoes, while some of them ad
mit ships to smooth water and good anchorage.
There are small lakes and lagoons in some of
the islands, and all are watered by numerous
streams, upon the banks of which, or along the
shores, the inhabitants reside. There is con
siderable variety of soil, the sides of the moun
tains being frequently covered with a thin lay
er of light earth ; the summits of many of the
hills have a thick stratum of red ochre or yel
low marl, while the soil of the level tracts
along the shores is a rich alluvial deposit, mixed

with vegetable mould, and is exceedingly fer
tile. The climate is healthful and very mild,
the range of the thermometer throughout the
year being inconsiderable. Besides the bread
fruit, these islands produce almost every tropi
cal vegtable and fruit, including some peculiar
to the group. A few fruits and vegetables
have been introduced from the temperate re
gions. The guava shrub, brought from Nor
folk island, is now common, and bears a pro
fusion of fruit, upon which pigs and cattle
feed with avidity. Garden produce is little
cultivated, and agriculture is very backward.
A botanic garden, established by the French,
offers seeds to colonists and natives ; but there
is little demand for them, and prizes offered
to stimulate production were withdrawn in
1865 as useless. The spontaneous production
of fruits seems sufficient for the natives. An
Anglo-Portuguese agricultural company, estab
lished in 1861 for the cultivation of cotton and
coffee by Chinese coolies, has effected but little.
The introduction of limes and oranges has been
very successful. Pigs, dogs, and rats were the
only quadrupeds found upon the islands at the
time of their discovery ; but all our domestic
animals have been introduced, and with the
exception of the sheep and rabbit have thriven
remarkably well. Horned cattle are abundant.
There are numbers of aquatic fowl ; the alba
tross, tropic birds, and petrel are found on all
the islands; herons and wild ducks frequent
the lakes and lagoons ; and there are several
kinds of birds of prey, woodpeckers, and small
paroquets. Domestic fowl are abundant, and
were upon the group at the time it was dis
covered. The natives belong evidently to the
Malay race, and are generally above the middle
stature. Their countenances are open and pre
possessing, though their features are bold and
sometimes prominent. Their complexion is
olive or reddish brown, but there are great va
rieties of shades. The appearance of .the men
is vigorous and graceful, and their behavior
affable and courteous. Tattooing is not now
practised. The native costume has been alto
gether abandoned for dresses resembling those
worn by civilized nations. The native manu
factures have been entirely superseded by im
ported goods. The chief intercourse is carried
on with Valparaiso, Sydney, and San Fran
cisco, and the domestic exports of the group
consist principally of cocoanut oil, arrowroot,
sugar, and pearl shells. The annual exports
amount to about $1,000,000, and the imports to
about $650,000. The principal port, Papiete
in Tahiti (pop. about 800), is the residence of
several foreign merchants. It is a free port
except for arms and spirits, has a dock for
repairing vessels, government buildings, and a
hospital; and two newspapers, one in the na
tive language and one in French, are published.
The Spaniards lay claim to the discovery of
Tahiti in 1606, by Quiros, who called the isl
and Sagittaria. Capt. AVallis, in a British ship
sent to make discoveries in the South sea,

SOCIETY ISLANDS

SOCINUS

145

reached Tahiti in 1767, and named it King
George s island. Bougainville touched at it in
1768, naming it Nouvelle Cy there. Capt. Cook
reached it in 1769, discovered most of the
islands in the 1ST. W. cluster, gave to the whole
group the name of Society islands, in honor
of the royal society of London, and restored
the native name to Tahiti. The Spaniards
attempted to colonize Tahiti in 1772- 4; and
about that date Cooke visited the group a
second time, and again on his last voyage in
1777, when he found a house and cross which
the Spaniards had erected carefully preserved
by the natives. After this 11 years passed
without any communication between the So
ciety islands and the rest of the world, when
the Bounty arrived to transport plants of the
breadfruit tree to the British West India isl
ands. The interest excited by these voyages
resulted in the formation of the London mis
sionary society, which fitted out a ship to car
ry missionaries into the islands of the Pacific.
This vessel arrived at Tahiti early in 1797.
For a long time the labors of the missionaries
were fruitless, till Pomare II. embraced Chris
tianity about 1815. Pomare died in 1821, and
during the minority of his son the missionaries
acquired great influence ; but the son having
died before he attained manhood, he was suc
ceeded by Queen Aimata or Pomare, the lat
ter being the surname of the reigning family.
From the conversion of Pomare II. the power
of the missionaries continued increasing, till it
became paramount in Tahiti. The success of
the French Catholic missions on the islands to
the east induced two priests to go to Tahiti.
The English missionaries opposed this, and the
priests were forcibly deported. The French
government then sent a frigate to demand
liberty for all French subjects, and $2,000 as
the expenses of the voyage to France of the
expelled missionaries. In 1843 a strong force
landed on Tahiti and hoisted the French flag,
taking possession in the name of Louis Phi
lippe. (See Du PETIT-THOFAES.) The queen
made her escape to a neighboring island, and
several skirmishes took place between the na
tives and the invaders. There was also a
protracted diplomatic dispute with England,
which ended in the payment of an indem
nity by the French government for the ex
pulsion of the British consul Pritchard and
the seizure of some of his property. In 1846
the French power was completely established
in Tahiti. Pomare was recalled, and a treaty
was entered into, by which she was restored
to authority, and the whole of her domin
ions placed under the protection of France.
Capt. Cook, from the crowds which collected
on the coast, supposed the population of Tahiti
to be 80,000; but the first missionaries esti
mated it, along with that of the neighboring
island of Eimeo, at 10,000. A census by the
French in 1864 made the population of Tahiti,
Marua, Tetuaroa, and Maiaoiti, 13,847. The
reduction from former years is due to infanti-

cide, t venereal disease, smallpox, and rum. At
tempts have been made to increase the popula
tion by immigration. A f ew hundred Chinese
coolies have been introduced, and the French
deported convicts from New Caledonia, but
were obliged to withdraw them in 1864, on
account of their demoralizing influence upon
the natives. By the labors of the missionaries
the moral and social condition of the latter has
been much improved, and education is extend
ing. In 1865 school districts were established,
with two schools, one Protestant and one
Roman Catholic, in each district.

SOCIMJS (Ital. SOZZINI). I. Lrclins, an Ital
ian theologian, born in Siena in 1525, died in
Zurich, March 16, 1562. His studies led him
to doubt some of the fundamental doctrines
of the church, including that of the Trinity.
After various travels he resided in Switzer
land, Germany, and Poland, finally settling in
Zurich. In Wittenberg he gained the friend
ship of Melanchthon, and in Geneva of Cal
vin ; but the favor of the reformers was with
drawn when his peculiar doctrines were dis
covered. His life was written in Latin by Ill-
gen (8vo, Leipsic, 1814), who also published
in 1826 two parts of another work in quar
to, entitled Synibolce ad Vitam et Doctrinam
Lcelii Socini illustrandam. II. Faustus, nephew
of the preceding, born in Siena in December,
1539, died near Cracow, March 3, 1604. By
his skeptical spirit he had early made himself
obnoxious to the authorities of the church, and
at the age of 20 was compelled to seek safety
abroad. After the death of his uncle, whose
property and manuscripts he inherited, he re
turned to Italy. After spending 12 years as
an attendant upon the luxurious court of Flor
ence, he resolved to be a religious reformer,
and in 1574 took up his residence at Basel,
where he busied himself in elaborating into a
system the scattered hints and views in the
writings of Ltclius. In 1577 he appeared in
open debate, maintaining that the Trinity was
a pagan doctrine, and that Christ was a cre
ated and inferior being. This made him un
popular with the Swiss church, but gave him
fame abroad. He was called to Transylvania
to oppose Davidis, who had taken the extreme
ground that all adoration of Christ was idola
trous. His efforts being unsuccessful, he passed
into Poland, where the Anti-Trinitarian party
had gained a strong foothold. But his moder
ate opinions made him unpopular here, and he
was coldly received. After four years of resi
dence in Cracow, his marriage with the daugh
ter of a nobleman in the neighborhood gave
him new influence. He found a comfortable
home, and made proselytes from the noble and
wealthy classes. But his wife and her father
died, illness prostrated him, his lands in Italy
were confiscated, and a few years before his
death he was assailed by a mob, dragged into
the street, and exposed in the market place ;
his furniture was broken and his manuscripts
were destroyed. His works, contained in the

146

SOCIOLOGY

first two volumes of the Bibliotheca Fra^rum
Polonorum, consist of theological tracts, ex
positions of Scripture, and polemical treatises,
with a great number of letters. Many of his
unpublished letters are in the library of Siena.
Though Socinus was the founder of a school
in theology, his influence was rather negative
than positive. He denied the Trinity, the deity
of Christ, the personality of the devil, the na
tive and total depravity of man, the vicarious
atonement, and the eternity of punishment.
His theory was that Christ was a man divinely
commissioned, who had no existence before he
was conceived by the Virgin Mary ; that hu
man sin was the imitation of Adam s sin, and
that human saltation was the imitation and
adoption of Christ s virtue ; that the Bible was
to be interpreted by human reason, and that its
metaphors were not to be taken literally. The
name Socinian, which is often given to those
who hold Unitarian opinions as a term of re
proach, was for a century the honorable de
signation of a powerful and numerous religious
body in Poland, Hungary, and Transylvania.
It was only the union of the secular and eccle
siastical force during the reigns of Sigismund
III. and his successor that succeeded in break
ing up and dispersing the Socinian party in
Poland ; and the Racovian catechism (so called
from its place of publication, Rakow in Po
land), compiled mainly from the writings of
Socinus, is still the text book of faith and
worship in many Hungarian and Transylva-
nian churches. The opinions of Socinus are
professed still by many churches in Holland,
Switzerland, Great Britain, and the United
States. His life was written .by the Pole
Przypcovius, and by the Rev. Joshua Toul-
min (8vo, London, 1777).

SOCIOLOGY, the science which treats of the
actions of men living together in society, and
of the institutions thus created. Its scope em
braces the whole history of man from the ori
gin of language to the latest development of
modern civilization. As a constructive sci
ence it is of very recent birth. In a looser
sense, as consisting of general speculations
upon social affairs, it is almost as old as so
ciety itself. Plato, doubtless founding on le
gendary ideas about the relation between the
microcosm and the macrocosm, discovered the
parallelism between the parts of a society and
the faculties of the human mind ; he also phil
osophically explained the rise of division of
labor in a society. Aristotle classified politics,
constructed a framework for speculations on
government, and stated two of the three sources
of the origin of society: instinctive gregari-
ousness and experience of utility. The later
Greek historians of Rome indulged in some ar
bitrary theories about the influence of climate.
Ilobbes, following the lead of Plato, tried to
establish an erroneous parallelism between a
society and the human body ; but his concep
tion of the state, the Leviathan, as an organ
ism, a living whole made up of related parts,

was a real sociological advance. Pascal devel
oped this idea ; he regarded the whole succes
sion of human beings as a single individual
man, whose youth is the world s antiquity,
whose years are the world s generations, whose
maturity is the world s prime; he thus for
mally enunciated the idea of progress, so vital
to sociology. Vico held that it might be
shown that peoples the most widely separated
in place and time had followed nearly the
same course in the development of their lan
guages and political condition. About the
middle of the 18th century, the French eco
nomic sect of the physiocrats maintained that
there are natural laws of society which give
it a direction of its own, irrespective of legis
lative interference. Turgot even earlier had
discovered that all epochs of history are fast
ened together by a sequence of causes and
effects, and had concluded that there is an
ordered movement of advance in societies.
Herder, in his Ideen zur Philosophic der Ge-
schichte der Menschheit (1784), considers hu
manity as an individual tending through many
vicissitudes to perfection, which it reaches in
another world. Of the many socialist schemes
which sprang up after the French revolution,
that of Saint-Simon alone has any scientific
value ; and all that was true in his somewhat
unscientific speculations has been incorpora
ted by Saint-Simon s secretary and disciple
Auguste Comte in his positive philosophy.
Comte first subjected the whole course of his
tory to a careful analysis, so as to throw new
light on the development of society. He first
fully apprehended the relations of biology or
the science of man to sociology; first clearly
stated the diminishing influence of physical
surroundings on societies ; first gave its entire
weight to the increasing influence of social
circumstances, both on the society in which
we live and on that which has gone before us.
Comte was consequently the first to lay down
the lines, although they are rude and imperfect,
on which a scheme of society as it will be may
be constructed. His sociology, however, bears
the marks of the incomplete erudition and
backward science of the time. When, in the
hands of the Thierrys, Guizot, Villemain, and
many others, history had taken a new depar
ture, Comte profited by the movement. But
the studies of these distinguished writers were
too closely confined to the political and intel
lectual aspects of society, and Comte followed
them in their exclusiveness. Coming in the
wake of the great modern scientific move
ment, Herbert Spencer has attempted to change
the face of sociology. Taking up the analogy
between society and man, erroneously treated
by Plato and Ilobbes, Pascal and Turgot,
Spencer has converted it into a series of gen
eralizations exhibiting a correspondence be
tween individual organisms and societies, and
of these he has made the basis of his new sci
ence. He describes each community as a so
cial organism, which has structures and func-

SOCORRO

SOCRATES

tions. The structures are forms of govern
ment, civil, ecclesiastical, military, industrial,
and ceremonial ; the functions are sentiments,
ideas, industrial processes, the fine arts ; and
both closely resemble the structures and func
tions of an individual organism. In his. "First
Principles " he goes further, arid seeks to de
rive social and organic together with inorganic
laws from certain ultimate principles. Thus
the origin of division of labor in a commu
nity, and differences in industrial occupations,
are clearly due to diversities of external cir
cumstances. This is an induction ; as a mat
ter of fact all simple societies, various groups
of which are exposed to unlike outward condi
tions, tend to become complex societies. Spen
cer s a priori explanation is that, all influence
being force, river banks, sea shores, all cli
matic and local conditions, are forces. If they
do not influence the feelings and thus modify
the habits of organic beings near them, they
are wasted ; but this is inconceivable, for force
persists. The instability of homogeneous or
low forms of social life is therefore deducible
from the persistence of force. Passing from
general to special aspects of sociology, his plan
embraces next the history of the domestic re
lations. Political organizations as historically
based on the family will then be elucidated,
and the functions of government discrimina
ted. The necessary development of industry
from slavery through serfdom to cooperation
will be shown. Intellectual, aesthetic, and
moral progress will be regarded as psycho
logical processes determined by social condi
tions. And finally all phases of society will
be shown to be connected with and reacting
on one another. But one division of this im
mense work has been executed (1876).

SOCORRO, a S. W. county of New Mexico,
bordering on Arizona, intersected in the east
by the Rio Grande, and containing the sources
of the Gila river; area, about 11,500 sq. m. ;
pop. in 1870, 6,603. There are fertile val
leys along the streams, but the greater part of
the county is mountainous and unproductive.
Gold, iron, and other minerals are found. The
chief productions in 1870 were 26,889 bushels
of wheat, 26,860 of Indian corn, 24,006 Ibs. of
wool, and 2,150 gallons of wine. There were
271 horses, 1,313 milch cows, 1,628 working
oxen, 1,514 other cattle, 23,500 sheep, 547
swine, and 4 flour mills. Capital, Socorro.

SOCOTRA, an island in the Indian ocean, be
longing to the sultan of Oman, about 130 m.
E. N. E. of Cape Guardafui, the eastern ex
tremity of Africa ; length about 75 m., breadth
about 25 m. ; area, 1,309 sq. in. ; pop. about
3,000. Tamarida, the capital, is in lat. 12 39
N., Ion. 54 1 E. The surface is generally about
800 ft. above the sea, and the shores are bold.
Toward the north there is a ridge of moun
tains with several peaks rising to the height of
5,000 ft. There are some small streams, and
where there is sufficient moisture vegetation
is remarkably luxuriant. Date trees and cot

ton are cultivated ; but Socotra is particularly
famous for aloes and the gum of the dragon s
blood tree, both of which are said to be the
finest in the world. Camels, horned cattle,
sheep, asses, and goats are reared. There is
some trade with Muscat. Christianity appears
to have been planted on this island during the
apostolic age, and it remained Christian until
the end of the 15th century, sharing the fate
of the Nestorian church, which the Socotrans
had joined. The Portuguese several times at
tempted to occupy the island and to revive
Christianity. In 1834 the English explored
Socotra and appeared disposed to occupy it ;
but they abandoned the design when they oc
cupied Aden. There are two peculiar tribes
on^the island, one said to be descendants of
Jews, and the other of the Portuguese.

SOCRATES, a Greek philosopher, born in the
immediate neighborhood of Athens between
471 and 469 B. C., died in that city in 399.
He was the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor,
and of Pha3narete, a midwife, and was trained
in his father s art. Tradition ascribed to his
chisel three draped figures of the Graces which
in the time of Pausauias were shown at the
entrance to the acropolis. As a philosopher
he called himself self-taught, and referred his
knowledge sometimes to books, but more fre
quently to intercourse with distinguished men.
Though traditionally represented as an old,
bald-headed man, it is probable that his ex
traordinary peculiarities were early manifest
ed, and it is certain that he was famous both
among wits and the populace in 423, when
the "Clouds" of Aristophanes was first exhib
ited. Plato, Xenophon, and Aristophanes offer
different phases and estimates of his philoso
phy, but agree in the outline of his personal
qualities and habits. With remarkable physi
cal strength and endurance, he trained himself
to coarse fare, scanty clothing, bare feet, and
indifference to heat or cold, aiming thus to re
duce the number of his wants, as a distant ap
proach to the perfection of the gods. He had a
flat nose, thick lips, prominent eyes, bald pate,
squat figure, and ungainly gait, and wandered
about the streets of Athens, standing motion
less for hours in meditation, and charming all
classes and ages by his conversation ; so that
Alcibiades (in Plato s Symposium) likened him
to an uncouthly sculptured Silenus containing
within the images of the gods, and declared
that " as he talks, the hearts of all who hear leap
up and their tears are poured out." Though
a sage and a mart} r r, he was wholly removed
from asceticism, exemplified the finest Athe
nian social culture, was a witty as well as seri
ous disputant, and on festive occasions would
drink more wine than any other guest without
being overcome. Few events of his life are
recorded. Of his wife Xanthippe, all that has
passed into history is that she bore him three
sons, that she had a violent temper, and that
he said he married and endured her for self-
discipline. He was an enthusiastic lover of

148

SOCRATES

the city, within which alone he found instruc
tion, and beyond the walls of which he never
went, except once to a public festival, and
again to serve as hoplite at Potidaaa (about
431), on the outbreak of the Peloponnesian
struggle, at Delium (424), and at Amphipolis
(422). At Potida3a he went barefoot over
ice and snow, surpassed all other soldiers first
in the cheerful endurance of hunger and then
in the apparent enjoyment of plenty, and
saved the life of Alcibiades, to whom, instead
of himself, his own request caused the prize
of valor to be awarded. His composure and
bravery were alike distinguished at Delium
and Amphipolis. He sought influence neither
as a soldier nor statesman, and once only dis
charged a political oflice. In 406 he was one
of the five prytanes of the senate, when the
illegal sentence of death was proposed against
the victors at the Arginusse ; and he, being
epistates for that day, refused to put the ques
tion to vote, despite the menaces of the peo
ple and the assembly. With four other citi
zens he was summoned by the thirty tyrants
to go to Salamis and bring back Leon to pun
ishment ; and he alone refused. Engaged as a
missionary in the service of truth and virtue,
he was warned from participating in public
affairs by what he called a &lt;5aiju6viov, i. e., an
internal voice, which he professed to hear from
childhood in the way of restraint, but never in
the way of instigation, and which he was ac
customed to speak of familiarly and to obey
implicitly. This demon or genius of Socrates,
which was not personified by himself, was re
garded by Plutarch as an intermediate being
between gods and men, by the fathers of the
church as an evil spirit, by Le Clerc as one of
the fallen angels, by Ficino and Dacier as a
good angel, and by later writers as a personi
fication of conscience, or practical instinct,
or individual tact. Nor was this the only
way in which he thought he received the spe
cial mandates of the gods. By divinations,
dreams, and oracular intimations, he believed
his peculiar mission to be imposed upon him ;
and when the Pythian priestess pronounced
him to be the wisest of men, he was perplexed
between the decision of an authority which
he deemed worthy of all respect and his own
estimate that he had no wisdom whatsoever
on any subject. With this sanction, he struck
out the original path of an indiscriminate pub
lic talker for the sake of instruction. His
disinterestedness, poverty, temperance, easy
affability, and unrivalled sagacity, as well as
his plausible and captivating voice and man
ner, commended his conversation. He spent
the whole day in public, in the walks, the gym
nasia, the schools, the porticoes, the work
shops, and the market place at the hour when
it was most crowded, talking with every one
without distinction of age, sex, rank, or con
dition, discussing with politicians, sophists,
military men, artists, and ambitious youths,
eager to get self-knowledge and to awaken the

moral consciousness, striving to win now Alci
biades and now Theodota to virtue, never ac
cepting money in return for wisdom, attract
ing listeners during his later years even from
the remoter cities of Greece, but founding no
school, teaching in no fixed place, and writing
no books. His custom was by systematic cross
examination to convict every distinguished
man whom he met of ignorance. Thus, after
hearing the oracular eulogy from Delphi, as
reported by Plato in his "-Apology," he set
out to examine the men whom he deemed
wiser than himself. The politicians, the poets,
and the artificers were in turn affronted as
he attempted to demonstrate their conceit of
knowledge without its reality, their skill with
out wisdom. His irony, or assumption of the
character of an ignorant learner, till he in
volved his opponent in contradictory answers,
added zest to his discussions. But he differed
from the sophists, though he was ridiculed as
the chief of them, in that, whether serious or
humorous, he was ever seeking a positive basis
for truth, while they for the most part denied
the possibility of truth, and could ply the so
phistical art with entire indifference to it. In
his conception, virtue was as intellectual as
vice, and he let slip no opportunity to engage
with the masters of sophistry, to follow them
through their subtleties, to unravel their cap
tious inquiries, and to wield the weapons of
rhetorical adroitness in the interest of truth.
He exhibited undisguised contempt for the ru
lers, proclaiming that government was a most
difficult science, and that men, who would not
trust themselves in a ship without an experi
enced pilot, not only trusted themselves in a
state with untried rulers, but even sought to
become rulers themselves. He thus naturally
and necessarily made for himself enemies in
every direction and among all classes. At
tached to none of the political parties, ridi
culed in turn as a buffoon and as a moral cor-
rupter, at once satirized by Aristophanes and
hated by the thirty, especially odious from his
intimate connection with Critias and Alcibi
ades, only a decent pretext was wanted to bring
upon him the vengeance of power, and this was
found in a charge of impiety. An orator named
Lycon and a poet named Meletus united with
the demagogue Anytus in impeaching him for
despising the tutelary national gods, for intro
ducing other and new deities, and also for cor
rupting the youth. The details of the accusers
were, that he worshipped a demon unknown
to the mythology, that he contemned the
existing political constitution by ridiculing the
practice of choosing archons by lot, that he
taught young men the habit of depreciating the
entire mode of life of their fathers, and that he
quoted and perverted passages from the poems
of Homer and Hesiod to favor aristocratic doc
trines. He approached his trial with no ex
pectation of acquittal, though he had always
obeyed the laws, and even in religious opinions
was identified with the public mind of Athens.

SOCRATES

SODA

149

He commented upon all the imputations, and
denied some. He mentioned his blameless
life, his divine commission, and the consequent
antipathies which he aroused, refuted the
charge. of irreligion, maintained a calm, brave,
and almost haughty bearing, and declared his
solicitude rather for the good repute of the
Athenians than for himself. He heard with
out surprise the sentence of condemnation,
which was passed by a majority of only five or
six in the Athenian dicastery of 567 members.
It is probable that the prosecution was de
signed rather to humble than to destroy him.
Xenophon affirms that the defiant and fearless
tone of his defence was the direct cause of his
condemnation ; and it is certain that the capi
tal sentence which followed it was the conse
quence of his libera contumacia, as Cicero ex
presses it. The penalty of deatli having been
pronounced, he declared himself satisfied both
with his own conduct and with the result, cal
culated that his bearing on the trial would be
the most emphatic lesson which he could read
to the youth of Athens, and predicted that his
removal would be the signal for numerous suc
cessors in so worthy a work. An interval of
30 days was allowed for the annual Theoric
mission of the sacred ship to Delos, which he
passed in prison, with chains on his legs, in
conversation with his friends. The Platonic
dialogues of "Crito" and "Phaado," in addi
tion to their historic value, may be regarded
as imitations or developments of his last argu
ments on the duty of obedience to the laws
and on the evidence s of immortality. There
is no authority but. that of late and untrust
worthy writers for the statement that the
Athenians lamented his. fate and punished his
accusers. The Memorabilia of Xenophon and
the dialogues of Plato have been supposed to
represent an exoteric and an esoteric Socra
tes, and there has been a long controversy as
to which contains the most complete and true
history. The former professes to record ac
tual conversations held by him, and was de
signed as an apology; while the Socrates of
the latter is the spokesman of theories which
may or may not have been the opinions of the
master as well as the disciple. But the two
pictures thus presented are in the main accor
dant. Socrates marks the epoch in Greek phi
losophy when speculation turned from physics
to ethics. He directed his attention to hu
man relations and duties. Astronomy he pro
nounced a divine mystery ; geometry he val
ued only for land-measuring ; general physics
he discarded altogether as having furnished
and promising nothing but hypothetical, con
trary, and useless results ; human practice alone,
with the knowledge pertaining to it, was es
teemed the proper subject of human investiga
tion. According to Cicero, "Socrates called
philosophy down from the heavens to earth,
and introduced it into the cities and houses of
men, compelling men to inquire concerning life
and morals and things good and evil." The

most complete discussions concerning Socrates
are in general histories of Greece and of phi
losophy. See also Moses Mendelssohn s life of
Socrates, prefixed to his own Phcedon ; Nares,
"An Essay on the Demon or Divination of So
crates" (1782) ; Wiggers, Sokrates als Mensch,
Burger und Philosoph (1811) ; Schleiermacher,
Ueber den Werth des Sokrates als Philosophen
(1815- 18) ; Lelut, Du demon de Socrate (1836) ;
K. F. Hermann, De Socratis Accusatoribus
(1854) ; and Zeller, " Socrates and Socratic
Schools" (1868). Ueber weg s "History of Phi
losophy" (1872), vol. i., pp. 80-88, contains a
full list of works.

SODA, a name given to sodic monoxide, or
common oxide of sodium, Na 2 O, the base of
the important series of sodium salts; also to
the hydrated oxide, or caustic soda, NallO,
and in commerce to the normal carbonate, Na 2
C0 3 + 10H 2 O. Anhydrous sodic monoxide, or
the soda of the chemist, Na 2 O, is formed when
the metal is burned in dry air or oxygen gas,
by exposing the dioxide to a high heat, or by
heating sodic hydrate with an equivalent quan
tity of metallic sodium, whereby NallO + Xa
is converted intoNa 2 + H. When sodium is
burned in oxygen gas till its weight is constant
a dioxide, Na 2 2 , is formed. When exposed
to the air it deliquesces, and, uniting with car
bon dioxide, resolidifies as carbonate. When a
heap of it is moistened it becomes heated and
evolves oxygen gas. The monoxide attracts
moisture as powerfully as the corresponding
potassic oxide, forming sodic hydrate or caustic
soda, from which the water cannot be expelled
by heat alone. The properties of caustic soda
resemble those of caustic potash, and it may
be prepared from the carbonate by a similar
method (see POTASH, vol. xiii., p. 756) ; but its
action upon acids is rather less energetic. Its
specific gravity is 2 13. It is manufactured
on a large scale in the alkali works accord
ing to a process proposed by Mr. Gossage, by
which advantage is taken of the presence of
caustic soda in the black ash solution. The
crude solution of black ash vats is evapora
ted to a specific gravity of 1*5 or T6, during
which operation most of the carbonate, sul
phate, and chloride crystallize out. The " red
liquor," as it is technically called, which owes
its color to a compound of sulphide of sodium
and sulphide of iron, and which is also con
taminated with ferrocyanide and sometimes
with sulphocyanide of potassium, has air forced
through it while hot, which causes the precipi
tation of the iron as sesquioxide and the con
version of the sulphur compounds into sul
phates. The addition of sodic nitrate com
pletes the oxidation, and this salt may be used
for the whole process. After its addition the
evaporation is carried further until the whole
mass is heated nearly to redness. When the
temperature rises to 311 large quantities of
ammonia are evolved, and as it increases ni
trogen escapes abundantly. The fused soda is
poured into sheet-iron vessels, in which it so-

150

SODA

lidifies. The normal carbonate, existing in cer
tain lakes in Egypt and Hungary, and in the
volcanic springs of Iceland and North Amer
ica, often containing sesquicarbonate, was long
known in commerce as natron. Large quan
tities of it and of other soda salts occur in the
form of an efflorescence on the " alkali plains "
of the western territories. It was formerly pre
pared artificially from kelp, or the ashes of sea
weeds and f uci, and also from barilla, the semi-
fused ash of the salsola soda, a plant which has
been cultivated with great care by the Span
iards, especially in the vicinity of Alicante, the
seed being sown in light low soils which are
irrigated by sea water. Barilla yields much
more soda than kelp, the latter being now prin
cipally used for obtaining iodine. But the
quantity of soda obtained from barilla is small
in comparison with that manufactured by the
process of Leblanc, which consists in first con
verting chloride of sodium or common salt into
sulphate of sodium or Glauber s salt, and then
converting the sulphate into carbonate by heat
ing it with carbonate of lime and coal. The
conversion of common salt into sulphate or
"salt cake" is called the "salt-cake process,"
and is effected in a salt-cake furnace. One of
the best forms of furnace contains two iron
vessels or retorts placed in separate heating
apartments or furnaces, but connected with
each other by a neck. Into the first vessel,
called the decomposer, which is oval, are in
troduced 5 or 6 cwt. of common salt and a gath
er less weight of sulphuric acid of sp. gr. 1*78,
and a gentle heat is applied. Hydrochloric
acid is evolved and passes off by a flue to con
densing towers containing fragments of coke
or stone, thro-ugh which water is allowed to
trickle. There are two towers, the first one
receiving the vapors at the bottom, passing
what are not absorbed to the top of the other,
from- the bottom of which the residue, mostly
air and some impurities, issues and passes into
a large chimney. In the first vessel about
half the salt is decomposed, when the pasty
mass, consisting of acid sulphate of sodium and
undecomposed salt, is thrust into the second
vessel or roaster, which is heated to a high
er degree, and the decomposition completed.
The reaction in the first vessel is as follows :
2NaCl * H 2 S0 4 = NaCl + XaII,SO 4 + IIC1. In
the second vessel the acid sodic sulphate re
acts upon the unchanged salt, the hydrogen
taking the chlorine to form hydrochloric acid,
leaving two molecules of sodium to unite with
the sulphion, SO 4 ; thus, NaCl + K"aIISO 4 =
HCl + Na 2 S04. The hydrochloric acid gas
from both vessels passes through the same flue
and condensing towers. The neutral sulphate
or "salt cake" is then removed from the sec
ond chamber, reduced to powder, and mixed
with powdered chalk and coal, in the propor
tion of two parts each of sulphate and chalk
and one part of coal. This mixture is then
thrown in quantities of from 2 to 3 cwt. into
a reverberatory furnace, and melted while be

ing stirred. The mass is then raked out into
a mould from which it is turned when cold,
forming ball soda, or black ash, which contains
from 20 to 27 per cent, of pure soda or neu
tral carbonate, minus its water of crystalliza
tion, and mixed with calcium sulphate, quick
lime, and imburned coal. The reaction is
represented as follows: Na 2 S04 + CaC0 3 + 4C
=Na 2 C0 3 + CaS + 4CO, the chemical changes
consisting firstly in the deoxidation of the salt
cake, and its conversion into disodic sul
phide with evolution of carbonic oxide, and
secondly in the formation of sodic carbonate
and calcic sulphide by interchange of the con
stituents of the disodic sulphide and calcic car
bonate. The sodium salts are extracted in a
series of vats, by warm water which passes
from one to the other. Calcium sulphide,
which is formed in large quantities, was for
merly a waste product, but is now partly util
ized in the preparation of hyposulphite of soda,
which has been employed to a considerable
extent as an "antichlor" for removing the
last traces of chlorine from bleached paper
pulp. The black solution obtained by the lix-
iviation of the black ash is allowed to settle,
when it is pumped into iron pans and evapo
rated by the waste heat from the furnaces.
Much of the salt crystallizes during ebullition
and is removed by perforated ladles. The
mother liquor retains a portion of caustic soda,
which may be converted into carbonate by
mixing it with sawdust and roasting in a rever
beratory furnace. At present, however, this
conversion into carbonate is not much prac
tised, but the caustic soda is extracted accord
ing to the plan of Mr. Gossage, already de
scribed. The crude carbonate is crystallized
by redissolving it in hot Avater, allowing this
to become clear by standing, and then running
it into deep pans, having a capacity to yield
about one ton of crystallized carbonate. The
solution cools in five or six days, and large
crystals are formed. The mother liquor yields
an inferior ash. Sodic carbonate, or commer
cial neutral carbonate of soda, has a nauseous
alkaline taste, and crystallizes in large trans
parent rhomboidal prisms, containing 10 mole
cules of water, which melt in their water of
crystallization, are soluble in any proportion
of hot water, and are also very soluble in cold
water. The salt easily parts with its water,
and melts at a red heat. If it is crystallized
at a temperature of 4 F., 15 molecules of
water of crystallization are taken up. Mit-
scherlich obtained sodic carbonate with six
molecules of water of crystallization. Above
93 2 the salt crystallizes in forms derived from
the square-based octahedron, containing five
molecules of water; but between 158 and
176 it crystallizes in four-sided prisms con
taining only one molecule of water. The max
imum solubility of soda in water is at 100 4.
The principal uses of commercial carbonate of
soda are in the preparation of the bicarbonate
and of caustic soda ; in the manufacture of hard

SODA POWDERS

SODIUM

151

soap, for which, purpose it is better adapted
than potash on account of not being deliques
cent like the latter alkali (see SOAP) ; and also
very largely in the preparation of paper pulp
from various materials. The paper maker uses
it in connection with quicklime, which reduces
it to caustic soda. (See PAPER.) It is also
used in the laundry, and for domestic and
cleansing purposes generally.

SODA POWDERS. See EFFERVESCENCE.

SODA WATER. See MINERAL WATERS.

SODERMA&gt; T LMD, a S. E. Isen or province of
Sweden, bounded N. by Lake Maalar, E. by the
Isen of Stockholm, which embraces a portion
of the old province of Sodermanland, and S.
E. by the Baltic; area, 2,603 sq. m. ; pop. in
1874, 138,696. It is generally level and fer
tile, and abounds in inland lakes, including
part of Lake Hjelmar. Agriculture is the
principal occupation, and the fisheries and
lumber trade are of some importance. Capi
tal, Nykoping.

SODIUM, the most abundant of the alkali met
als, its chloride composing the principal part
of the saline matter of the ocean, and also ex
isting in extensive beds in geological strata.
Large quantities of nitrate and carbonate of
sodium are found in beds, and in some rocks
it is combined with silica. The metal was ob
tained by Sir Humphry Davy soon after his
discovery of potassium, and by a similar meth
od. Gay-Lussac and Thenard afterward pre
pared it by decomposing sodic hydrate with
metallic iron at a white heat. It may be pre
pared readily by the process of Brunner, which
consists in distilling a mixture of the carbonate
with powdered charcoal. The process has
been improved by Deville and others, and em
ployed on a large scale in manufacturing. The
carbonate of soda used in the process is pre
pared by calcining the crystallized neutral car
bonate. It is thoroughly dried, pounded, and
mixed with a slight excess of charcoal. Ground
chalk is also added, to preserve a pasty condi
tion and prevent the carbonate of soda from
separating from the charcoal. The following
proportions are recommended by Deville for
manufacturing operations: dry carbonate of
soda, 30 kilogrammes; charcoal, 13; chalk, 3.
The materials should be thoroughly mixed, and
it is well to calcine the mixture before putting
it into the distilling apparatus, by which it is
made more compact, so that a greater quan
tity can be introduced. It is put into cylindri
cal iron retorts covered with clay, which are
heated in a reverberatory furnace. The re
torts have movable ends, so that at the close
of the operation the charge may be withdrawn
and a fresh one introduced without removing
the cylinders or putting out the fire. The re
ceivers are of the form used in the preparation
of potassium. (See POTASSIUM, vol. xiii., p.
758.) The same precautions are necessary as
in the preparation of that metal. The chalk
is employed to prevent the charcoal from sep
arating the carbonate of soda when it fuses.

The charcoal combines with oxygen when the
heat is sufficient to weaken the affinities be
tween the constituents of the salt, and the
metallic sodium is left free, when it distils
over and is condensed in the receiver, nearly
pure if the operation is well conducted. It is
perfectly purified by melting it under naphtha,
when it may be run into moulds like those used
for lead. Sodium is a brilliant silver-white
metal, resembling potassium in its physical and
in most of its chemical properties. It is a good
conductor of heat and electricity. Its specific
gravity is 0-972, its atomic weight 23, and its
symbol Na, (jiatriwri). It is soft at common
temperatures, fuses at 207 7 F., and oxidizes
rapidly in the air. At the freezing point of
water it is very ductile, and at the zero of
Fahrenheit it is quite hard. If a small quan
tity of the metal is melted in a sealed tube
filled with coal gas, and cooled till crystalliza
tion begins, when the liquid portion is turned
off shining octahedral crystals w r ill remain.
When dropped into cold water it decomposes
it with violence, evolving hydrogen gas, but
does not produce, enough heat to inflame it
unless the metal is held in one spot so that the
heat shall not be dissipated. If the water is
previously warmed, the gas will take fire, burn
ing with a bright characteristic yellow flame.
Sodium is widely diffused in the mineral, ani
mal, and vegetable kingdoms, united with silicic
and carbonic acid in many minerals, forms a
large share of the saline portions of animal flu
ids, and enters largely into the composition of
marine plants. It unites with oxygen to form
two well known oxides : the monoxide, Xa 2 O,
the soda of the chemists, and the dioxide, Na 2 O 2 .
These two oxides are formed when sodium is
burned in common air. Yv r hen burned in oxy
gen gas till it no longer increases in weight, it
is wholly converted into the dioxide. With
water it forms a hydrate, NallO, which corre
sponds in composition to the monoxide, a mole
cule of hydrogen replacing one of sodium. This
hydrate is the caustic soda of commerce. (See
SODA.) Salts. The salts of sodium are among
the most important of all compounds, not ex
cepting those of potassium. The principal one is
the chloride, or common salt. (See SALT.) The
iodide, N"al, and the bromide, NaBr, are anal
ogous to the corresponding potassium com
pounds. At temperatures above 86 the bro
mide crystallizes in anhydrous cubes, but- at
lower temperatures it unites with two mole
cules of water and forms hexagonal tables. The
iodide, at temperatures above 10-4, crystallizes
in anhydrous cubes ; but at ordinary tempera
tures large, transparent, striated, oblique rhom
bic prisms are formed, containing two molecules
of water. The small proportion of sodic iodide
which is contained in sea water furnishes the
commercial supply of iodine, the kelp from
which iodine is obtained being the ashes of
marine plants which assimilate the iodide from
the sea water. (See IODINE.) The sulphides of
sodium correspond to those of potassium, and

152

SODIUM

may be prepared by similar processes. The
fluoride, NaF, exists in combination with alu-
minic fluoride in the mineral cryolite 6(NaF),
A1 2 F 6 , found in Greenland and the Ural, which
is the chief source of metallic aluminum. (See
ALUMINUM, and CEYOLITE.) Sodic sulphate,
the well known Glauber s salt, is described un
der that title. Sodium unites with sulphurous
acid to form a neutral and an acid sulphite.
The neutral salt, NaaS0 8 + 10H a p, is procured
by passing sulphurous anhydride (see SUL-
PIIUE), the product of sulphur burned in air,
over moistened crystals of sodic carbonate as
long as the gas is absorbed, dissolving the mass
in water and crystallizing. It is extensively
employed for the preparation of the hyposul
phite of soda, which is largely used under the
name of "antichlor" to remove the last traces
of chlorine from bleached paper pulp. (See
PAPER, vol. xiii., p. 46.) The acid sulphite,
NaIISO 3 , is of little importance. The hypo
sulphite, Na 2 S 2 O 3 + 5II 2 O, was formerly made
to some extent from impure sodic sulphide,
or sulphuret of sodium, by passing sulphurous
anhydride through it until it ceased to be ab
sorbed ; but it is now largely prepared from
neutral sulphite of soda by digesting this salt
with sulphuric acid for several days, at a mod
erate heat. It may also be prepared by digest
ing a solution of the sulphite with flowers of
sulphur. The sulphur is gradually dissolved,
forming a clear solution which yields crystals
on evaporation ; these are oblique prisms be
longing to the right prismatic system, free
ly soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol.
Hyposulphite of soda possesses the property
of forming double salts with silver compounds,
and in photography it is employed in dissolv
ing away ordinary insoluble compounds of sil
ver, such as chloride and iodide. A mixed
solution of sulphite and hyposulphite of soda
dissolves malachite and blue copper ore, and
Stromeyer has employed it in the hydro-metal
lurgical extraction of copper. It is also used
for preparing antimonial cinnebar and aniline
green. Hyposulphite of soda fuses at compar
atively low temperatures in its water of crys
tallization, and advantage is taken of this prop
erty in the sealing of glass tubes containing
explosive compounds to be used under water
in torpedoes. Mr. M. Carey Lea employs it
as a new test for ruthenium. If a salt of this
metal is made alkaline with ammonia and
boiled with the hyposulphite, it first acquires
arose color, and then a magnificent carmine.
Employed in medicine, it appears to have de
oxidizing powers, in consequence, it has been
suggested, of conversion of hyposulphurous
into sulphuric acid. It diminishes urea and
increases uric acid in the urine, and also in
creases the sulphates and causes the appear
ance of sugar and oxalic acid. It has been
used, in accordance with the suggestions of
Dr. Polli, in zymotic diseases, or those which
are supposed to be caused by ferments in the
blood, the development of which it has the

power of arresting. It has also been used in
cases of yeasty vomiting, on account of its
destructive effect on the sarcenia xentriculi
which infests the stomach in that disease, and
as a local application in parasitic affections
of the skin and mucous membranes. It may
be given in doses of from 10 to 20 grains
three times a day, dissolved in water. For
external use a dram may be dissolved in an
ounce of water. The nitrate, called also cubic
nitre, is described in the article NITRATES.
The neutral carbonate, commonly called soda
in commerce, is treated under SODA. Bicar
bonate of soda, acid sodic carbonate, or mono-
sodic carbonate, may be formed by saturating
a strong solution of the neutral carbonate or
sal soda with carbonic acid. It is also manu
factured on a large scale by passing a current
of carbonic acid gas over crushed and moist
ened crystals of commercial carbonate, exposed
two or three inches in depth in a chamber
upon cloths stretched horizontally above one
another. The carbonate passes into the ses-
quicarbonate, and then into the bicarbonate,
which may be redissolved and crystallized on
evaporation in rectangular four-sided prisms,
soluble in 10 parts of water at 50. If the so
lution is heated, four molecules of bicarbonate
lose one of carbonic acid and are converted
into the sesquicarbonate (45s"aIICO 3 =2Ka 2 CO 3 ,
IIoCOs + HoCOs), which by heating to redness,
or by continued boiling, is converted into nor
mal carbonate. Bicarbonate of soda is much
used in medicine as an antacid and promoter
of mucous secretions and perspiration, and as
an ingredient in effervescing powders. (See
EFFERVESCENCE.) It is also used in bread
making, as was formerly the sesquicarbonate.
There are several compounds of sodium with
boracic acid, but only one is of any practical
importance, the acid borate (biborate of soda,
or common borax), which is described in the
article BORAX. Sodium forms with the three
varieties of phosphoric acid orthophosphates,
metaphosphates, and pyrophosphates. Among
the orthophosphates are trisodic phosphate,
or subphosphate of sodium, Na 3 PO 4 + 12II 2 O,
prepared from rhombic phosphate by adding
caustic soda to its solution ; and the hydric
disodic phosphate, or rhombic phosphate of
sodium, Na 2 HP0 4 + 12IIoO, commonly called
phosphate of soda, and the salt from which
most of the phosphates are obtained. The
latter is prepared by adding sodic carbonate to
acid calcic phosphate, one of the salts formed
in obtaining phosphorus. (See PHOSPHORUS,
vol. xiii., pp. 464 and 465.) Tricalcic phos
phate is precipitated while the disodie phos
phate is held in solution. "When decanted and
evaporated it forms large, transparent, efflo
rescent, rhombic prisms, soluble in four parts
of cold water, but fusing at 00 F. in their
water of crystallization. It has an alkaline re
action, and corrodes flint glass, causing white
silicious scales to separate from the surface.
When evaporated at temperatures above 90

SODOM

SOUL

153

it combines \vith seven molecules of water
of crystallization, and does not effloresce.
On adding free phosphoric acid to a solution
of rhombic phosphate, biphosphate of soda,
N"aH a + PO4 + HaO, is formed, which crystal
lizes in right rhombic prisms having a strong
ly acid reaction. There are several metaphos-
phates of sodium, and also double salts of the
same constitution in which another metal is
one of the basyles. There are several pyro-
phosphates, embracing also both single and
double salts, for a description of which the
reader is referred to the larger works on chem
istry. The silicates of sodium are glasses of
various degrees of fusibility, and also of solu
bility in water. (See COXCEETE, GLASS, and
GLASS, SOLUBLE.) There are several organic
salts of sodium, the principal of which are
acetates, citrates, oxalates, tartrates, and vale-
rianates ; but they do not possess sufficient gen
eral interest to require notice here. General
Characteristics of Sodium Salts. There are
no good direct tests of sodium salts, because
they are nearly all soluble, so that the presence
of sodium is often inferred when the absence
of every other metal is proved, and yet a saline
substance remains which yields yellow, striated,
prismatic crystals on addition of chloride of
platinum and evaporating the solution, a double
salt of sodium and platinum being formed.
The detection of this double salt is more cer
tain by microscopic examination with polar
ized light, which tinges the crystals with va
rious characteristic colors. Before the blow
pipe the salts of sodium impart an intense
yellow to the outer flame. Spectroscopic ex
amination reveals pure yellow light having the
same position in the solar spectrum as the
double line D. The chief distinguishing char
acteristics between sodium and potassium salts
are, that the latter impart a violet color to
flames, and are generally more insoluble, as
shown in the slight solubility of sulphate of
potassium and the great solubility of Glauber s
salt. Many sodium salts moreover effloresce
on exposure to the air, while potassium salts
generally deliquesce, a fact markedly shown in
the carbonates.

SODOM, in Biblical history, one of the five
cities of the plain or valley of Siddim, de
stroyed on account of the wickedness of the
inhabitants. (See DEAD SEA.)

SOEST, a town of Prussia, in the province of
Westphalia, 13 m. X. by E. of Arnsberg; pop.
in 1871, 12,404. It has a Catholic cathedral,
and among the Protestant churches the re
stored Weisenkirche is remarkable for its pure
Gothic architecture. There are many brew
eries and several manufactories. The princi
pal trade is in grain. The plain surrounding
the town contains 10 villages, and is very fer
tile. Soest was once a Hanseatic town of great
importance, but has never recovered from the
effects of the thirty years war.

SOFALA, I. A country on the E. coast of
Africa, within the territory of Mozambique,

of which it forms the southern half. It ex
tends from about lat. 18 to 24 S., and from
the seaboard to the Motapa mountains, hav
ing an extreme length of about 400 m. and a
breadth of nearly 200 m. Along the coast the
land is low and swampy, but it rises toward
the interior till it terminates in the Motapa
range. The country is watered by several
considerable rivers, of which the most impor
tant are the Sofala, the Sabia, and the Inham-
ban or Inhambane. The Portuguese establish
ed colonial settlements in Sofala early in the
1 6th century, and the country is still nominal
ly a dependency of Portugal, although Euro
pean rule is really limited to the few garri
soned stations near the coast. The chief towns
are Sofala and Inhamban ; the latter port is 8
m. from the mouth of the river of the same
name, in lat, 23 57 S., Ion. 30 6 E., and has
a good harbor. The exports are mainly am
ber, beeswax, and ivory. The natives are ne
groes, and the slave trade is carried on, but to
no considerable extent. Sofala was formerly
celebrated for its export of gold dust, and some
geographers have supposed it to be the Ophir
of the ancients. The coast region is very un-
healthful. II. A town in the above country,
formerly the capital of a native kingdom, at
the mouth of the river Sofala, in lat. 20 3 S.,
Ion. 34 39 E. It has a fort and a church,
and consists of a few mud and straw huts,
though once a place of considerable trade. A
bar at the mouth of the river interferes with
the approach of large vessels.

SOGDIA&gt;"A, an ancient country of Asia, S. E.
of the sea of Aral (Oxianus Lac us). It was
separated from Bactria on the southwest by
the Oxus, and from Scythia on the north by
the Jaxartes, thus embracing a part of modern
Bokhara. The Persians conquered it in the
time of Cyrus. Alexander invaded it in 329
B. C., and established some colonies. After
his death it belonged to Syria, and subsequently
fell to the Turkomans.

SOHAR, a seaport town of Oman, Arabia,
capital of the province of Batina, on the sea
of Oman, 125 m. X. W. of Muscat ; pop. about
20,000. It is surrounded by a wall, defended
by a few guns. The castle, a handsome build
ing with three walls around it, occupies a low
hill, from which an open space planted with
trees extends to the sea. The market place is
lanre and regular, and contains good shops.
Many of the liouses are of two and three sto
ries and well built. The roadstead is well pro
tected, and offers good anchorage, but large
vessels have to lie some distance off shore.
Outside the walls is an open sandy space, but
beyond it are gardens with shade trees and
running waters. The chief manufactures of
the town are arms, stuffs of wool, cotton, and
silk, carpets, and coverlets. Sohar once had a
large trade, but it has been injured by the
prosperity of Muscat, and many of its build-
iners are now in a semi-ruinous condition.

SOHL. See ZOLYOM.

154:

SOIIN

SOLANUM

SOIIN, Karl Ferdinand, a German painter, born
in Berlin, Dec. 10, 1805, died in Cologne, Nov.
25, 1867. He studied at the academy of Ber
lin and under Schadow, whom he accompanied
to Diisseldorf and to Italy. He was professor
at the academy of Diisseldorf from 1838 to
1855, and became one of the leaders of the
Diisseldorf school. He especially excelled in
the rich coloring of female figures, and in
idealized portraits of ladies. His works in
clude " Rinaldo and Armida " (1827) ; " Hylas
captured by Nymphs " (1829) ; "Diana in her
Bath" (1833); "The Two Leonoras," after
Goethe s Tasso (1834); "Romeo and Juliet "
(183G); "The Sisters" (1843); "Vanitas"
(1844) ; " The Lute Player " (1848) ; " The Four
Seasons" (1851); and "Loreley" (1853).
His son PAUL EDUAED RICHARD (born in 1834)
excels in genre and portrait painting. His
nephew and son-in-law WILHELM (born in
1830) has executed good genre pictures, inclu
ding "A Delicate Question" (1864), and "The
Consultation with a Lawyer" (1866).

SOIL* See AGEICULTUEE.

SOISSONS (anc. Noviodunum, and afterward
Augusta Suessionum), a fortified town of
France, in the department of Aisne, on the
left bank of the river Aisne, 56 in. N. E. of
Paris; pop. in 1872, 10,404. It has a cathe
dral built in the 12th and 13th centuries, the
ruined abbey of St. Jean des Vignes, a castle,
and a college. In the environs is the abbey
of St. Medard, founded by Clotaire I. in 557,
now occupied as an institute for deaf mutes.
There are manufactures of fine tapestry, linen,
hosiery, cordage, earthenware, and leather.
Soissons was the chief place of the Suessiones
in the time of Cresar, and at the beginning of
the 6th century the capital of Clovis, who had
there defeated the Roman general Syagrins
(486), and it gave name to the kingdom of his
fourth son. It has sustained many sieges. On
Oct. 16, 1870, it surrendered to the Germans,
after three weeks investment and four days
bombardment. The council which condemned
Abelard s doctrines met here in 1122.

SOROTO, See SACKATOO.

SOLANDER, Daniel Charles, a Swedish natural
ist, born in Norrland, Feb. 28, 1736, died in
London, May 16, 1782. He was educated at
TJpsal under Linnaaus, studied medicine, made
a tour in Russia, and went to England in 1760,
after spending some time in flie Canaries. He
was employed in preparing a catalogue of the
collections in the British museum, and in 1766
published a catalogue of the Brander Collec
tion of fossils. In l76S- 7l he accompanied
Sir Joseph Banks on Capt. Cook s first voyage
round the world. In 1771 he received the de
gree of D. C. L. from Oxford university. In
1773 he was appointed under librarian to the
British museum. lie greatly promoted the
study of botany in England.

SOLAN GOOSE. See GANNET.

SOLANO, a N. W. county of California, bound
ed S. E. by the Sacramento river and S. by

Suisun bay: area, 800 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870,
16,871, of whom 920 were Chinese. The sur
face consists mostly of valleys, marsh lands,
undulating prairies, and high rounded hills.
It is one of the best agricultural counties in
the state. There is very little timber. Marble
is found, and limestone from which a superior
hydraulic cement is obtained. It is traversed
by the California Pacific railroad. The chief
productions in 1870 were 1,949,418 bushels of
wheat, 443,400 of barley, 54,780 gallons of
wine, 306,817 Ibs. of wool, 119,969 of butter,
and 37,469 tons of hay. There were 6,852
horses, 1,046 mules and asses, 4,123 milch
cows, 8,815 other cattle, 41,890 sheep, and 17,-
133 swine ; 1 manufactory of cars, 1 of cement,
1 of machinery, 7 of sacldlery and harness, 8
of wine, 1 flour mill, 3 tanneries, and 3 brew
eries. Capital, Fail-field.

SOLANUI, the name (of unknown deriva
tion) of a genus of plants which is the type
of a large and important order, the solanacece.
Some of the conspicuous species of solatium
being popularly known as nightshade, the
order or family is often called the nightshade
family. The solanums are annual or perennial
herbs, and in warm climates they include
shrubs, and even trees, with alternate leaves;
the flowers, sometimes terminal or axillary,
are often extra-axillary, appearing upon the
stem at some point between the leaves, an un
usual position due to a more or less complete
union between the flower stalk and the main
stem. The calyx and wheel-shaped corolla are
mostly five-parted or five-lobed, the five sta
mens with very short filaments, the large, an
thers crowded around the style, and opening
by a pore at the apex of each cell; the (mostly)
two-celled ovary is surmounted by a simple
style with an obtuse stigma, and in fruit be
comes a two-celled berry containing numerous
flattened, somewhat kidney-shaped seeds with
a fleshy albumen. The genus solatium is exten
sive; in its latest revision (Dunal, 1852) some
850 well defined species are admitted, and
about 100 not sufficiently known are enumer
ated ; they are found in all temperate coun
tries, but in tropical regions, especially those
of South America, they are very abundant.
The most important species is solatium tiibero-
sum (see POTATO), the tubers of which are so
generally used as food. The tomato (described
under its proper title) was placed here by
Linnaeus, and though later botanists have given
it a separate genus, lycopersicum, it can hardly
be kept distinct from solatium. Under EGG
PLANT is described another cultivated species,
and under NIGHTSHADE is given a common
weed, S. nigrum. Several species are cultiva
ted for ornament in gardens and greenhouses,
and a few wild species, not elsewhere men
tioned, are of importance as weeds. The
beaked solanum (S. rostratum), very abundant
on the plains west of the Mississippi, is a
much-branched annual, 2 to 3 ft. high and
abundantly armed with strong yellow spines ;

SOLANUM

SOLAR TIME

155

it has yellow flowers, one of the anthers of
which is much larger than the others, and,
being prolonged into a long curved beak, has
given the species its name ; the small berry is
included in the very spiny calyx. This has
been introduced into gardens, and in some
places has become a weed ; the plant is inter
esting from the fact that it afforded the Colo
rado potato beetle its chief food before the in
troduction of the potato in the far west. (See
POTATO BUG.) One of the worst weeds of
cultivation is S. Carolinense, known in some
localities as horse nettle, and in others as ap
ple of Sodom; it has a perennial root, with
prickly steins a foot or more high ; the oblong,
sinuate leaves prickly on both sides ; the blu
ish white flowers, in small lateral racemes, are
succeeded by orange-yellow berries about a
third of an inch in diameter. This is especial
ly abundant and troublesome in the southern
states, and is sparingly found as far north as
Connecticut. It is very hard to extirpate, and
in some parts of Delaware it has gained such
complete possession of the soil as to lessen ma
terially the value of farms, and in some cases
to cause fields to be abandoned. A climbing
species, S. dulcamara, is popularly known as
bitter-sweet ; the rind of the stalks is said to
taste at first bitter and afterward sweet, a pe
culiarity recognized in the Latin name, dulcis-
amara, given to the plant in the 16th century.
It is a native of Europe, is thoroughly natu
ralized in all the older states, and is not rare
in cultivation. The stem is somewhat climb
ing, and grows to the height of 6 to 10 ft. ;
it is woody at the base, but the upper part is
killed back every winter ; the leaves are usual
ly ovate-heart-shaped, but frequently the up
per ones have a lobe on each side at the base

Bitter-sweet (Solanum dulcamara).

and become halberd-shaped; the flowers are
in small cymes ; the corolla is pale blue or
purple, against which the large yellow anthers
appear in strong contrast, and make them

rather showy ; they are succeeded by an oval
berry about half an inch long, and bright red ;
the plant begins to bloom in June and con
tinues till autumn, and flowers and fruit in
every intermediate stage up to full ripeness
may usually be found upon it. Though bitter
sweet has been in use as a medicine for some
centuries, there is very little positive knowl
edge concerning it; it appears to contain a
very small amount of solanine in, a modified
form; it has been used in gout and rheuma
tism, in various affections of the chest, and in
skin diseases. The berries are very showy,
and, being not unpleasant to the taste, are lia
ble to be eaten by children ; in regard to their
effects there is the most opposite testimony;
some authors assert that they are highly poi
sonous, while Garrod says that he has admin
istered to a patient half a pound of the fresh
berries daily with no ill effect. Several spe-

Ornamental-leaved Solanum (S. Warscewiczii).

cics of solanum are ornamental plants in the
greenhouse and garden ; some of these, valued
for their ornamental fruit, are described under
JEEUSALEM CHEERY. The jasmine-like sola
num (S. jasminoides) is a tall, climbing house
plant from Brazil, with dark green, smooth,
ovate or heart-shaped leaves, and large clus
ters of white or slightly bluish and pleasantly
fragrant flowers, produced in profusion ; it is
an admirable greenhouse climber, and is often
planted out in summer ; in the southern states
the root remains alive through the winter.
Some of the erect tropical species have a very
robust habit of growth and ample foliage ; in
some the large leaves are handsomely cut ; in
others they are marked by pleasing contrasts
of color, and the flowers are often showy.
Among the best are S. crinitum, S. macran-
thum, 8. marginatum, and 8. Warsceioiczii,
which grow from 3 to 8 ft. high and are highly
ornamental.

SOLAR SYSTEM, See PLANET,, and SUN.

SOLAR TIME. See DAY.

156

SOLDER

SOLE

SOLDER (Lat. aolidus, solid), a metal or alloy
used for joining together different pieces of
metal, whether of the same or of different
kinds. Solders are divided into hard and soft.
The soft solders may be used for joining all
kinds of metals, but usually those having low
melting points. The hard solders are better
adapted for the less fusible metals, especially
where strength is required. Practically the
solder must be more fusible than either of the
metals to be united, but the more nearly these
points coincide the stronger will be the union.
Gold in the form of leaf or fine shreds is
used for soldering platinum vessels ; it may
be slightly alloyed with copper. Silver is con
sidered the best solder for German silver.
Copper in shreds is often used for iron when
welding is not permissible, sometimes slightly
alloyed with zinc. Soft solders have tin for a
basis, generally alloyed with lead. Those con
taining much lead are sometimes ranked with
hard solders. Pewter may be used for a sol
der, and by the addition of bismuth, antimony,
or cadmium its fusing point may be lowered so
that it can be used as a solder for pewter. The
following are some of the more important sol
ders. For gold: gold (18 carats) 66-6, silver
16*7, copper 16 7. A good gold solder for gen
eral purposes is 100 parts of gold, 40 of silver,
and 30 of copper (Makins). For silver: silver
06*6, copper 30, brass 3 4; or silver 65, copper
24, zinc 11. It is better to add the metals
separately than to use brass, which may have
an uncertain composition. Pewterer s solder :
coarse tin 3, lead 4, bismuth 2 ; fine tin 2,
lead 1, bismuth 1. Plumber s solder: tin 1,
lead 3 ; a finer kind has the same composition
as fine pewterer s solder. Hard spelter solder,
used for soldering copper, is made of copper
16, zinc 12. Soft spelter solder, for brass, is !
made of equal parts of copper and zinc. Fluxes
are used to preserve the cleanness of the sur
faces of the metals and free them from oxide
while the operation of soldering is going on.
The solder is applied in various ways. The
surfaces, sometimes previously cleaned with a
file or with muriatic acid or an acid solution
of chloride of zinc, are brought together, and
the solder in strips or grains laid on. Then a
flux composed of borax or sal ammoniac, some
times mixed with a little common rosin, is ap
plied, and the parts are heated with a blowpipe
or a stream of intensely heated air. But it is
more common to use a soldering iron, an in
strument consisting of a heavy square, pyra
midal, or conical piece of copper, riveted in
a fork of wrought iron, to which a wooden
handle is attached. This " iron," being heated
above the fusing point of the solder, is applied
to it, and a few adhering drops of the melted
alloy are carried to the parts to be joined,
which are then held in position until the sol
der hardens. Aluminum cannot be soldered
in the ordinary way, but must first be tinned.
A good general solder for aluminum is com
posed of zinc 90, aluminum 6, copper 4.

SOLE (solea, Cuv.), a genus of soft-rayed
flat fishes of the family pleuronectidce. (See
FLOUNDEK.) The genus has the jaws concealed
under the scaly skin, the upper rounded and
longest; the eyes are both on the right side,
small, the lower behind the upper and almost
at the. angle of the mouth; the mouth is
curved, and turned almost wholly to the left
side, and the fine and villif orm teeth are nearly
all on this side ; the snout is in advance of the
mouth ; the lateral line straight ; branchial
openings below the small pectorals ; dorsal and
anal very long, often confluent with the caudal ;
no air bladder, and no pancreatic cseca, and the
intestine long and often doubled ; the blind side
is sometimes furnished with shred-like villi.
The common sole (S. vulgaris, Cuv.) has the
body more elongated than in most flat fishes,
with a blunt and rounded muzzle ; the length
is from 10 to 20 in., and the color uniform dark
brown above and white below, the pectorals
tipped with black. It inhabits the sandy
shores of Great Britain, keeping near the bot
tom, feeding on the spawn and fry of other
fishes and on shell fish ; it is found from the
seas of Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. It
is one of the best and most delicate fishes for
the table, and is caught in immense numbers
by trawl nets ; the flesh is white and firm, and
is in good .condition all the year except in
February and March, when they are spawning.
Some are found reversed, or with the eyes and
colored surface on the left side, and a few -are
dark and rough on both sides. In the genus
achirus (Lac.) there are no pectorals; species

Common Sole (Solea vulgaris).

are found in the Indian seas, with the upper
parts marbled with brown and lighter. The
New York sole (A. mollis, Mitch.) is 6 to 8 in.
long, dark brown, marked transversely with

SOLEURE

SOLOMON- BEN ISAAC 157

irregular black bands, and has small scales ; it
is found from Nantucket to North Carolina.

SOLEURE. See SOLOTHUEX.

SOLFERLNO, a village of Lombardy, in the
province and 20 m. S. E. of Brescia. It has a
ruined castle, formerly the residence of a prince
of Solferino ; but it is chietly remarkable for
the great victory won here by the allied French
and Sardinian forces over the Austrians on
June 24, 1859. The battle lasted 16 hours,
and four French corps under Marshals Bara-
guay d Hilliers, MacMahon, Canrobert, and
Niel, and led by the emperor Napoleon III.,
and fouf divisions of the Sardinian army,
commanded by Victor Emanuel in person,
were opposed to an immense Austrian force,
under the command of the emperor Francis
Joseph. The allies lost about 18,000 killed
and wounded ; the Austrians, 20,000, besides
6,000 prisoners and 30 cannon. The battle
closed the war, and the peace of Villafranca
followed. On June 24, 1870, the bones of the
slain on this field were collected in three ossu
aries, which were consecrated in the presence
of representatives of France, Italy, and Austria.

SOLGER, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, a German
author, born in Schwedt, Prussia, Nov. 28,
1780, died in Berlin, Oct. 20, 1819. After
extensive studies and a varied career, he final
ly became in 1811 professor of philosophy at
Berlin. His works include a translation of
Sophocles (1808 ; 2d ed., 1824) ; Erwin : vier
Gespraclic iiber das Schone und die Kunst (2
vols., 1815); PhilosopJiisehe (fesprdche (1811)
posthumous writings and letters, edited by
Tieck and Raumer (2 vols., 1826) ; and lectures
on aesthetics, edited by Heyse (1829).
. SOLIMAN. See SOLYMAN.

SOLINGEN, a town of Rhenish Prussia, near
the Wupper, 12 m. S. E. of Dusseldorf ; pop.
in 1871, 14,040. It contains a Catholic and
two Protestant churches, a synagogue, a supe
rior school, and a chamber of commerce. It
has for centuries been celebrated for its man
ufacture of sword blades and other cutlery,
and iron and steel ware. There are in and
around Solingen more than 2,700 establish
ments, employing about 10,000 persons.

SOLIS, Antonio de, a Spanish historian, born
in Alcala de Henares, July 18, 1610, died in
Madrid, April 19, 1686. After becoming cele
brated as a dramatist and poet, he was ap
pointed official historiographer, and entered
holy orders in 1667. His principal historical
work is Historia de la conquista de Mexico
(fol., Madrid, 1684; new ed., Paris, 1858;
English translation by Townsend, 2 vols, Lon
don, 1724, reprinted in 1738 and 1753). His
most celebrated play, La Gitanilla, or "The
Pretty Gypsy Girl," is founded on Montal-
van s piece borrowed from the story of
Cervantes. A collection of his plays ap
peared at Madrid in 1732.

SOLIS, Juan Diaz de, a Spanish navigator, born
in the latter half of the 15th century, killed in
South America in 1516. In conjunction with

Yafiez Pinzon, he discovered Yucatan in 1506.
In 1508 they unitedly explored the coast of
South America from Cape St. Augustine to lat.
40 S., and took possession of the continent
for Spain. Having quarrelled, they returned
to Spain in 1509 ; a lawsuit followed, and So-
lis was beaten and imprisoned, and Pinzon re
ceived important grants in the island of San
Juan. Afterward Solis was released, was paid
34,000 maravedis indemnity, and on the death
of Amerigo Vespucci became pilot major. In
1515, with three ships, he explored the coast
from Cape San Roque to Rio de Janeiro, en
tered the estuary of La Plata, which he called
the Mar Dulce, and ascended the river. He
was kindly received by the Indians, but after
ward ambuscaded, killed, and eaten. Accord
ing to some authorities, he discovered the Pla
ta in 1512, and made a second voyage to it.

SOLLY, Sanmel, an English surgeon, born in
1805, died in London, Sept. 24, 1871. He be
came a member of the London college of sur
geons in 1828, lecturer on practical anatomy
and assistant surgeon to St. Thomas s hospital
in 1833, and subsequently attending surgeon.
He was also for many years lecturer on sur
gery. His principal work is "Anatomy and
Pathology of the Brain " (2d ed., 1847), which
was for a long time a valuable and standard
book. He also published "Surgical Experi
ences" (1865). He was fellow, member of
the council, and for two years vice president
of the college of surgeons.

SOLMIZATION, in singing, the application to
the seven notes of the musical scale of the syl
lables ut (or do), re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, to en
able the singer to acquire full command of the
vowel sounds. (See Music, vol. xii., p. 76.)

SOLOMON. See HEBREWS, vol. viii., p. 586.

SOLOMON, Song of. See CANTICLES.

SOLOMON, Wisdom of. See WISDOM, BOOK OF.

SOLOMON BEN GABIROL (properly perhaps
Solomon ben Judah ben Gabirol, and popular
ly Gabirol), a Jewish philosopher and poet,
born in Malaga, Spain, about 1020, died in
Valencia or Ocaila about 1076. Almost all
that is known of his life is that he lived for a
time in Saragossa, and was intimate with
Samuel Hallevi. As a Hebrew poet he im
mortalized himself by his Kether malkhuth
(" Crown of Royalty "), a didactic hymn on
the cosmos, which has been incorporated in
the Jewish liturgy. His philosophical works
he wrote in Arabic, and only incomplete He
brew translations of them are extant. His
" Source of Life," in which he appears as a
bold Aristotelian, is cited by Albertus Magnus
and other medieval Christian philosophers,
the name of the author appearing in the cor
rupt forms of Avicebron, Avencebrol, &c., de
rived from the Arabic Aben Gebrol. The
identity of the names has but recently been
established. See Munk, Melanges de philoso-
phiejuive (Paris, 1857).

SOLOMON BEN ISAAC, rabbi, erroneously sur-
narned YARIII or JARCHI, and generally known

158

SOLOMON ISLANDS

SOLON

under the abbreviation EASHI (the initials o f
the Hebrew Rabbi Shelomoh Yitz hafci), a Jew
ish commentator of the Bible and Talmud,
born in Troyes, France, about 1040, died there,
July 13, 1105. His comments on the Talmud
have never been excelled, and they accompany
all editions of the text. Those on the Bible
have been translated into Latin by Breithaupt
(3 vols., Gotha, 1710-14). A German transla
tion of the commentary on Genesis was made
by Hayman (Bonn, 1833), and one of the whole
Pentateuch by Lucas (Prague, 1833- 8).

SOLOMON ISLANDS, a group of the S. Pacific
lying S. E. of New Britain and E. of New
Guinea, extending in a S. E. direction from
lat. 4 50 to 11 50 S., and from Ion. 154 30
to 162 30 E. The group is composed of the
Islands Bougainville, Choiseul, Malayta, Santa
Isabella, New Georgia, Guadalcanar, San Cris-
toval, and several smaller ones, the area of the
whole being estimated at 10,000 sq. in. Moun
tains, often of considerable height, traverse
them. The shores are generally low, and in
some places bordered with mangrove swamps.
They are watered by numerous streams, and
the temperature is cooled by copious rains.
They are very fertile ; bananas, yams, sugar
cane, and ginger are cultivated ; and the bread
fruit, cacao, and clove trees abound. They
are inhabited by negrillos and Malays. The
population is very irregularly distributed, the
northern islands being more populous than the
others. The islands were discovered and ex
plored in 1508 by the Spanish navigator Men-
dan a, sent out by his uncle Lope de Castro,
viceroy of Peru. He named them Solomon
islands on the pretence that the riches of Sol
omon s temple were brought from them. He
died in Santa Cruz group in 1505, while on
his way -to colonize them, and they were not
again visited till rediscovered by Carteret in
1767. Some partially successful missionary
efforts have recently been made there.

SOLOMON S SEAL, the common name for spe
cies of polygonatum (Gr. TTO/U ^, many, and
yew, knee, the stems having numerous joints),
a genus of the lily family, closely related to
asparagus, and having thick, knotted, horizon
tal rootstocks, which show upon their upper

Solomon s Seal. Rhizome, showing- stem, bud, and scars of
former stems.

surface deep scars left by the falling away of
the stems of previous years, a character which
gave rise to the popular name. Each root-
stock bears a single leafy stem ; in front of it

is a bud to continue the growth another year,
and behind it are the scars of former stems ;
the stems, 1 to 4 ft. high, are gracefully curved,
and clothed with nearly sessile or half clasping,
strongly nerved leaves, from the axils of which
appear the drooping greenish flowers ; the pe
rianth is cylindrical, six-lobed at the summit,
with six stamens inserted near the middle of
the tube ; the three-celled ovary ripens to a
globular black or blue berry with two to six
see.ds. The great Solomon s seal (P. gigan-
teum} and the smaller (P. liflorum) are com
mon species, while the remaining one, the
broad-leaved (P. lat 1 folium), is vefy local.
Several species are found in Europe, which
were formerly used medicinally, and ours have
a reputed value as diuretics. The young shoots
are cooked and eaten in Turkey like asparagus,
and the roots, which contain a considerable
quantity of starch, have been used in Europe
as food in times of scarcity. They are inter
esting but not showy garden plants. Species
of the related genus smilacina are called false
Solomon s seal ; they have their flowers in ter
minal racemes, and mostly red berries.

SOLON, the Athenian lawgiver, born about
G38 B. C., died in Athens about 559. He was
a lineal descendant of Codrus. In his youth
he visited many parts of Greece and Asia as a
merchant, gained distinction by his poems, and
from his reputation for political wisdom was
reckoned one of the seven sages. Returning
to Athens, he began, his political career by
recovering Salamis from the Megarians. The
Athenians had repeatedly failed in their at
tempts upon this island, and had prohibited
any citizen on pain of death from proposing a
renewal of the enterprise. Solon counterfeited
madness, and in apparent frenzy read in the
agora a short poem, the effect of which was
that the law was rescinded, war was declared,
and he himself was appointed to the command
of it. In a single campaign (about 600) the
Megarians were expelled from the island, but
a tedious conflict ensued, which was finally
settled in favor of Athens by the arbitration
of Sparta. Soon after, in the Amphictyonic
council, he moved the decree by which the
Athenians espoused the cause of the Del
phian oracle against Cirrha. In 594 he was
called by all parties to the archonship, with
powers substantially dictatorial, and chiefly
with authority to confirm, repeal, or modify
the Draconian laws. The constitution of Solon
(see ATHENS, vol. ii., p. 55), which made prop
erty instead of birth the title of citizenship,
and which was the prelude to the subsequent
democracy, was by a solemn oath of the gov
ernment and people declared valid without
alteration for ten years. lie obtained leave
of absence for that period, visited Egypt, and
went thence to Cyprus, where he persuaded
the prince of yEpea to change the site of the
town, and himself made the regulations for the
prosperity of the new establishment, which in
his honor was called Soli. He returned to

SOLOTHURN

SOLYMAN II.

159

Athens prior to the first usurpation of Pisis-
tratus (560), and amid violent dissensions was,
respected by all parties, but was unable to
overrule the popular favor of his kinsman.
The chief sources for the biography of Solon
are the compilations of Plutarch and Diogenes
Laertius. The extant fragments of his verses
are usually contained in the collections of the
Greek gnomic poets, and there is a separate
edition of them by Bach (Leyden, 1825).

SOLOTHURN (Fr. Soleure), a N. W. canton of
Switzerland, bordering on Basel Country, Aar-
gau, and Bern; area, 303 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870,
74,713, of whom 62,078 were Roman Catho
lics. The Jura mountains occupy a part of
the canton, and the remainder of the surface
is level and fertile. It is traversed by the
river Aar, a tributary of the Rhine. Gold,
silver, iron, and lignite are found. The soil is
remarkably fertile. A great deal of the sur
face is occupied by meadows and pastures,
upon which large numbers of cattle are kept.
The forests are extensive, and afford valuable
timber. German is the language of the canton.
The government was formerly aristocratic, but
democratic principles have been largely intro
duced into it, especially by the revision of the
constitution in 1841. SOLOTJIURN, the capital,
is at the foot of the Weissenstein, on the Aar,
17 m. 1ST. by E. of Bern; pop. in 1870, 7,054.
It has one of the finest cathedrals of Switz
erland, an arsenal with a large collection of
ancient armor, and a museum containing a
rich collection of Jura fossils. Till 1874 it
was the seat of the bishop of Basel.

SOLSTICE (Lat. sol, the sun, and stare, to
stand), the period in the annual revolution of
the earth round the sun when he is at that
point in the ecliptic furthest north or south
from the equator, or in other words reaches
his greatest northern or southern declination.
There are two solstices in the year : the sum
mer solstice, June 22, when the sun seems to
traverse the tropic of Cancer ; and the winter
solstice, Dec. 22, when he reaches his greatest
southern declination, and appears to traverse
the tropic of Capricorn. For several days be
fore and after the solstice there is but a slight
variation in the sun s apparent declination, and
so far as his motion from and toward the eclip
tic is concerned he may be said to stand still.
The solstitial points are the two points of the
sun s greatest elevation above or depression
below the equator ; and a circle through these
points and the poles of the earth is called the
solstitial colure.

SOLUBLE GLASS. See GLASS, SOLUBLE.

SOLWAY FRITH, an arm of the Irish sea,
which extends 40 m. N. E. between England j
and Scotland, with a breadth varying from |
24 m., between St. Bees Head in Cumberland j
and Rayberry Head in Kirkcudbrightshire, to
2 m. It receives on the English side the rivers !
Derwent, Ellen, Waver, Wampool, and Eden ;
and on the Scottish side, the Urr, Nith, and
Annan. Whitehaven, Maryport, and Allonby

VOL. XY. 11

are on the English side, and Annan and Kirk
cudbright on the Scottish. At ebb tide the
broad sands which occupy a considerable por
tion of the frith are left dry.

SOLYMAN II., or Suleiman, called the MAGNIFI
CENT, an Ottoman sultan, born about 1495,
died before Sziget in Hungary, Sept. 5, 1566.
He was the son of Selim I., whom he succeed
ed in 1520. In 1521 he subdued the rebellion
of Ghazali Bey in Syria, and in Hungary took
Belgrade and other fortified towns. After an
arduous siege he took Rhodes from the knights
of St. John in 1522. He invaded Hungary a
second time in 1526, won the decisive battle of
Mohacs (Aug. 29), in which Louis II. of Hun
gary lost his life, overran a part of the king
dom, and recognized as king John Zapolya,
who put himself under Solyman s protection.
This embroiled the sultan with Ferdinand I. of
ITapsburg, who was elected king by the major
ity of the Hungarians, and began the first of
the Turkish wars against Germany. In 1529
Solyman took Buda, and appeared before
Vienna with a vast army ; but after a number
of assaults he retired with a loss of 80.000
men. A second attempt in 1532 was baffled
by the resistance of Guns under Jurisics. In
1534 he invaded Persia, arid subdued Armenia
and Irak, with the cities of Tabriz and Bag
dad; in 1536 formed an alliance with Francis
I. of France against Charles V., the brother of
Ferdinand ; in the same year created the Bar-
bary corsair Khair ed-Din or Barbarossa a
Turkish admiral, and thus swept the Mediter
ranean and Italian coasts; conquered Croatia
in 1537 by a great victory over the imperial
ists at Eszek ; and in 1538 made the conquest
of Yemen. An attempt in 1537 on Corfu
failed. Upon the death of John Zapolya in
1540, he supported his son John Sigismund,
and continued the war with Ferdinand till
1547, when a truce humiliating to that prince
was agreed upon. He now again invaded
Persia, in 1548 gained a victory at Van in Ar
menia, and in 1549- 50 conquered the prov
inces of Shirvan and Georgia. Hostilities in
Hungary were renewed in 1552. John Sigis
mund was established in Transylvania under
Turkish protection, and Solyman s fleets under
Piali, the successor of Khair ed-Din, gained a
victory over the combined fleets of the empe
ror at Jerba on the African coast. A truce
made in 1562 left the Turks in possession of
their Hungarian conquests. In an attempt
upon Malta in 1565, the whole naval force of
Solyman was repulsed. In 1566 he again led
a vast army to the invasion of Hungary, crossed
the Drave, and laid siege to the fortress of
Sziget, which was defended by a small garri
son under Zrinyi ; but a paroxysm of anger at
the terrible repulses he encountered induced
an attack of apoplexy, in which he died a
few days before the last and fatal assault was
made. Under this sultan the Ottoman empire
attained its greatest military power, and it be
gan immediately to decline under his succes-

160

SOMAULI

SOMERSET

sor, Selim II. By the Turks he was surnamed
the Legislator (Kanuni), and the Kanun Na-
tneh, or code of laws and regulations, drawn
up under his direction, formed the basis for a
long period of the Turkish administration of
government and justice. He was also a patron
of literature and art; in his reign the use of
the Turkish language in literature superseded
that of the Persian.

SOMAULI, or Somal, the general name of the
tribes inhabiting that portion of Africa S. of
the gulf of Aden, and extending from Cape
Guardafui and the straits of Bab-el- Mandeb
to the Doho river. The eastern tribes are
called Burri, the western Gulbedh. The prin
cipal eastern tribes are the Midjertheyn, the
Wursumgalli, and Dulbharita; the principal
western, the Habr Awal, the Habr Tul Jaala,
and the Habr Gerhajis. The eastern tribes
are generally peaceable and orderly, the west
ern savage and warlike. They are all Moham
medans, and are very superstitious, believing
in charms and witchcraft. They live gener
ally in houses made of mats. Slavery exists
among them. In war they use shields, spears,
bows, and poisoned arrows. Their principal
articles of trade are various kinds of gums,
tragacanth, myrrh, and especially frankincense.
They are generally governed by chiefs, who
however have little power. The characters
and modes of life of the various tribes differ
greatly. Their language is a mixture of Arabic
and Galla words, and the race is supposed to
be of the same mixed origin.

SOMERS, John, lord, an English statesman,
born in Worcester, March 4, 1651, died April
26, 1716. He was educated at Trinity college,
Oxford, and in 1676 was called to the bar at
the Middle Temple, but remained some years
longer at the university, publishing several po
litical pamphlets, and a variety of metrical and
prose versions from classical authors. He be
gan to practise law in London in 1682, acquired
great professional eminence, and became a
leader of the whig party. He represented
Worcester in the convention which met in
January, 1689, and was a member of the two
committees (acting as chairman of the second)
which prepared the "Declaration of Right."
In 1689 he was appointed solicitor general and
knighted, in 1692 attorney general, in 1693 lord
keeper of the great seal, and in 1697 lord chan
cellor, when he was raised to the peerage as
Baron Somers of Evesham. After ineffectual
attempts to fasten upon him a charge of mal
administration, and also of complicity in the
piracies of Capt. Kidd, whom he had helped
fit out a ship to capture pirates, an unsuccess
ful motion was made in the house of commons,
April 10, 1700, that the king should be re
quested to dismiss him. But his absence by
illness from the debates upon a measure dis
tasteful to William, assumed to be by design,
induced the king on the 17th of the same month
to remove him. In the next year an attempt
was made to impeach Somers on 14 distinct

charges, the most important of which referred
to an illegal issue at the king s request of blank
commissions under the great seal for the pur
pose of negotiating certain treaties, to his al
leged complicity with Kidd, and to his acqui
sition of various unreasonable grants from the
crown in addition to the salary and fees of his
office ; but the commons declined to prosecute
the impeachment, and he recovered the favor
of the king, whose last speech to parliament
was written by him. On the accession of the
whigs to power in 1708, Somers was appointed
president of the council, and held the office
until the return of Harley and the tories in
1710. Subsequently he participated in legis
lative duties until his death, which happened
from apoplexy. A number of original letters
and papers, illustrating his life and character,
perished by fire in 1752. The so-called " Som
ers Tracts "(16 vols. 4to, l748- 52; new ed.
by Sir Walter Scott, 13 vols. 4to, 1809- 15)
consist of pamphlets selected chiefly from his
library. R. Cooksey wrote "Life and Charac
ter of* Lord Somers" (4to, 1791).
SOMERS ISLANDS. See BEEMUDAS. ^
SOMERSET, the name of four counties in the
United States. I. A W. county of Maine,
bordering on Canada, intersected by the Ken-
nebec river, and drained by the head streams
of the Penobscot and Walloostook rivers ;
area, 3,800 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 34,611. The
surface is diversified, and the soil generally
good. There are several small lakes, and the
N. part is covered with forests, affording vast
quantities of timber for export. The Maine
Central and the Somerset railroads enter it.
The chief productions in 1870 were 31,202
bushels of wheat, 106,657 of Indian corn, 296,-
185 of oats, 92,767 of barley, 20,536 of buck
wheat, 31,408 of peas and beans, 988,179 of
potatoes, 113,481 tons of hay, 366,442 Ibs. of
wool, 796,238 of butter, and 169,349 of cheese.
There were 7,222 horses, 11,132 milch cows,
5,886 working oxen, 14,954 other cattle, 78,-
400 sheep, and 3,590 swine ; 23 manufactories
of carriages and wagons, 2 of edge tools and
axes, 5 of furniture, 8 of tc^nned and 5 of
curried lea.ther, 1 of paints, 1 of paper, 6 of
sash, doors, and blinds, 6 of turned and carved
wood, 3 of woollen goods, 9 wool-carding and
cloth-dressing establishments, 5 flour mills, and
39 saw mills. Capital, Skowhegan. II. A N.
central county of New Jersey, bounded N. E.
by the Passaic and W. by the Lamington riv
er, intersected by the Raritan, and traversed
by the Delaware and Raritan canal and sev
eral railroads ; area, 275 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870,
25,510. The surface in some parts is very
hilly, and the soil generally fertile, especially
along the streams. The chief productions in
1870 were 218,766 bushels of wheat, 561,136
of Indian corn, 700,515 of oats, 86,684 of pota
toes, 42,034 tons of hay, 22,457 Ibs. of wool,
3,800 of flax, and 587,093 of butter. There
were 6,263 horses, 9,992 milch cows, 4,922
other cattle, 7,302 sheep, and 7,883 swine;

SOMERSET

SOMERVILLE

1C1

2 manufactories of agricultural implements,
8 of cheese, 1 of pig iron, 3 of castings, 10
tanneries, 6 distilleries, 18 flour mills, and 7
saw mills. Capita), Somerville. III. A S. W.
county of Pennsylvania, bordering on Mary
land, bounded W. by the Youghiogheny river
and Laurel ridge, arid intersected in the south
by Castleman s river; area, 1,000 sq. m, ; pop.
in 1870, 28,226. The surface is generally
mountainous, and the soil fertile. The glades
are admirably adapted to grazing. The coun
ty abounds in bituminous coal, and iron ore,
lire clay, and cannel coal of excellent quality
are found. It is traversed by the Pittsburgh,
Washington, and Baltimore railroad. The
chief productions in 1870 were 134,641 bushels
of wheat, 142,515 of rye, 92,277 of Indian
corn, 559,616 of oats, 49,779 of buckwheat,
84,476 of potatoes, 51,327 tons of hay, 80,177
Ibs. of wool, 1,344,522 of butter, 11,005 of
flax, and 674,326 of maple sugar. There were
8,273 horses, 13,811 milch cows, 15,157 other
cattle, 32,343 sheep, and 10,748 swine; 43 tan
neries, 16 saw mills, and 14 woollen mills.
Capital, Somerset. IV. A S. E. county of
Maryland, on the E. shore of Chesapeake bay,
and bounded S. E. by the Pocomoke river
and sound ; area, about 400 sq. m. ; pop. in
1870, 18,190, of whom 7,274 were colored.
The surface is level and the soil generally fer
tile. It is intersected by the Eastern Shore
railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were
40,719 bushels of wheat, 251,883 of Indian
corn, 100,110 of oats, 105,009 of Irish and
42,026 of sweet potatoes, and 9,090 Ibs. of
wool. There were 1,235 horses, 1,693 milch
cows, 4,427 other cattle, 3,199 sheep, and
7,628 swine. Capital, Princess Anne.

SOMERSET, Edward Seymour, duke of. See
SEYMOUR.

SOMERSET, Robert Carr, earl of. See OVER-
BURY, Sir THOMAS.

SOMERSETSHIRE, a S. W. county of England,
bordering on the counties of Gloucester, Wilts,
Dorset, and Devon, and the Bristol channel :
area, 1,636 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 463,412. The
coast is indented by several bays, the chief of
which is Bridgewater bay. The principal riv
ers are the Avon, Frome, Yeo, Axe, Brue, and
Parret. The Avon, Bridgewater, and other
canals, and the Great Western railway inter
sect the county. The surface is hilly, but
there is also a great extent of marshy land,
and much of the soil is very fertile. Wheat
and potatoes are the principal crops, and large
numbers of cattle and sheep are reared. Coal,
iron, and lead are largely produced. Woollen
cloth, canvas, gloves, silk, lace, paper, glass,
and various kinds of iron ware are manufac
tured. Somersetshire contains many remains
of antiquity. Bristol is partly in this coun
ty, and the other principal towns are Bath,
the capital, Wells, Taunton, Bridgewater, and
Frome.

SOMERSWORTH, a town of Straff ord co., ISTew
Hampshire, on the Salmon Falls river, which

separates it from Maine, and on the Eastern
and Boston and Maine railroads, 33 m. E. of
Concord and 65 m. N. of Boston ; pop. in 1870,
4,504. It is the fifth town in the state in point
of manufactures, the principal village being
Great Falls, near the falls of that name in Sal
mon Falls river. The Great Falls manufac
turing company, with a capital of $1,500,000,
controls the water power (reckoned at 3,200
horse power), and employs about 1,800 hands,
manufacturing about 20,000,000 yards of cot
ton goods annually. The Great Falls wool
len company manufactures cassimeres, and the
Somersworth machine company stoves and
castings of all kinds ; these have a capital of
$100,000 each. There are several smaller man
ufactories, including a flour mill with a capital
of $30,000. The village contains three banks,
two hotels, about 60 stores, 15 schools, a pub
lic library of 6,000 volumes, a weekly news
paper, and six churches.

SOMERVILLE, a N". E. central co. of Texas,
intersected by the Brazos river; area, about
300 sq. m. It was formed in 1875 from Hood
co. The surface is rolling and the soil fertile.
Wheat, Indian corn, and cotton grow well.
Capital, Glen Rose.

SOMERVILLE, a city of Middlesex co., Massa
chusetts, on the Mystic river, 2 m. 1ST. W. of the
state house, Boston; pop. in 1850, 3,540; in
1860, 8,025; in 1870, 14,685; in 1875, 21,868.
It borders S. W. on Cambridge. The surface
is uneven ; the principal elevations are Pros
pect, Spring, Central, and Winter hills. A
public park of about 16 acres has been laid out
in the N". E. part of the city. It is lighted with
gas and supplied with water from Mystic pond.
It is connected with Boston by three lines of
horse cars and four steam railroads. A large
portion of the inhabitants do business in Bos
ton. The principal manufacturing establish
ments are live brick yards, a bleachery and
dye works, a leather-currying establishment,
an iron fouhdery, an art foundery, several
carriage factories, two manufactories of glass
ware, and one each of earthenware, grate bars,
ice tools, ladders, mats, spikes, brass and cop
per tubes, steam boilers, &c. The city is di
vided into four wards, and is governed by a
mayor, 8 aldermen, and 16 councilmen. The
valuation of property in 1874 was $30,837,-
700, and the funded debt at the close of the
year was $1,419,854. There are 18 public
school houses, including a high school, under
the control of a committee of three members
from each ward ; average attendance in 1874,
3,022 ; expenditures, $86,705 13, of which
$55,990 62 were for teachers wages. The
free public library contains about 5,000 vol
umes. There are two weekly newspapers and
15 churches, viz. : 3 Baptist, 3 Congregational,
2 Episcopal, 4 Methodist, 1 Roman Catholic,
1 Unitarian, and 1 Universalist. The McLean
asylum for the insane is in the E. part of the
city. Somerville was set off from Charlestown
in 1842, and incorporated as a city in 1872.

162

SOMERVILLE

SOMNAMBULISM

SOMERVILLE, Mary, a British physicist, born
in Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, Scotland, Dec.
26, 1780, died in Naples, Italy, Nov. 29, 1872.
She was the daughter of Vice Admiral Sir
William Fairfax, and chiefly through her own
efforts acquired a thorough education, partic
ularly in mathematics and landscape paint
ing. In 1804 she married Samuel Greig, then
Russian consular agent in London, where she
went to reside. Left a widow in 1807, she
returned to Edinburgh, and in 1812 married
her cousin William Somerville, M. D., who in
1816 was appointed a member of the army
medical board, and removed to London. Here
she attracted attention by some experiments
on the magnetic influence of the violet rays
in the solar spectrum, the results of which
were published in the "Philosophical Transac
tions" of 1826; and Lord Brougham suggested
that she should prepare for the " Library of
Useful Knowledge" a summary of the Meca-
nique celeste of Laplace, which proved too vo
luminous for its original destination, and was
published under the title "Mechanism of the
Heavens" (8vo, Cambridge, 1831). This work
led to her election as an honorary member of
the royal astronomical society, and her bust by
Chantrey was placed in their hall. In 1834
she published " The Connection of the Physi
cal Sciences" (9th ed., 1858). In 1835 she
received a pension of 200, subsequently in
creased to 300. Soon afterward she went
to Italy on account of the health of her hus
band, and there resided during the rest of her
life, principally in Florence, Rome, and Na
ples. Her next work was " Physical Geogra
phy" (2 vols., 1848; 6th ed., 1870), a history
of the earth in its whole material organization,
and of animal and vegetable life ; and her last,
" Molecular and Microscopic Science" (2 vols.,
1869). She was a member of many foreign
societies, and in 1869 received the Victoria
medal of the royal geographical society, and in
the same year the first gold medal ever award
ed by the Italian geographical society. She
warmly favored what are popularly known as
" women s rights," and was a member of the
general committee for woman suffrage in Lon
don. In her 92d year she read books in the
higher mathematics four or five hours daily,
solved the problems, and to the day of her
death was occupied in the revision and com
pletion of a treatise on the "Theory of Differ
ences." During her last few years she noted
down some recollections of her life, which
have been published under the title "Personal
Recollections, from Early Life to Old Age, of
Mary Somerville," by her daughter, Martha
Somerville (8vo, London, 1873).

SOMERVILLE, William, an English poet, born
at Edstone, Warwickshire, in 1692, died July
19, 1742. He was educated at Winchester
school and New college, Oxford, and settled
on a paternal estate in Warwickshire. He
lived beyond his means, and finally became
intemperate. His " Chase," in blank verse,

has often been reprinted. He wrote "Field
Sports," describing hawking, and " Hobbinol,
or Rural Games," a mock heroic poem.

SOMME, a N. department of France, in Pi-
cardy, bordering on the departments of Pas-
de-Calais, Le Nord, Aisne, Oise, and Seine-In-
ferieure, and the English channel; area, 2,379
sq. in. ; pop. in 1872, 557,015. The surface
is generally level, but occasionally diversified.
It is divided into two nearly equal portions
by the river Somme, which flows through it
in a W. N. W. direction. The soil is careful
ly cultivated, but not naturally fertile. Cider
is an important product. Cotton, linen, and
woollen goods, iron ware, and beet sugar are
manufactured. It is divided into the arron-
dissements of Amiens, Abbeville, Doullens,
Montdidier, and Peronne. Capital, Amiens.

SOMMERLXG, Samuel Thomas YOU, a German
physiologist, born in Thorn, Jan. 18, 1755,
died in Frankfort, March 2, 1830. He studied
medicine at Gottingen, and became professor
of anatomy at Cassel in 1778, and at Mentz in
1784. In 1790 he began to practise medicine
at Frankfort, and returned to that city in 1820
after spending 15 years in Munich as physician
to the king of Bavaria, who ennobled him.
His works include Vom Baue des menschlichen
Korpers (5 vols., 1791- I 6 ; new ed., 9 vols.,
1839- 44) ; De &gt; orporis Humani Fcibrwa (6
vols., 1794-1801); and Ueber das Organ der
Secle (1796), teaching that the soul has its seat
in a vapor-like fluid in the cavities of the brain.

SOMNAMBULISM (Lat. somnus, sleep, and am-
tmlare, to walk), literally, the act of walking in
sleep, but usually applied to all the movements
of a person who while in a condition of sleep
acts his dreams. There are three kinds of
somnambulism, viz. : 1, simple, where the som
nambulist is apparently in ordinary health, but
rises from his bed, walks, runs, or climbs, or
sometimes talks or writes, while asleep ; 2,
morbid, where there is a diseased condition,
which admits the manifestation of the duality
of the human system, the somnambulist some
times being alternately in the natural and the
morbid condition, and frequently while in the
latter performing acts of which while awake he
is incapable ; and 3, artificial, which is treated
under ANIMAL MAGXETISM. The first class of
somnambulists are usually persons of nervous
temperament, and the phenomena are generally
induced in them either by some violent excite
ment, or oftener by a morbid condition of the
stomach, late suppers, indigestible food, or the
like. Some writers advise the placing a wet
cloth before their beds, on which they may
step, or waking them suddenly in some other
way ; but such a course is fraught with great
danger, as the shock may prove fatal, or at
least permanently injurious. Morbid somnam
bulism is a condition concerning which we
have little positive knowledge, but the phe
nomena of which are often very striking. A
shy, diffident girl of 14, for instance, of a ner
vous temperament, but who has exhibited no

SOMNAUTH

SONE

163

extraordinary intellectual powers, and has had
but very ordinary education, becomes languid,
listless, and pale; complains of pain in the
side, and perhaps of an unpleasant feeling in
the frontal region ; after a while, falling asleep
in the daytime, she will rise from her chair,
and, imagining herself a preacher to a large
audience, go through the preliminary exercises
of a religious service, and deliver an extempore
sermon, the arrangement and language of
which far transcend her waking capacity ; and
this performance may be repeated daily or
every other day. In the case we are descri
bing, which in its general features is similar to
a considerable number which have occurred in
recent times, the subject recovered her health,
and the phenomena ceased after two or three
years. In some instances they have been fol
lowed by the death of the somnambulist. The
development of the double existence is another
of the phenomena of morbid somnambulism,
not less remarkable than the preceding, and
equally well authenticated. The history of the
celebrated seeress of Prevorst, by Dr. Kerner,
will be readily recalled ; and in many cases the
two states are strongly marked, and the sub
ject remains in each for some weeks, being ut
terly unconscious while in the one of any event
which has occurred while in the other. Though
resembling it in some particulars, these cases
are not to be confounded with those in a state
of ecstasy (see CATALEPSY), there being none
of the physical insensibility or muscular rigid
ity. The causes and cure of this form of som
nambulism are alike obscure. See Dr. A. J.
Kerner, Geschiclite zweier Somnambulen (Carls-
ruhe, 1824:), and "The Seeress of Prevorst,"
translated into English by Mrs. Catharine
Crowe (N"ew York, 1845) ; Macnish s " Philos
ophy of Sleep " (1830) ; Abercrombie " On the
Intellectual Powers " (1830) ; Deleuze s " Crit
ical History of Animal Magnetism " (revised
ed., New York, 1816) ; Colquhoun s " Animal
Magnetism " (1851) ; Reichenbach s " Ani
mal Magnetism ;" Dr. Sonderis s " Narrative
of the Religious Excitement in Sweden ;" and
Dr. Gibson s " Year of Grace, an Account of
the great Irish Revival in 1859 " (1860).

SOMNAUTH, or Soamath Pattan, a walled town
of British India, in the peninsula of Catty-
war, in the political agency of the same name
under the Bombay government, on the N. E.
shore of the Arabian sea, 28 m. TV. N. TV. of
Cape Diu, and about 200 m. 1ST. TV. of Bombay;
pop. about 5,000. Somnauth is celebrated in
the mythological legends of ancient Hindos-
tan, and is now chiefly remarkable as the site
of a magnificent temple dedicated to Siva,
which formerly attracted many pilgrims, and
was supported by the revenues of 10,000 vil
lages. It was stormed and robbed of immense
treasure by Mahmoud of Ghuzni in 1024-, and
its gates were carried away as a trophy. They
were brought back to India in 1842 by the
English, on the evacuation of Afghanistan, and
deposited in the magazine at Agra.

SOMOGT (Ger. ScMmegli), a county of S. TV.
Hungary, bordering on the counties of Zala,
Veszpr6m, Tolna, and Baranya, and on Croatia
and Slavonia; area, 2,538 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870,
289,555. It is mountainous, and is drained in
the south by the Drave. Lake Balaton on the
northwest is partly within its limits. The pro
ducts include grain, wine, tobacco, and timber.
Capital, Kaposvar.

SONATA, a form of musical composition con
sisting of several independent movements,
each of which is developed in accordance with
certain accepted rules. The great body of in
strumental music is based upon the sonata
form. When first used, in the latter part of
the IGth century, the word simply signified
a composition for instruments, and conveyed
no idea of any determined form. Gradually
composers applied it to a composition for one
or two instruments, consisting of three move
ments of contrasted character and time. Philipp
Emmanuel Bach contributed greatly to the de
velopment of the sonata. His works of this
class consisted of a first movement, allegro,
a second, adagio, and a third, rondo, which
was more vivacious than the others. Haydn
adopted Bach s general plan, though in his
44 sonatas he developed the movements in a
broader manner. Mozart arid Beethoven com
posed some of their best works in this form ;
in their day it was the favorite kind of piano
forte composition. It has also been used by
Von TVeber, Schubert, Schumann, and other
later composers. Haydn added a fourth move
ment, the minuetto, and this, or its equivalent
the scherzo, with the three previously existing
movements, constitutes the form upon which
all the quartet and quintet music for stringed
instruments and the symphony are based.

SONDERSHAISEN. See SCIIWAEZBUEG - Sox-

DERSHAUSEX.

SONDRIO, a N". province of Italy, in Lombar-
dy, bounded N. TV. and N. by Switzerland, N.
E. by Tyrol, and S. by Brescia, Bergamo, and
Como ; area, 1,262 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 111,-
241. It includes the valleys of the Yaltellina
( Val Tellina), 45 m. long, and its continua
tion the former county of Bormio, and the
valley of Chiavenna, and forms only one dis
trict. It is surrounded by branches of the
Rhastian Alps, including some of their high
est summits, and the carriage roads over tho
Spltigen, Bernina, and Stelvio passes, the last
the highest of the Alpine roads, run through
the province. The province abounds in pic
turesque localities. The principal river is the
Adda. Excepting along the marshes near the
lake of Como, the country is exceedingly fer
tile in grain and fruit, and especially in wine.
The cheese is among the best in Lombardy.
Iron and marble abound. The principal towns
are Chiavenna, Bormio, and Sondrio, the cap
ital, which has a population of about 5,000,
and a fine cathedral. (See VALTELLIXA.)

SONE, a river of British India, a southern
tributary of the Ganges, rises in the high-

164

SONNEBERG

SONOMA

lands of the Central Provinces, in lat. 22 41
N., Ion. 82 7 E., near the source of the Ner-
budda, and falls into the Ganges 28 m. above
Patna, after a course of upward of 450 m.
The general direction of its flow is northeast
erly, through Jubbulpore, Rewah, and Behar.
All its important tributaries come from the
south. In the highlands it flows through nar
row valleys, but lower down they widen into
alluvial plains, which are well cultivated, and
yield cotton, indigo, and sugar cane. It is
about 3 in. wide at its junction with the Ganges,
but the navigation is of little importance above
Daudnugur, about 60 m. from that point, where
the river is 10 or 12 ft. deep in the rainy sea
son, but at other times nearly dry. Coal is
found upon the banks of its upper course,- and
agates and carnelians occur. Work is now
(1876) in progress on the Sone irrigation pro
ject for supplying water to about 2,000,000
acres in the Patna division of Bengal, by a
dam across the river, and other works.

SOMEBERG, a town of Germany, in Saxe-
Meiningen, 35 m. S. E. of Meiningen; pop. in
1871, 6,764. It is the centre of an important
manufacturing district, and has a fine church,
a new town hall, and a new government build
ing. Dolls and toys of wood and papier mach6,
china goods, cotton hose, and kid gloves are
made here in great perfection. The shipments
to the United States amounted in 1873- 4 to
$938,332 in gold. In the vicinity are marble
and other quarries, and there are many brew
eries. An American consul is stationed here.

SONNET (It. sonetto\ a poem consisting of
14 iambic decasyllabic or endecasyllabic lines,
rhyming in a peculiar manner. The first 8
lines make two quatrains, and the remaining
6 two tercets. There are two rhymes in the
quatrains, the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th lines rhy
ming together, and also the 2d, 3d, 6th, and 7th.
This is the best arrangement, as the Italians
hold, but others occur, and sometimes, even in
Petrarch, the rhymes are alternate. In the
tercets great liberty is allowed ; the rhymes
may be either two or three, and they may be
arranged at the will of the poet, but never in
couplets. There are but few Italian prece
dents for the form which the English poets
prior to Milton gave to the sonnet. From the
difficulty of continuing the same rhyme, they
made it consist of three quatrains and a final
couplet, each quatrain usually having its own
two alternate and independent rhymes. The
Anacreontic sonnet is composed of octo-sylla-
bic lines. It is doubtful whether the sonnet
was the invention of the Italians, or was de
rived by them from* earlier Provencal poets.
The oldest extant specimens are in Italian, by
Lodovico Vernaccia (about A. D. 1200), and
by Piero delle Vigne, chancellor of the em
peror Frederick II., who flourished early in
the 13th century; the first who gave to it the
arrangement which was subsequently adopted
as its legitimate form was Guittone d Arezzo
(died in 1294) ; and it was carried to its high

est excellence by Petrarch. The Italian son
net was introduced into Spain by the marquis
of Santillana in the 15th century, and during
the two following centuries it was regarded
there with extravagant favor. It never found
much favor in France, and fell into ridicule in
the 17th century through the louts rimes, or
blank sonnets, in which the rhyming words
were first chosen and arranged, while the sub
ject was to be selected and the body of the
sonnet to be written afterward. In Germany
the sonnet has been chiefly cultivated by the
poets of the romantic school. The earlier
English form of the sonnet was introduced by
Surrey and Wyatt in the reign of Henry VIII. ;
and there are numerous sonnets by Sidney,
Spenser, Shakespeare, Daniel, Drayton, Drum-
mond, and others. Milton returned to the
genuine Italian form, but did not always ad
here to it. From the time of Milton for near
ly a century few sonnets were written in Eng
land. It was revived in the Italian form by
Edwards, Gray, and T. Wharton, while Bowles,
Charlotte Smith, and Helen Maria Williams
reverted to the easier form of the old English
sonnets. See "The Sonnet: its Origin, Struc
ture, and Place in Poetry, with original Trans
lations from the Sonnets of Dante and Pe
trarch," by Charles Tomlinson (London, 1874).

SONNINI DE MANONCOIRT, Charles Nicolas Si-
gisbert, a French naturalist, born in Luneville,
Feb. 1, 1751, died in Paris, May 29, 1812.
Being commissioned as a marine engineer, he
spent several years in Cayenne and on the W.
coast of Africa, afterward passed some time
with Buffon, and in 1777 joined the African
expedition under Baron de Tott. After visit
ing Egypt, Greece, and Asia Minor, he returned
to France in 1780. He contributed to Buf-
f on s Ilistoire naturelle 13 volumes of fishes, 1
of cetacea, and with Latreille 4 of reptiles.
He lost his fortune by the revolution, and
afterward edited a BibUotltcque pJiysico-eco-
nomique (1801- 12), and Kouxcau dictionnaire
cVMstoire naturelle (24 vols. 8vo, 1803 et seq.},
and published accounts of his travels.

SONOMA, a N". W. county of California, bound
ed S. E. by San Pablo bay and W. by the Pa
cific ocean, and watered by Russian, Santa Rosa,
Petalnma, and Sonoma rivers; area, 1,400 sq.
m. ; pop. in 1870, 19,819, of whom 473 were
Chinese. The N. part is mountainous, being
traversed by spurs of the Coast range, which
are generally well timbered. The valleys are
very fertile, and Sonoma valley is celebrated
f orbits vineyards. In the N. E. part of the
county are the geysers, a collection of hot
springs. Gold, silver, copper, quicksilver, and
coal occur, but not generally in paying quan
tities. The county is traversed by the San
Francisco and North Pacific railroad. The
chief productions in 1870 were 618,425 bush
els of wheat, 145,792 of Indian corn, 323,961
of oats, 195,456 of barley, 369,154 of potatoes,
308,496 gallons of wine," 230,394 Ibs. of wool,
1,060,266 of butter, 246,900 of cheese, and

SONORA

SOODAN

165

35,571 tons of hay. There were 10,616 horses,
1,110 mules and asses, 14,960 milch cows,
16,592 other cattle, 58,387 sheep, and 28,588
swine ; 4 manufactories of carriages and wag
ons, 5 of cooperage, 5 of cabinet furniture, 1
of iron castings, 5 of wine, 13 of saddlery and
harness, 2 of sash, doors, and blinds, 8 of tin,
copper, and sheet-iron ware, 5 flour mills, 4
tanneries, 3 currying establishments, 3 brew
eries, and 18 saw mills. Capital, Santa Rosa.

SOflORA, a N. W. state of Mexico, bounded
N. by the United States, E. by Chihuahua, S.
by Sinaloa, and "W. by the gulf of California
and Lower California; area, 81,022 sq. m. ;
pop. in 1869, 109,388. The eastern portion
of the state is extremely mountainous, being
traversed by a branch of the Sierra Madre ;
the western is composed mainly of extensive
plains. The principal rivers are the Mayo,
Yaqui, and San Jose\ the second having a
course of 450 m., and all three emptying into
the gulf of California. The most important
mineral productions are gold and silver, of
which there were 144 mines in 1870 ;^the coin
age of the mints of Ilermosillo and Alamos in
1869 amounted to $1,116,397. Copperas oc
curs in some places, as do also amianthus, ala
baster, and jasper ; and carbonate of soda and
nitrate of potash are found. The climate is
hot on the coast, mild in the central portions,
and cool in the elevated region of the east.
Much of the soil is fertile, but agriculture is
chiefly confined to the southern districts wa
tered by the Mayo and Yaqui rivers. The
staple productions are wheat, maize, barley,
oats, beans, sugar, cotton, and tobacco ; coffee
is raised, and fruits are very abundant. There
are extensive forests, but little of the timber
is suitable for building ; copal, gum arabic,
archil moss, cochineal, and many other dyes
and drugs are produced. Seals, turtles, oys
ters (including pearl oysters), and fish of good
quality are found in inexhaustible quantities.
There are seven steam and a large number of
other flour mills ; coarse cotton fabrics are
manufactured in a mill of 60 looms at San
Miguel, the only factory of any kind in the
state ; and large quantities of cigars are made.
Cattle rearing is extensively carried on, despite
the depredations of the Apache and other In
dians. The exports include hides, gold and
silver coin and bullion, ores, hog skins, pep
per and gum, flour, and cigars. In 1870 there
were 105 schools, with an attendance of 3,871.
The state is divided into eight districts : Ures,
Ilermosillo, Guaymas, Alamos, Montezuma, Za-
guarita, Arispe, Altar, and Magdalena. The
capital is Ures ; the chief seaport, Guaymas.

SOATAG, Henriette, Countess Rossi, a German
singer, born in Coblentz, Jan. 3, 1806, died in
Vera Cruz, Mexico, June 18, 1854. She ap
peared upon the stage in children s parts as
early as her sixth year, at 15 made her debut
at Prague in Boieldieu s "John of Paris," and
soon rose to a foremost place among Euro
pean vocalists. In 1828 she privately married

Count Rossi, an Italian nobleman, and in 1830
retired from the stage. She was induced by
her husband s pecuniary misfortunes to resume
her profession in 1849, sang for several sea
sons in Europe, then made a successful tour
in the United States, and died while returning
from a professional visit to Mexico.

SOOHOW, or Sncliau, a city of China, in the
^province of Kiangsu, on a lake through which
the imperial canal passes, 112 m. E. S. E. of
Nanking, and 53 m. W. by N. of Shanghai ;
pop. variously estimated from 500,000 to
2,000,000. It consists of the town proper,
surrounded by a wall 10 m. in extent, and four
extensive suburbs. Silk, linen, cotton hard
ware, and glass are manufactured. There are
many beautiful gardens in the neighborhood.
It suffered severely during the Taeping rebel
lion, the insurgents occupying it and driving
out the merchants and wealthy inhabitants.
It succumbed with other cities of the delta to
the imperialists in 1864, and since then has
recovered much of its prosperity.

SOOBAN, or Soudan (Arab. Biled es-Sudan,
the country of the blacks). I. A vast conti
nental belt of territory (also called Nigritia),
stretching nearly across Africa, mainly between
the 6th and loth parallels of N. latitude, from,
the Nile provinces of Egypt on the east to
the Mandingo country and Senegambia on the
west. In Waday and near Timbuctoo its north
erly boundary is not far from lat. 17 N. This
region is occupied by a large number of na
tive states, of which the most important are
Adamawa, Baghirmi, Bambarra, Bornoo, Dar-
foor, Gando, Iloussa, Sackatoo, and Waday,
each described under its own title. The alti
tude of Soodan and the aspect of the surface
vary greatly in the different districts. The
portion W. of the Niger is bounded S. by the
Kong mountains, which curve northward into
the highlands of Senegambia, forming the W.
boundary. The region enclosed within the
great bend of the Niger is of moderate eleva
tion, and consists of a series of well watered
and fertile plains, in some places densely pop
ulated. The central portion of the country ex
tends E. from the river as far as Lake Tchad,
in which centres the hydrographic system of
this part of Soodan. The surface is hilly ex
cept in the vicinity of the lake, but the alti
tude is believed not to exceed 2,000 ft., and
probably does not average more than half as
much. Among the hills are numerous torrent
beds filled only in the rainy season. There are
swamps in the lower districts, and an abun
dant forest growth, but the cleared area is suffi
cient to render central Soodan both populous
and productive. Lake Tchad, which is inter
sected by the 14th parallel of N. latitude and
the 15th meridian of E. longitude, is bordered
N. E. by the native state of Kanem, beyond
which lies the Sahara, S. E. by Baghirmi, and
on all other sides by Bornoo. It is about 840
ft. above the sea level, and its numerous af-
i fluents drain the vast alluvial plain surrounding

1G6

SOODAN

SOOLOO

it, which slopes gently toward its shores. (See
TCHAD, LAKE.) The principal tributary is the
Shary, flowing into the lake from the south.
The plain is subject to frequent inundation in
the vicinity of the streams, but is fertile and
thickly inhabited. In Waday, which borders it
on the east, the country becomes hilly again,
and so continues some distance beyond the con
fines of Darfoor. The Nyam-Nyam country,
lying principally S. of lat. 5 30 N. and E. of
the 25th meridian, is drained by the westward-
moving river Welle, discovered by Schwein-
furth, and belongs geographically to Soodan,
if that stream is connected with the system of
Lake Tchad. The geology of Soodan is but
little understood, and the mineral wealth seems
limited to iron, which appears to be widely
diffused, and gold, which is found in the
rivers. The climate is everywhere charac
terized by extreme heat and moisture. The
maximum temperature is attained in the level
region of central Soodan, where the annual
mean is over 83 F., while the more western
hilly country is remarkable for its excessive
moisture and a greater range of the thermom
eter. The rainy season, which abounds in
thunder storms and tornadoes, lasts from the
middle of May or June, varying with the re
gion, to November, when the northerly winds
set in, and the weather becomes fair and dry.
The natural products comprise palm oil, cocoa-
nuts, dates, figs, and many other tropical fruits.
The chief cultivated crops are maize, millet,
yams, rice, wheat, beans, tobacco, cotton, in
digo, and various vegetables. The fauna of
Soodan embraces the larger mammalia, such
as the elephant, hippopotamus, and rhinoceros;
the lion, leopard, and spotted hyaena, among
the carnivorous animals ; numerous species of
antelopes ; and the ostrich, on the borders of
the desert. Domestic animals are extensively
raised, including several breeds of horses and
innumerable cattle, as well as goats, sheep,
asses, and poultry. The honey made by wild
bees is gathered in large quantities, and forms
an important article of native traffic. The
external trade of Soodan is carried on princi
pally by means of caravans, which journey to
and from Algeria and Morocco. The exports
comprise attar of roses, gold dust, gum arabic,
indigo, ivory, and ostrich feathers and skins,
of which about 1,500,000 worth annually
reaches Algeria ; the imports from that coun
try average about the same amount, mainly in
cotton goods, cutlery, and weapons. Inferior
iron utensils and coarse cotton cloth are the
only noteworthy articles of native manufac
ture. The population consists chiefly of ne
groes, hut in the west the Mandingoes predomi
nate, and the Foolahs are the ruling people in
Gando, Sackatoo, and Adamawa. In many
parts of the country the Arabs are extremely
influential. Soodan has yet to be thoroughly
and exhaustively explored throughout. Among
the more prominent European travellers who
have visited or traversed some portion of the

co.untry are Mungo Park, Denham and Clap-
perton, Caillie, Lander, Earth, Vogel, Rohlfs,
and Nachtigal (1869- 74). The last nam ed
entered Borneo from the Sahara N. of Lake
Tchad, and made his way thence eastward
through Waday and Darfoor to the Nile, an
undertaking never before accomplished. The
explorations of Petherick and Schweinfurth
relate to regions S. of the limits usually as
signed to Soodan. II. A province of Egypt,
distinguished from the preceding, of which it
is but a continuation eastward, by prefixing
the definite article (the Soodan). It comprises
Kordofan, Nubia proper, Sennaar, Taka on the
east, and some Nile districts further south ; pop.
estimated by Sir Samuel Baker at over 1,000,000.
The soil is fertile, and would be productive
under just rule, but the exactions of the gov
ernment have been so excessive as greatly to
retard the development of the province. The
khedive has undertaken the construction of a
railway from Shendy, N. of Khartoom, the
capital, down the Nile a distance of about 220
m., to a point below the second cataract. The
products of the Soodan have hitherto found
their way to Cairo mainly by means of cara
vans occupying four months on the journey.
According to an official statement of such pro
ducts sold in that city in 1873- 4, they were
valued at 1,550,000, and comprised ostrich
feathers (worth 824,013), gums, ivory, calf
skins, coffee, senna, wax, tamarinds, and many
other articles. This statement did not include
exports from the Soodan through the Red sea
ports. The province has been gradually an
nexed by Egypt since 1821.

SOOFEES. See Suns.

SOOLOO, or Snln, the general name of a pic
turesque chain of islands in the Indian archi
pelago, known also as the Sooloo archipel
ago, extending about 250 m. from S. W. to N.
E., between Borneo and Mindanao, from lat.
4 40 to 6 45 N., and from Ion. 119 to 122 20
E., separating the Celebes sea on the south from
the Sooloo or Mindoro sea on the north ; esti
mated area, 1,300 sq. m. ; pop. about 200,000.
They lie outside the volcanic belt of the Indian
archipelago. The entire number of islands is
about 150, most of which are small and unin
habited. There are three large islands : Tawi,
near the coast of Borneo ; Basilan, close to the
S. W. extremity of Mindanao ; and Sooloo,
about midway between them. Each is about
40 m. long and from 6 to 20 m. wide, richly
clothed with tropical vegetation, and rising
into peaks of considerable height, those in
Sooloo being 2,000 ft. above the sea. The
island of Cagayan Sooloo, 140 m. N. W. of the
main chain, is sometimes included within the
Sooloo archipelago, although it does not prop
erly belong to it. Balambangan island, further
w^est, near Maludu bay in Borneo, is noted for
the two unsuccessful attempts of the British
to establish themselves there. It was ceded
to England in 1763, but the fortifications were
destroyed by the Spaniards in 1775 ; it was re-

SOONGAKIA

SOPHOCLES

167

settled in 1803, but abandoned in 1804. The
Sooloo archipelago lies within the influence
of the monsoons. The thermometer ranges
between 75 and 87. The chief productions
consist of teak and sandal wood, rice, tortoise
shell, pearls mother of pearl, fish, tripang,
and edible birds nests. According to Mr. St.
John, this archipelago furnishes probably a
greater number of valuable oyster beds than
any other part of the world. The islands are
subject to the sultan of Sooloo, and are gov
erned by numerous petty chiefs. The forti
fied town of Sugh or Sooloo, on the island
of the same name, is the capital and chief
port of the group, and carries on considerable
trade with the other islands and Manila. Its
population is about 6,000, and that of the
whole island is estimated at 100,000. The in
habitants are Mohammedan Malays, and were
renowned .for their piratical habits prior to
the repression of piracy in these waters by the
Spanish in 1851. They write their, language,
which appears to resemble the Philippine
tongue, in the Arabic character.

SOONGARIA, or Dznngaria. See TUEKISTAN.

SOOMA. See SUNXA.

SOOSOO, or Souson, the native name of the
dolphin of the Ganges, a fresh-water cetacean
of the genus plalanista (F. Cuv.). In this, the
only described species (P. Gtangetica, F. Cuv.),

Soosoo, or Dolphin of the Ganges (Platanista Gangetica).

the body is from 20 to 24 ft. long, thickest in
front and gradually tapering to the tail ; the
head obtuse ; the jaws nearly equal, almost
straight, slender, compressed at the sides, ex
panded at the end, and from 3 to 4 ft. long ;
the teeth are flf, conical, projecting from
the gums, largest, nearest together, and most
curved in front, interlocking in the two jaws,
and laterally near together in the lower jaw ;
the symphysis very long ; the blow-hole a lon
gitudinal fissure, an unusual form ; eyes very
small, shining black, deeply sunk, and 4 in.
above the angle of the mouth ; auditory fora
mina open but small ; the pectorals fan-shaped,
1^ ft. long and 1 ft. broad posteriorly ; dorsal
much depressed and nearest the tail; caudal
2-J- ft. wide and festooned. The color is shi
ning pearly gray, with a few lighter colored
spots ; the fat under the skin is highly prized
by the Hindoos as an external application in
painful diseases. It is carnivorous, feeding
principally on fish, in the pursuit of which it
is very active, but at other times is rather slow.

It inhabits the Ganges as far as the head of
navigation, but is most abundant where its
numerous mouths open into the sea.

SOOTHSAYER. See MANTIS.

SOPHIA (Bulg. Triaditea), a town of Euro
pean Turkey, m Bulgaria, on a small affluent
of the Isker, 310 m. W. N. W. of Constanti
nople; pop. estimated from 18,000 to 30,000,
including Bulgarians, Turks, Greeks, and Ar
menians. It is beautifully situated on the road
to Belgrade and surrounded by mountains.
The old castle was fortified in 1854. The prin
cipal mosque was formerly the magnificent
church of St. Sophia. A Greek archbishop
and a Catholic bishop reside here. S. of the
city are extensive ruins of the ancient Sardica
or Ulpia Sardica, an important town of Moesia,
in which a council was held in 347. Sophia
was founded by Justinian, and conquered by
the Bulgarians in 809 and by the Turks in 1382.
For a long time it was the capital of Bulgaria.

SOPHIA ALEXEIE\TVA. See PETER I.

SOPHIA DOROTHEA, crown princess of Han
over, born Sept. 15, 1GG6, died Nov. 13, 1720.
She was a daughter of Duke George William
of Brunswick, of the Liineburg-Celle line ; her
mother was a French lady. In 1676 she was
affianced to a prince of the house of Brunswick,
who died in the same year. She was married
in 1682 to her cousin, the future George I. of
England, and became the mother of George II.
and of the queen of Frederick William I. of
Prussia. She lived unhappily with her hus
band, from whom she was divorced in Decem
ber, 1694, after being suspected of an intrigue
with Count Konigsmark. The latter had dis
appeared in the night of July 1-2 of that year
on leaving Sophia s apartment, and it was gen
erally believed that he had been assassinated at
her father-in-law s instigation. She was ban
ished for the rest of her life to the castle of
Ahlden, near Celle, whence her popular desig
nation as princess of Ahlden.

SOPHISTS. See PHILOSOPHY, vol. xiii., p.
437.

SOPHOCLES, a Greek tragic poet, born in the
Attic village of Colonus in 496 or 495 B. C.,
died probably in 406. He was about 30 years
younger than yEschylus, and 15 years older
than Euripides. Having gained the prize of a
garland both in music and gymnastics, he was
selected for his beauty and musical skill in his
16th year to lead, naked, anointed, and with
lyre in hand, the chorus which danced and
sang around the trophy in the celebration of
the victory of Salamis. In 468 he first came
forward as a competitor in a dramatic contest,
having zEschylus for his rival. The represen
tation was at the great Dionysia, presided over
by the first archon; the judges were Cimon
and his colleagues who had just returned from
the conquest of Scyros, bringing with them
the bones of Theseus ; the play presented by
Sophocles was probably the " Triptolemus,"
celebrating the Eleusinian hero as a patriot
and civilizer ; the public interest and expecta-

1G8

SOPHOCLES

SOBBONNE

tion were strongly excited ; and the first prize,
which for a whole generation had belonged
to JEschylus, was now awarded to his youth
ful rival. From this time to 441 he is said to
have written 31 plays. In 440 "Antigone,"
his earliest extant drama, gained the prize, and
so delighted the Athenians that they elected
him one of the ten strategi for the ensuing
year, lie engaged as the colleague of Peri
cles in the Sainian expedition, but neither
achieved nor sought military reputation. He
was familiar with Herodotus, and wrote a
poem in his honor. Kuhnken supposes that
it was not the poet, but an orator of the same
name, who after the destruction of the Sicil
ian army in 413 favored the oligarchical move
ment and was appointed one of the ten irp6-
povhoi. Sophocles refused repeated invitations
to leave Athens and reside at foreign courts.
During the 34 years following the success of
" Antigone " he produced 81 dramas. Con
tending, besides yEschylus, with Euripides,
Choerilus, Aristias, Agathon, and his own son
lophon, he gained the first prize 20 or 24 times,
and the second in all other cases. At an ad
vanced age he filled the office of priest to the
native hero Ilalon. There is no certain au
thority for any of the accounts of his death,
that he was choked by a grape, that he sus
tained his voice so long in publicly reading
the "Antigone" as to lose his breath and life
together, or that he died of joy on obtaining
a dramatic victory. It has been said that he
combined all the qualities which, in the judg
ment of a Greek, would make up a perfect
character : beauty and symmetry of person,
mastery alike in music and gymnastics, spon
taneity of genius andfaultlessness of taste, con
stitutional repose, a habit of tranquil medita
tion, a ready wit, and an amiable demeanor.
Sophocles is placed by the universal consent
of ancient and modern critics at the head of
the Greek drama. His tragedies hold the just
mean between the vague and solemn sublimity
of yEschylus and the familiar scenes and rhe
torical pathos of Euripides, presenting the char
acters of men worthy of sympathy and admi
ration, while the former delighted in religious
themes fit to inspire awe, and the latter
abounds in unpoetical disquisition and immoral
vehemence of passion. He illustrates the age
of Pericles, intervening between that of the
heroes of Marathon and Salamis and that of
the sophists. Of all his dramas only seven have
been preserved, to which Miiller assigns the
following chronological order: "Antigone,"
" Electra," " Trachinian Women," " King (Edi-
pus," "Ajax," " Philoctetes," and " (Edipus at
Colonus." They all belong to the latter period
of his life and reveal his art in its full maturity,
and several of them were esteemed by the an
cients among his greatest works. The " (Edi
pus at Colonus " was first brought out by his
grandson after his death. There are also frag
ments and titles of his lost plays. The editio
princeps of Sophocles is that of Aldus (1502).

The text of Turnebus s edition (1533) served as
a basis for the subsequent editions of Henry
Stephens (1568), Canterus (1579), and others,
until the edition of Brunck (2 vols., Strasburg,
1786), which is the basis of all later editions.
Among the best are those of Hermann (4th
ed., Leipsic, 1851), Dindorf (new ed., Leipsic,
1867), Tourneur (Paris, 1873), Schneidewin
(4th ed. by Nauck, Berlin, 1873), Campbell
(Oxford, 1873- 4), Blaydes (London, 1873- 4),
and White (Boston, 1874). The best transla
tions are : in German, by Jordan (Berlin, 1862),
Scholl (new ed., Leipsic, 1871), and Conner
(7th ed., Leipsic, 1873); in French, by Fay art
(Paris, 1849), Artaud (6th ed., 1862), and Per-
sonneaux (2d ed., 1874) ; and in English, by
Adams (London, 1729), Franklin (1758- 9),
Potter (1788), Dale (1824), Buckley (Bonn s
" Classical Library," 1849), Plumptre (1866-
71), Collins ("Ancient Classics for English
Readers," London and Philadelphia, 1873),
and Campbell (1874).

SOPHOCLES, Erangeliims Apostolides, an Ameri
can scholar, born near Mt. Pelion, in Thessaly,
March 8, 1807. He studied in the convent on Mt.
Sinai, emigrated to the United States, entered
Amherst college in 1829, taught school, and was
tutor in Greek in Harvard college in 1842- 5
and 1847- 59. He was then appointed assistant
professor of Greek there, and in 1860 professor
of ancient, Byzantine, and modern Greek. He
received the degree of A. M. from Yale college
in 1837 and from Harvard college in 1847, and
that of LL. D. from the Western Reserve col
lege in 1862 and from Harvard college in 1868.
He has published " A Greek Grammar " (Hart
ford, 1838; 3d ed., 1847); "First Lessons in
Greek " (1839) ; " Greek Exercises " (1841 ; 3d
ed., 1848); "A Romaic Grammar" (1842; 2d
ed., Boston, 1857, and London, 1866) ; " Greek
Lessons for Beginners" (Hartford, 1843);
"Catalogue of Greek Verbs" (1844); "His
tory of the Greek Alphabet, with Remarks on
Greek Orthography and Pronunciation" (Cam
bridge, 1848; 2d ed., 1854); "A Glossary of
Later and Byzantine Greek" (4to, Boston,
1860, forming vol. vii., new series, of the
"Memoirs of the American Academy ") ; and
" Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine
Periods" (8vo, Boston, 1870), his chief work.

SOPHOMSBA. See MASIXISSA.

SORACTE (now Monte di San? Oreste, and
sometimes Monte di San Silvestro), a moun
tain of ancient Etruria, in the territory of the
Falisci, visible from and about 25 m. N. of
Rome. It rises in an abrupt mass to a height
of about 2,250 ft. It was consecrated to
Apollo, Avho had a temple on its summit,
where the present monastery of San Silvestro
stands.

SORBOME, the principal school of theology
in the ancient university of Paris. It was
founded in 1253 by Robert de Sorbonne or
Sorbon, so called from his birthplace in Cham
pagne. He had been a poor student, but be
came chaplain to Louis IX. in 1252, and found-

SORBONNE

SORGHUM

169

ed with the king s aid a collegiate school
for the gratuitous education of poor students
in theology. He secured the services of three
secular professors, Guillaume de Saint- Amour,
Eudes de Douai, and Laurent Langlois, and
formed with them, and 16 poor students under
his own direction, a community which served
as a model for similar collegiate schools in
the universities of France and England. The
charter granted in 1253 by Louis IX. was con
firmed and enlarged by Pope Clement IV. in
1268 % Before 1253 theological instruction was
given in the bishop s school near the cathedral
of Notre Dame; thenceforward it was given
exclusively at the Sorbonne. Robert also
founded near the college a preparatory semi
nary called "the little Sorbonne," which was
destroyed in 1635, when the present church of
the Sorbonne was erected on its site. He pro
vided a library of 1,000 volumes, which was in
creased by subsequent benefactors, especially
by Cardinal Richelieu. The members of the
college (maison de Sorbonne) were divided into
fellows (sodi) and commoners (hospites). The
fellows, composing the faculty, were all secu
lar priests, doctors or bachelors in divinity,
selected for their eminent learning, after un
dergoing the test of a severe public examina
tion, a triple ballot, and teaching a course of
mental philosophy. Besides the strict neces
saries of life provided in the college, the poor
est among them received a trifling stipend.
The commoners were required to be bachelors
in divinity, were chosen from among the most
talented of their class after the most rigorous
ordeal, and were maintained by the college,
but had no voice in its government. The fel
lows were nominated for life, and were offi
cially designated " fellows or bachelors of the
house and society of the Sorbonne;" the com
moners were styled " bachelors of the house
of the Sorbonne," and their membership ceased
on their graduating as doctors. The college
property was vested in the fellows, and all
business was managed in their name. A per
fect equality reigned among them ; the holding
of office implied no superiority or power of
one over another. No member of a religious
order was admitted into their body, and a fel
lowship was forfeited by entering such an or
der. The exceeding rigor exercised in the se
lection both of fellows and of commoners was
for the purpose of maintaining a high standard
of intellectual culture among the secular priest
hood. But the vast lecture halls attached to
the college were open to all poor scholars in
discriminately, and the professors were pledged
never to refuse to teach any such, while stu
dents who had means were required to pay the
usual university fees. From 1253 to 1789 at
least six doctors of the Sorbonne were con
stantly employed in giving gratuitous instruc
tion. The high standard of excellence thus
maintained by the faculty, and the large num
ber of distinguished scholars who went out
from the Sorbonne to fill the highest ecclesias

tical and civil offices in every European conn-
try, raised this celebrated school to an unri-
valledpitchof fame and influence all through the
middle ages and down almost to its suppression.
Its controlling power was felt in the contests
between the university of Paris and the mendi
cant orders, Guillaume de Saint- Am our being
the chosen advocate of the former and the un
compromising foe of the friars ; the Sorbonne
was appealed to in the disputes between the
civil powers and the papacy, and in the great
theological controversies and long schisms that
divided the church. It opposed the claims of
ultramontanism, decided against the divorce
of Henry VIII. from Catharine of Aragon, con
demned the docrines of Luther, Calvin, Baius,
Jansenius, and Quesnel, sustained the Catholic
league against Henry of Navarre, and declared
in 1588 that Henry III. had forfeited the
crown. The Sorbonne was specially favored
by Cardinal Richelieu, who rebuilt on a mag
nificent scale the college, lecture halls, and
church, besides enlarging the library. The
first works printed in France were from the
presses of the Sorbonne. These were estab
lished in 1409 by Jean de la Pierre, prior of
the Sorbonne, and Guillaume Fichet, rector of
the university. In 1470 they published Oas-
parini Pergamensis Epistolarum Liber, fol
lowed by other publications in Latin, French,
Greek, and Hebrew. The Sorbonne was sup
pressed in 1789, and at the organization of the
modern university of France by Napoleon I.
its buildings became the seat of the faculties
of science, letters, and theology of the acade-
mie iinivcrsitaire ; but the faculty of theolo
gy is scarcely a shadow of its predecessor.

SOREL, a town and the capital of Richelieu
co., Quebec, Canada, on the E. bank of the
Richelieu river, at its mouth in the St. Law
rence, 45 m. below Montreal; pop. in 1861,
4,778; in 1871, 5,636. It occupies the site of
a fort built by the French in 1065, and was
for many years the summer residence of the
governors of Canada. Nearly all the shipping
plying between Quebec and Montreal winters
here. Ship building is largely carried on. The
town contains manufactories of engines, mill
machinery, stoves, ploughs, leather, bricks, &c.,
several saw and grist mills, two branch banks,
a tri- weekly (French) and two weekly (one
French) newspapers, a monthly periodical
(French), and three or four churches.

SOREL, Agnes. See AGXES SOREL.

SORGHUM, a genus of grasses, of the tribe
andropogonem, and by some authors included
in androporjon. In grasses of this genus the
flowers are in open panicles, the spikelets two
or three together, the lateral ones sterile, or
reduced to mere pedicels, the central or ter
minal one fertile; the stems not hollow, as
in most grasses. A single species, 8. nutans,
known as Indian grass and wood grass, having
a stalk 3 to 5 ft. high, and a panicle of shining
russet-brown flowers, is common throughout
most of the states. The name sorghum is in

170

SORGHUM

common use for a sugar-producing grass which
is a variety of $. vulgar e. Sugar cane, sac-
charum otficinarum, is a grass closely related
to sorghum, and neither plant is known in the
wild state. The common sorghum, S. vulgare,
is a poorly defined species, and presents varie
ties so marked that, did not intermediate forms
connect them, it would he difficult to regard
them as belonging to the same species. One
form, known as Indian millet, and in the East
as durra, is cultivated in southern Europe, and
in Asia Minor, India, and other parts of the
East, where it takes the place of the cereals of
northern climates ; the abundant round, hard
seeds afford a very white flour, which makes
good bread ; the seeds are also used for feeding
domestic animals. In the West Indies it is
cultivated as food for laborers under the name
of Guinea corn, but the grass called by that
name in our southern states belongs to a differ
ent species. The Indian millet is sometimes
cultivated in this country as food for poultry ;
half a century ago it was introduced as chocolate
corn, its seeds being roasted and used as a sub
stitute for coffee ; and the seeds are sometimes
offered by speculators as Egyptian wheat, or
with some other attractive name, at high prices.
Another variety, with long straight branches
to the panicle and small seeds, is the broom
corn. The variety generally known as sor
ghum (also called sorgho and Chinese sugar
cane), is S. rulgare, var. saccharatum, and is
remarkable for its very sweet juice ; this has
been in cultivation in China, and especially in
Africa, from very early times ; in Africa, where
it is called imphee, there are numerous sub-
varieties known to the natives by such names
as mm- bis^chu-a-pa, nce-a-za-na, oom-see-a-na,
&c., differing in size, productiveness, and shape
of seed cluster, much as do our varieties of
maize. An attempt was made to introduce
sorghum into Europe as early as 1780, by Prof.
Arduino of Florence, but it did not receive
much attention until 1851, when Count de
Montigny, French consul at Shanghai, sent
seeds to Paris ; it is said that only one seed
out of this lot germinated, and the product of
this supplied all the seed sown at first in Eu
rope and America. In 1856 some of this seed
was obtained from France by the United States
patent office, and distributed ; but a much
greater dissemination was made by Mr. Orange
Judd of N"ew York, who imported a large quan
tity and distributed 25,000 packets to the sub
scribers to his paper, the "American Agricul
turist," in all parts of the country. In 1857
Mr. Leonard Wray, an Englishman, arrived in
New York with the seeds of several varieties
of imphee from the south of Africa, some of
which are named above ; they were tested by
several persons, especially in the southern
states, and were found to be a promiscuous and
carelessly collected lot, which at once brought
all kinds of imphee into disrepute ; and though
one or two selections from these varieties
have been cultivated, the main crop is of the

Chinese variety. The plant grows from 8 to
18 ft. high, and before the seed cluster shows
has much the appearance of maize. In some
varieties the branches of the panicle are long,
slender, and spreading, in others short and
erect, and in some long and drooping to one
side ; the color of the seed varies from white,
through shades of brown, to nearly black ; in
the true Chinese the panicle is pyramidal, with
long, not crowded branches, and the clear
brown seeds enclosed in a shining black hull.
It will grow wherever Indian corn can be cul
tivated, but it does not usually ripen its seeds

Chinese Sugar Cane (Sorghum vulgare, var. saccharatum).

north of lat. 41 ; it does best on a light warm
soil, which should be well fertilized, but not
with coarse manures : it is sown in drills or in
hills the same as corn, and the crop should be
kept clean in the same manner; the plants
when they first come up are small, and may
be mistaken for some worthless grass. The
stalks are cut up at the ground before hard
frosts, stripped of their leaves by the use of a
fork or machine made for the purpose, and
taken to the mill, or stored until they can be
pressed. Its sugar, at least soon after pressing,
is almost wholly a form of glucose, and the
yield of cane sugar, at least in the plant as

SORIA

SORREL

171

grown in this country, is much too small to
make its extraction profitable; and the plant
is now cultivated for the sirup or molasses.
Well ripened canes yield about one half their
weight in juice, of which from 5 to 10 gallons,
according to the soil and climate, will make
one gallon of sirup ; the yield of sirup aver
ages from 150 to 175 gallons to the acre, though
in exceptional cases the returns are much
larger. The sirup varies, according to the
care and skill given to its manufacture, from
a dark greenish brown color with a repulsive
grassy flavor, to a fine amber-colored, honey-
like fluid, which, having no characteristic fla
vor, is preferred by many to any other sirup.
The evaporators now in use allow the juice
to be concentrated without undue exposure
to heat, while the scum is readily removed;
lime is used in correcting the acidity of the
juice, which for the finest product is filtered
through animal charcoal. The total produc
tion of sorghum molasses in the United States
was 6,749,123 gallons in 1860, and 16,050,-
089 in 1870. Of the latter amount Indiana
produced 2,026,212 gallons, Ohio 2,023,427,
Illinois 1,960,473, Kentucky 1,740,453, Mis
souri 1,730,171, Tennessee 1,254,701, and Iowa
1,218,635. As fodder it is not always relished
by cattle, and it is now regarded as less valu
able than maize. The seeds are fed to poul
try, cattle, and hogs, and bread has been made
from the flour. The begasse, or refuse from
the press, has been used to make the coarser
kinds of wrapping paper ; the scum and wash
ings of the evaporators are converted into
vinegar. In France sorghum has been culti
vated as a source of alcohol.

SORIA* I. A N. province of Spain, in Old
Castile, bordering on Burgos, Logrono, Sara-
gossa, Guadalajara, and Segovia; area, 3,836
sq. ra. ; pop. in 1870 (estimated), 158,699.
Mountains border three sides, and the surface
is broken. The Douro rises near the N". boun
dary, and flows first mainly S. and then W.
into the province of Burgos. There are large
forests of pine, oak, and beech. The roads are
mere tracks, only practicable for mules. II.
A city, capital of the province, on an irregular
eminence on the right bank of the Douro, 113
m. N. E. of Madrid ; pop. about 5,500. It is
surrounded by old walls. The site of ancient
Numantia is supposed to have been a few
miles N. of Soria, but no positive traces of it
remain.

SORREL, the plant rumex acetosn, a native
of Europe, Asia, and arctic America, which
has long been in cultivation. The genus ru
mex (the ancient Latin name) belongs to the
polygonacecR or buckwheat family, and consists
of more than 100 species, several of which,
either indigenous or introduced, are found all
over this country and are popularly known
as docks. Sorrel is a perennial, with a tuft
of radical leaves which are 4 in. or more
long, and arrow-shaped at the base ; its flower
stalks are 2 ft. or more high, bearing leafless

panicles of unisexual, dioecious, or sometimes
monoecious flowers, which are apetalous, small,
and greenish, often turning red ; the calyx
deeply six-cleft, the three inner segments en-

Sorrel (Eumex acetosa) the variety called "Belleville."

larging in fruit, orbicular, and somewhat petal-
like, enclosing the triangular nut. The leaves
are pleasantly sour, owing to the presence of
the acid oxalate of potash. In France half a
dozen varieties of this are cultivated, of which
the Belleville is the most popular. Though
sorrel is rarely eaten by the English, the
French regard it as one of the necessaries of
life. It is used in salads and in soups, but
more commonly it is dressed in the same man
ner as spinach ; if too strongly acid when
pure to suit the taste, it is mixed with spin
ach or patience dock. While it is compara
tively little known in this country, its use is
increasing, and it is now quite regularly found
in the markets. Sheep sorrel belongs to the

Sheep Sorrel (Eumex acetosella).

same genus, and is E. acetosella, introduced
from Europe, and one of the well known weeds
of agriculture; it grows from a few inches
to a foot or more high ; the lower leaves are

172

SORRENTO

SOULE

halberd-shaped; its dioecious flowers in slen
der panicles, the fertile ones turning reddish.
The herbage of this is also sour, and where it
is abundant and luxuriant is sometimes used
by Europeans as a substitute for the garden
sorrel ; children often eat the pleasantly sour
leaves. In some countries the juice of this, as
well as of the preceding, is used to curdle
milk. As a weed the plant is most abundant
upon worn-out soils. Wood sorrel is described
under OXALIS. (See also TREE SORREL.)

SORRENTO (anc. Surrentum), a city of S. It
aly, in the province, on the S. side of the gulf,
and 16 m. S. E. of the city of Naples; pop.
about 4,300, besides many strangers attracted
by the climate and the picturesque situation.
Deep ravines around the city are excavated in
the volcanic tufa. In the vicinity are sea baths,
curious grottoes, and relics of antiquity, the
principal of which is a reservoir still used.
Sorrento is the seat of an archbishop, and has
a fine cathedral. The house in which Tasso
was born, on the cliff overhanging the sea, is
now a favorite hotel. Celebrated inlaid wood
work and silk and other goods are made here.
Under the Romans Surrentum was chiefly
known as a fashionable resort, and for its pot
tery and medicinal wines. In A. I). 79 the erup
tion of Vesuvius caused great damage to it. In
the middle ages it had considerable commerce.
The geology of Sorrento has been described
by Puggaard (Copenhagen and Leipsic, 1858).

SOTHERN, Edward Askew, an American actor,
born in Liverpool, Eng., April 1, 1830. He
first appeared on the stage in the United States
as Dr. Pangloss at the Boston National theatre,
in September, 1852. lie was a stock actor in
Barnum s museum, New York, till 1854, when
he joined Wallack s company. For years he
was known as Douglas Stewart, and it was not
till 1858 that he used his own name. On Oct.
18, 1858, in Tom Taylor s comedy u Our Amer
ican Cousin," the character of Lord Dundreary
was assigned to Sothern. The part as origi
nally written consisted of a few lines, and was
assumed by Sothern under protest; but his
lisp, drawl, peculiar skip, and many absurdities
were very successful, and the part being en
larged, the play ran for 140 consecutive nights.
On Nov. 11, 1861, he appeared as Lord Dun
dreary at the Haymarket theatre, London, and
repeated the part 496 consecutive nights, lie
returned to the United States, and for many
months performed Dundreary in the leading
cities. On Oct. 10, 1874, he reappeared in the
Ilaymarket, and during a short engagement
presented the part of " Brother Sam," written
for him by John Oxenford. He returned to
New York for the season of 1 874-^5, playing
Dundreary and Garrick in Wallack s theatre.

SOTO. See DE SOTO.

SOTWELL, Nathaniel. See SOUTHWELL.

SOUBISE. I. Benjamin de Rohan, seigneur de, a
French soldier, born in La Rochelle in 1583,
died in London, Oct. 9, 1642. He was a son
of Rene II. de Rohan by Catharine Parthenay,

the heiress of the house of Soubise, and the
brother of Henri de Rohan (1579-1638), the
celebrated Huguenot leader. After serving in
Holland under Maurice of Nassau he was ap
pointed in 1621, by the Protestant assembly at
La Rochelle, commander of Poitou, Brittany,
and Anjou. When the other chiefs had laid
down their arms, he boldly but unsuccessfully
defended St. Jean d Angely ; and his attempts
to renew the war during the winter of 1622,
and his mission to England to obtain help from
James I., were equally abortive. In 1625, af
ter taking a royal squadron and keeping at bay
for several weeks the united French and Dutch
fleets, he was defeated by Duke Henry II. of
Montmorency and driven from the islands of
Re and Oleron (Sept. 15), which he had occu
pied for some time. Having secured through
the medium of Charles II. the hollow peace of
April 6, 1626, he joined in 1627 the English in
the fruitless attempt to relieve La Rochelle, and
some time after the surrender of that strong
hold he went to England, although permitted
to remain in France. He was buried in West
minster abbey. II. Charles de Rohan, prince de,
a French soldier, a descendant of the prece
ding, born in Paris, July 16, 1715, died there,
July 4, 1787. He was notorious for his dis
sipation, and was a favorite of Louis XV. and
his adjutant in Flanders, where he was ap
pointed governor in 1748. In 1751 his gover
norship was extended over Hainaut. Through
the influence of Mme. de Pompadour he be
came in 1753 allied to the royal family by the
marriage of his daughter to the prince de Con-
de, who obtained for him a high command
in the army of the Rhine (1756). He was sur
prised and routed at Gotha with 8,000 men by
Seydlitz with 1,500 troops, and soon after ward
he was ignominiously defeated by Frederick
the Great at Rossbach (Nov. 5, 1757), where
he commanded the united French and allied
armies. Nevertheless he was appointed to
other high commands and offices, and after va
ried successes and quarrels with fellow com
manders, especially with the duke de Broglie,
over whom he triumphed through his influ
ence at court, his career in the army ended dis
astrously with his loss of Cassel, Nov. 1, 1761.

SOILANGES, a W. county of Quebec, Canada,
on the N. bank of the St. Lawrence, above
Montreal ; area, 137 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 10,-
808, of whom 9,724 were of French and 732
of Scotch origin. It is traversed by the Grand
Trunk railway. Capital, Coteau Landing.

SOULE, Joshua, an American clergyman, born
in Bristol, Me., Aug, 1, 1781, died in Nash
ville, Tenn., March 6, 1867. He was licensed
to preach in 1798, joined the Methodist con
ference in 1799, was ordained in 1802, and
in 1804 appointed presiding elder of the Maine
district, which embraced 13 circuits and one
station. In 1808, at the general conference in
Baltimore, he drew up the plan of a delegated
general conference which now appears in the
"Discipline." After presiding over various

SOULS

SOULT

173

other districts in Maine and Massachusetts, he
was elected in 1816 book agent and editor of
the "Methodist Magazine." In 1820 he was
stationed in the city of New York; in 1821
he was preacher in charge of the station in
that city, and in 1822- 3 of the Baltimore city
station. In 1824 he was elected bishop. He
was delegate from the general conference to
the British Wesleyan Methodist conference in
1842; and afterward he travelled extensively
in the British islands and in France. On the
division of the church, Bishop Soule adhered
to the southern portion, and removed from
Lebanon, O., to Nashville, Tenn. In 1853- 4
he made an episcopal tour in California.

SOULE, Pierre, an American statesman, born
in Castillon, France, in 1801, died in New Or
leans, March 16, 1870. He studied in the Jesu
its college at Toulouse, was implicated in a
plot against the Bourbons, fled to a village in
Navarre, and became a shepherd. He was
afterward an advocate in Paris, and for an at
tack upon the ministry in the Nain newspaper
he was fined 10,000 francs and sentenced to
prison. He escaped to England, and in 1825
emigrated to New Orleans, where he rose to
eminence at the bar. In 1847 he was elected
United States senator from Louisiana to fill a
vacancy, and in 1849 was reflected for a full
term. In 1853 he was appointed minister to
Spain, where he fought a duel with M. Turgot,
the French ambassador, and wounded him.
He participated in the Ostend conference in
1854 (see BUCHANAN, JAMES), and came home
in 1855. In 1861 he visited Europe as diplo
matic agent of the confederate government,
and in 1862 was arrested in New Orleans by
Gen. Butler, and imprisoned, but was released
on condition of leaving the country. He re
turned to New Orleans shortly before his death.

SOCLIE, Melchior Frederic, a French novelist,
born at Foix, Dec. 23, 1800, died at Bievre,
near Paris, Sept. 23, 1847. He was expelled
from the law school in Paris on account of his
radicalism, and after publishing in 1824: Amours
fmn?ais, an unsuccessful volume of poems, he
supported himself as the foreman of an uphol
sterer till 1828, when his drama Romeo et Ju
liette proved successful at the Odeon. Most of
his subsequent pieces failed, excepting Clotilde
in 1832. He achieved greater celebrity as a
novelist, especially by Diane et Louise (1836),
which he dramatized under several titles. He
published more than 150 volumes of novels, in
cluding Le mcdtre d ecole (1839), Si jeunesse
savait, si vieillesse pouvait (1842), and his Me-
moires du diable (1844), which had a prodi
gious circulation. His monument in Pore La-
chaise was unveiled Feb. 20, 1875.

SOCLOUQUE, Faustin, a Haytian emperor under
the title of Faustin I., born in the district of
Petit Goave, in the southern peninsula of Hayti,
about 1785, died there in July, 1867. He was
born a slave, but became free by the decree
of 1790, took part in the negro insurrection
against the French in 1803, served as captain

under President Boyer in 1820, as colonel un
der Herard in 1844, as brigadier general under
Guerrier in 1845, and was commander of a
division at the time of the death of Riche in
February, 1847. While the generals Souffran
and Paul were disputing and plotting for the
succession, the senate unexpectedly elected Sou-
louque to the presidency, March 1, 1847. He
belonged to the party of the mulattoes, but,
jealous of their power, he began to attach the
blacks to his interest, and to pursue a system
of terror toward the citizens, whom he deci
mated in 1848 by confiscations, proscriptions,
and executions. Like his predecessors he vain
ly sought to subjugate the republic of Do
minica. In 1849 he caused the restoration of
monarchy, ostensibly by the will of the people
and the action of the chambers, was almost
unanimously chosen emperor (Aug. 26), as
sumed the title of Faustin I., surrounded him
self with a numerous court, founded a military
and civil order and an order of nobility, and
issued a constitution, reserving to himself the
right at any juncture to rule as he pleased. He
was crowned in 1850, and a second time, with
greater pomp, on April 18, 1852. In 1855 he
repeated his attempt to conquer the neighbor
ing republic, and took the field with a consid
erable army, but was so completely defeated
by a few hundred Dominicans under Santana
that he barely escaped capture, and his trea
sure and throne fell into the hands of the ene
my. A campaign in the following year also
terminated in his defeat. A commercial crisis
in 1858 increased the general discontent, and
Gen. Geffrard led a revolt, and was recognized
as president of the republic of Hayti. Sou-
louque was, however, allowed to depart (Jan.
15, 1859) with his wife and child for Jamaica.
After the fall of Geffrard in 1807, he returned
to Hayti.

SOL LT, Nicolas Jean de Dien, duke of Dalmatia,
a French soldier, born at St. Amans-la-Bastide,
Guienne, March 29, 1769, died there, Nov. 26,
1851. He enlisted in 1785, became a captain
in 1793, and reached in one year the rank of
brigadier general after the battle of Fleurus
(June 26, 1794). In 1799 he was made general
of division by Massena, with whom he distin
guished himself at the battle of Zurich, Sept.
25, which saved France from invasion, and at
the siege of Genoa, during which he was sur
rounded and captured by the Austrians, May 15,
1800, but was speedily exchanged, after the
battle of Marengo. In 1804 Napoleon made
him a marshal. In 1805 he increased his repu
tation at the head of the fourth corps in Ger
many, especially at Austerlitz, Dec. 2, where
Napoleon declared him to be the first strate
gist of Europe. In 1806- 7 he won additional
fame in the campaign against Prussia, and final
ly occupied Konigsberg (June 16, 1807), and
after the treaty of Tilsit he was made governor
of Berlin and duke of Dalmatia. Next appoint
ed commander of the second corps in Spain, he
nearly annihilated the Spanish army at Burgos,

SOUND

Nov. 10, 1808, took from the English Corunna
(where he had been at first defeated) and Fer-
rol, and occupied Oporto and the northern part
of Portugal, whence he was expelled by Wel
lington. After his retreat to Spain he gained
several advantages, and on March 11, 1811, he
obtained possession of Badajoz through the
treachery of the Spanish commander; but he
was defeated by Beresford at Albuera, May
16, and Wellington carried Badajoz by assault
with fearful loss on the night of April 6, 1812.
Disapproving of King Joseph s proceedings,
Soult asked to be relieved ; but soon after
reaching France Napoleon ordered him to as
sume the chief command of the army in Spain,
and retrieve Joseph s crushing defeat at Vito-
ria, June 21, 1818. But despite his wonderful
efforts, after various engagements in the moun
tain passes with the main body of the allies, he
was cut off from Bayonne by Wellington, de
feated at Orthez, Feb. 27, 1814, and forced
back to Toulouse, which was taken by Wel
lington, April 10. Soult offered a heroic re
sistance, and consented only to an honorable
capitulation after the full confirmation of Na
poleon s first abdication, and led his troops safe
ly out of the city. His conduct during this
memorable campaign received the warm com
mendation of Napier, the English historian
of the peninsular war; and Avhen 26 years
later Soult officially attended the coronation of
Queen Victoria, he was most cordially received
by Wellington and his other former adversa
ries. Under the first restoration he was for a
short time minister of war; but as he rejoined
Napoleon on his return from Elba, and served
as major general at Waterloo, lie was banished
from 1816 to 1819. In 1820 he was reinstated
as a marshal and received a pension of 200,000
francs, and in 1827 he became a peer. Under
Louis Philippe he was minister of war in 1830-
31, prime minister in 1832- 4, and again (with
the portfolio of foreign affairs in 1839- 40, and
of war in 1840- 45) from 1839 till 1847, when
the extraordinary title of marshal-general was
given to him on his retirement. He left me
moirs, of which only the first part was pub
lished (3 vols., 1854) by his son Napoleon llec-
tor, who died in 1857.

SOUND, the sensation peculiar to the organ
of hearing. This sensation is the final effect
of a closely connected series of mechanical
actions, which have their origin in some rapid
ly vibrating body, whence they are propagated
progressively through the air to the membrane
of the drum of the ear, and thence, through a
series of small articulated bones, into the in
ner cavity. This cavity, tunnelled in the hard
petrous bone, is filled with liquid and contains
the delicate terminal fibrils of the auditory
nerve. Each of these fibrils appears to be at
tached to the centre of a delicate rod or chord.
These chords are stretched, and being of dif
ferent lengths and diameters are generally sup
posed to be tuned to sounds extending through
a range of several octaves. By the sympa

thetic vibrations of these tuned bodies they
shake their attached nerve fibrils and thus give
rise to sensations peculiar to sounds of various
pitch. From the foregoing we see that the
subject of sound is naturally divided into three
parts. In the first division we shall consider
the manner of production of sound, and the
nature of those vibrations which cause sono
rous sensations. In the second part we shall
explain the manner in which these vibrations
are propagated through the elastic medium
existing between the vibrating body and the
ear. In the third part we shall consider the
manner in which the ear perceives a simple
sound and analyzes a composite sound into its
elementary sonorous sensations. At the place
of origin of every sound there is always some
solid, liquid, or gaseous body in a state of rapid
vibration. This vibrating body imparts its
motions to any elastic medium with which it
may be in contact, and the vibrations thus
given to the contiguous medium are propa
gated in all directions. The contiguous elastic
medium may be a solid, a liquid, or a gas.
Proofs of the above statements are readily
afforded by the following simple experiments.
A sounding tuning fork is drawn over a piece
of smoked glass, so that the point of a piece
of foil, attached to one of its prongs, may just
touch the glass. After this experiment we
observe that the point attached to the fork has
laid bare the glass in a sinuous line, as seen in
fig. 1, thus showing that when the fork causes

FIG. l.

a sound its prongs are swinging to and fro in
a direction perpendicular to its length. That a
liquid may be the vibrating body at the source
of the sound, is shown by placing a "siren"
under water and forcing through it a current
of water. If we take an organ pipe with glass
sides and sprinkle in its interior a small portion
of precipitated silica, we shall, on sounding the
pipe, observe this very light powder rise in thin
delicate vertical plates in certain portions of
the pipe, while in intermediate places the silica
remains at rest. Neither the tone of the pipe
nor the positions of the plates of silica are
altered in the least by pressure on the walls of
the pipe; thus showing that the real vibrating
body in an organ pipe is its contained column
of air. It now remains to show that the me
dium through which the sonorous vibrations
are propagated outward from the vibrating
body may be either solid, liquid, or gaseous.
One of the most beautiful experiments in
acoustics was invented by Sir Charles Wheat-
stone, and shows that sounds, even the most
complex, may be transmitted through solids
as readily as through the air. In the lower

SOUND

175

room of a house, or in a tightly closed box
lined with felt, he placed a musical box. On
the top of the musical box rests the end of a
long light wooden rod which reaches to one of
the rooms above. The rod is insulated from
the floor of the rooms by India rubber. No
sound is perceived in the upper room until we
place on the top of the rod a violin, a guitar,
or any instrument with a sounding board, when
the sounds of the musical box till the upper
room and appear to emanate from the musical
instrument on the rod. That a liquid may be
the medium for the transmission of sonorous
vibrations is readily proved by placing on a
resonant box a long cylindrical vessel filled
with water, and then bringing in contact with
the surface of the water a disk of wood at
tached to the foot of a vibrating tuning fork.
The vibrations of this instrument are sent
through the water, and reaching the top of
the resonant box throw the latter into vibra
tions of the same period as those of the fork.
That the air, a gaseous body, vibrates while it
is transmitting sonorous pulses, can be shown
by placing in the path of these vibrations a
delicate membrane strewn with a light dry
powder. The powder dances on the mem
brane while the sound is perceived. The vi
brations of the air can also be detected by
means of the so-called " sensitive flames,"
which are formed of jets of gas, issuing from
cylindrical orifices under such great pressure
that they are just on the point of flaring, or
roaring. These flames are so sensitive to aerial
vibrations that the slightest sound, if of the
proper pitch, will cause them suddenly to con
tract greatly in their lengths, and at the same
time to give forth roaring sounds. These
flames are generally most sensitive to acute
sounds, such as a hiss or the jingling of a
bunch of keys. (See PYKOPHONE.) An anal
ysis of sonorous sensations reduces them to
three kinds: pitch, intensity, and tim*bre. 1.
Pitch and the Determination of the Number
of Vibrations of a Sounding Body. Pitch is
that quality of sound by which we distinguish
the position of sounds in the musical scale.
One sound is thus said to be higher or lower
than another. Pitch depends on the number
of vibrations in a second which enter the ear.
The pitch rises with the increase of the num
ber of vibrations. In England, Germany, and
America a vibration is understood to be a mo
tion to and fro, while in France it is a motion
to or fro. The sound having the lowest pitch is
caused by 40 vibrations in a second ; a smaller
number of vibrations than this does not cause
a continuous sonorous sensation. The highest
audible sound is caused by about 40,000 vibra
tions in a second; vibrations of greater fre
quency than this are not generally audible,
though the limit of audibility of the highest
sounds is different for different persons. Thus
some cannot hear the chirrup of the cricket,
while others perceive sounds one or two oc
taves above it. Dr. "Wollaston discovered this
VOL. xv. 12

FIG. 2.

variation. The pitch of a sound may be deter
mined by several methods, some of the most
precise of which are: 1. By means of an in
strument called a "siren," fig. 2, invented by
Cagniard de Latour. It consists of a metal
cylinder the bottom of which is perforated by
a tube through
which air is
blown into the
cylinder. The
top of the cyl
inder is perfora
ted with a num
ber of holes.
Just over this
top and nearly
touching it ro
tates a metallic
disk on a verti
cal axis. This
disk is perfora
ted with the
same number
of holes as are
in the cylinder.
The form of the
holes is shown
in the section
in the figure.
They do not
pass perpendic
ularly through
the plates, but
slope contrary ways, so that the air when
forced through the holes in the top of the
cylinder impinges upon one side of the holes
in the rotating plate, and thus blows it round
in a definite direction. The disk in making
one revolution opens and shuts the holes as
many times as there are holes in the disk and
cylinder, and hence the wind escapes from
the cylinder in successive puffs, the frequen
cy of which depends upon the rate of rota
tion. A sound is thus produced having a pitch
which rises with the increase of velocity of
rotation. The vertical axis has a screw cut
on it which works in a notched wheel at
tached to a dial, which shows the number of
rotations of the disk. To determine the pitch
of a sound by means of this instrument, we
gradually increase the rotation of the disk
until the sound emitted approaches the pitch
of the sound the number of vibrations of
which we would determine. When the two
sounds are quite near in pitch, the ear will
perceive distinct beats produced by the joint
action of the two sounds on the air. The
velocity is now cautiously increased until the
beats disappear. At this moment the counter
is put in operation, and the disk is allowed to
run for a known number of seconds ; then the
counter is thrown out of action and the num
ber of revolutions of the disk read off. On
multiplying the number of revolutions of the
disk by the number of its holes, and dividing
this product by the number of seconds during

176

SOUND

which the disk was connected with the counter,
we have the number of vibrations per second
corresponding to the given sound. 2. The
number of vibrations per second of a tuning
fork, or of any rod or plate, can be determined
very precisely by the following plan. The
tuning fork or rod has attached to it a piece
of delicate foil, which just touches the smoked
surface of paper covering a metallic cylinder.
If the cylinder is turned while the fork vibrates,
it is evident that the point attached to the fork
will trace a sinuous line on the cylinder. Now,
if by any means we can mark off seconds of
time on this sinuous trace, we shall have only
to count the number of sinuosities between
two successive second marks to have the num
ber of swings made by the fork in a second.
The above conditions are attained in the follow
ing manner : A break-circuit clock is placed in
the primary or battery circuit of an induction
coil; one of the terminal wires of the secon
dary circuit of this induction coil is connect
ed with the tuning fork, while the other ter
minal wire is connected with the revolving
cylinder. At each second the break-circuit
clock sends a spark from the point attached to
the vibrating point, through the smoked paper,
to the revolving metallic cylinder. It is evi
dent that on counting the number of flexures
contained between two successive spark holes
in the fork s trace we have the number of
half vibrations made by the fork in a second.
When we have thus determined the exact num
ber of vibrations, at a known temperature,
given by a tuning fork, we may use the num
ber of vibrations of this fork as a point of
departure in determining the number of vibra
tions of any rod, plate, chord, or membrane,
by means of a very simple and ingenious meth
od recently devised by Prof. O. N. Rood, and
described by him in the " American Jour
nal of Science," August, 1874. Let us sup
pose that it is required to ascertain whether
two tuning forks are in unison, or to deter
mine the difference in the number of vibra
tions executed by
them in a second.
For this purpose a
short piece of fine
steel wire is at
tached to each of
the forks, and they
are supported in
positions so that
their vibrations
shall be at right
angles to each oth
er, as indicated in
fig. 3. The wires
may have a diam
eter of one or two tenths of a millimetre, or
even less, and are to be attached with the least
possible amount of soft wax or varnish. They
may be brought quite near to each other, or
may if necessary be several inches apart. If
the forks are now set into vibration and the

FIG.

intersection of the wires viewed against a
bright background with a small telescope, it
will be seen that an optical figure is developed,
which is partly due to the same well known
conditions that give rise to the acoustic figures
of Lissajous, and partly to the circumstance

FIG. 5.

FIG. 4.

that the wires move with less velocity when
near their maximum deviation from the line of
rest. Hence, if the difference in phase is zero,
an appearance like fig. 4 is produced, which
changes into fig. 5 when the difference in phase
has increased to one half a complete vibration.
Fainter indications of the same figures are
shown in all cases, except when the difference
in phase is one fourth, three fourths, &c., of
a vibration, or nearly so. This figure is char
acteristic then of forks in unison, and the fact
of its constancy will be the evidence of per
fect unison. If the forks are not exactly in
unison, fig. 4 will after some time change into
fig. 5, and the number of seconds necessary
for this change will measure the interval re
quired by one of the forks in gaining or losing
half of a complete vibration. The focal length
of the object glass of the telescope used was
120 millimetres for parallel rays, and when the
aperture was reduced to two millimetres, suffi
ciently distinct vision of both wires could bo
obtained, even when their distance apart was
several centimetres. With this limited aper
ture, the light from a white cloud answered
quite well. If the forks differ by an octave, an
almost equally distinct and well marked figure
will be produced, such as is seen in figs. 6 and
7, which represent the characteristic appear
ances in this case. This figure is quite as
useful for purposes of investigation as for
that of unison. Somewhat less distinct and
more complicated figures are given by the
quint, the duodecime, and the double octave.
From the foregoing it is evidently easy with
this method to bring a vibrating string into

FIG. 6.

FIG.

unison with a given tuning fork, or to adjust
it so that the interval shall be a quint, octave,
twelfth, or double octave, above or below. It
is also easy to ascertain the number of vibra
tions made by a string in a given case, by the
aid of a bridge and a properly selected fork
making a known number of vibrations, the
string being shortened till it furnishes one
of the above mentioned figures, and therefore

r N i v

ITV 01

SOUND

executes a known number of vibrations, after
which the number of vibrations made by its
whole length can readily be calculated by a
well known law. 3. The following method
of determining the number of vibrations of a
sounding body is applicable to all cases, whether
the body be solid, liquid, or gaseous. After we
have determined, by the method already de
scribed, the precise number of vibrations of a
given fork, we make another fork higher in
pitch than the former, which makes with the
first eight beats a second ; a third fork is then
tuned until it gives eight beats with the second
fork, or sixteen with the first. Thus a series
containing many forks is formed, any fork of
which makes eight vibrations more in a second
than the fork next below it in pitch. On each
fork is stamped its number of vibrations. To
determine with these forks the pitch of a given
sound, we find in the series of forks one which
makes with this sound eight beats or fewer
than eight beats in a second, and we count the
number of these beats given during one minute
or more. Dividing the number of beats found
by the number of seconds during which the
observation lasted, we have the number of
beats made in one second by the fork and the
given sound, and as the number of beats per
second is always equal to the difference in the
number of vibrations per second of the two
sounds, it follows that we at once know how
many vibrations per second the fork exceeds
or falls short of those of the sound. To ascer
tain whether the fork makes more or less than
the sound in a second, we place a small piece
of wax on a prong of the fork, and observe
whether this causes the number of beats to
increase or to diminish. If the number of
beats increases, then the fork was lower in
pitch than the sound, while if the beats are
less frequent the fork was higher in pitch than
the given sound. The series of forks just de
scribed is called after its inventor a Scheibler s
tonometer. 2. The Intensity of Sound. The
intensity of sound depends on the energy of the
aerial vibrations contiguous to the ear. For
sounds of the same pitch the intensity varies as
the square of the amplitude of the aerial oscilla
tions. The plans generally used are unworthy
the designation of measures, being only rough
comparisons. The writer first succeeded in
measuring the relative intensities of sounds of
the same pitch, and the reader is referred to
the publication on the subject in the "Amer
ican Journal of Science " for February, 1SY3.
The principle of the method depends on the
fact that if two sonorous impulses meet in
traversing an elastic medium, and if at their
place of meeting the molecules of the medium
remain at rest, then at this place of quiescence
the two impulses must have opposite phases
of vibration and be of equal intensities. By
means of an appropriate apparatus the above
conditions are brought about in the union of
the two sounds whose intensities we would
compare. We then measure the distances from

the place of meeting of the two sounds to the
points of origin of these sounds. The relative
intensities of the sounds will be as the inverse
ratio of the squares of these distances. But to
determine the relative or absolute intensities
of sounds of different pitch is one of the most
difficult of experimental problems. The writer
has recently succeeded in reaching approxi
mate measures of the absolute intensities of
sounds by measuring the amounts of heat pro
duced when the sound vibrations are absorbed
by India rubber. By knowing the exact frac
tion of the whole energy of the sound absorbed
and the specific heat of the rubber, the mechan
ical equivalent of the entire sonorous vibra
tions, in fractions of a Joule s unit, can be cal
culated. It was thus shown that the aerial vi
brations produced by a treble fork, mounted
on its resonant box and vibrated during ten
seconds, will, if entirely converted into heat,
raise the temperature of one pound of water
To-oVoT of a degree ; or, in mechanical effect,
will raise 54 grains one foot high. 3. Timbre
of Sound, and Analysis of Sounds. Timbre is
a term used to designate those special charac
ters by which we distinguish between two or
more sounds having the same pitch and equal
intensities. Thus, sounding the same note on
a flute, a violin, a clarinet, and a piano, the
ear at once distinguishes the instrument pro
ducing the note. Some preliminary knowl
edge as to the differences between a simple and
a composite sound is necessary before giving
an explanation of the cause of timbre. A sim
ple sound is a sound which has only one pitch.
Such a sound is produced when a tuning fork,
mounted on a resonant box, is gently vibrated
by drawing a bow across one of its prongs.
All simple sounds are alike in timbre; the
only differences existing between them are
differences of pitch and of intensity. Thus,
if simple sounds alike in pitch and in intensity
were produced by four instruments differing
even very much in construction, the ear could
not give us the information by which we could
distinguish one instrument from another. On
examining closely into the nature of the aerial
vibrations which produce a simple sonorous
sensation, we find that this sensation is only
experienced when the aerial particles swing to
and fro with the same character of reciproca
ting motion as pertains to a freely swinging
pendulum. But there are other sounds which
are not simple but composite, being formed of
the combination of several simple sounds of
various pitch and intensities. Thus, by atten
tive listening one can distinguish several sounds
of various pitch in the sound of a piano string,
or in that of a reed organ pipe. On analyzing
these composite sounds, by methods presently
to be described, we find that they can always
be separated into two or more simple sounds,
and that if we call the number of vibrations
producing the lowest in pitch unity, then the
remaining sounds will, in order of ascending
pitch, bear to the first the vibration ratios of

178

SOUND

1 : 2, 1 : 3, 1 : 4, 1 : 5, &c. The lowest sound
perceived is generally the most intense, and is
called the "fundamental." This is the sound
which is indicated in musical notation, and
which designates the pitch of the composite
sound. But really when we produce one of
the sounds indicated by musical notation, we
generally at the same time evolve a long series
of sounds bearing to each other the vibration
relations of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c. This series of
sounds is called the harmonic series, and is
sometimes designated as the series of overtones
of the fundamental sound. But the members
of this series do not always all coexist ; thus
the sounds of the clarinet only contain the
odd numbers of the series, viz., 1, 3, 5, V, &c.
It is evident from the above facts that an in
definite number of different composite sounds
can be formed by combining simple sounds
and giving to them various relative intensities ;
and that each of these composite sounds will
be characterized by its own peculiar timbre.
This great discovery, that all simple sounds
have one and the same timbre, and that the
characteristic timbre of any other sound is due
alone to the number and relative intensities of
the harmonics or overtones forming the sound,
was made by Helmholtz ; he not only succeed
ed first in proving this by the experimental
analysis of various composite sounds, but also
by reproducing these composite sounds with
their characteristic timbres by simultaneously
sounding their simple sonorous components
with their proper relative intensities. This ex
planation of timbre, as Helmholtz has shown,
has a dynamic basis, and is the direct conse
quence of the celebrated theorem of Fourier,
which may thus be rendered in the language of
dynamics: Every periodic vibratory motion
can always, and always in one manner, be re
garded as the sum of a certain number of pen
dulum vibrations. There are various methods
of analyzing a composite sound. They are
generally founded on the fact that if we have
two bodies which give exactly the same num
ber of vibrations in a second, and vibrate one
of them, the other, although somewhat distant
from the first, will be thrown into vibration by
the action of the aerial pulses which have em
anated from the first body. This must neces
sarily follow, for the pulses which the second
body receives from the air synchronize with
the number of vibrations in a second which this
body alone can give. This phenomenon may
be called " co-vibration." Helmholtz in his in
vestigations generally used as co-vibrating bod
ies masses of air contained in hollow spheres
of various sizes. These spheres are called reso
nators, and one of them, as made by Konig of
Paris, is shown in fig. 8. These spherical mass
es of air are so graduated in volume that a
series of resonators is formed, and each re
sonator will resound only to the number of
vibrations in a second which is stamped on it.
The manner of using these resonators is as fol
lows: The compound sound falls upon the

open mouth of the resonator, while the nipple-
shaped tube opposite the mouth is placed in
one ear, and the other ear is closely stopped
with beeswax. If the sound, to which the

FIG. 8.

mass of air contained in this resonator enters
into co- vibration, exists in the composite sound,
then the ear will perceive this sound with
some intensity, to the exclusion of the other
component sounds. Thus by placing to the ear
each resonator of the series and noting those
which resound, we can readily ascertain the
simple sounds, whose union forms the com
posite sound which we have analyzed. The
writer has often replaced the resonators ap
plied to the ear by tuning forks mounted on
resonant boxes. If the mouth of one of
these boxes, like fig. 9, be placed near a sound
ing reed pipe, and if the note of the fork
on the resonant box exists in the composite
sound of the reed, then this fork will be set in
vibration and will continue to vibrate after the
reed has ceased to sound ; for the mass of air
in the box acts like a resonator, and is set in
vibration by the pulses of that harmonic of
the reed which is in unison with it. But, as
the fork is also in unison with the mass of air
in the resonant box, it follows that it also is
set in motion by the latter, so that, after the
composite sound ceases, we find that the fork
sings out alone, and thus shows that it has
selected from a chorus of harmonics that one

FIG. 9.

which is in unison with its own tone. It
has thus been easy, by using one fork after
another of the harmonic series of the reed,
to show the composition of its sound to a

SOUND

179

large audience. We have also succeeded with
the following experiment. Forcibly sound
the reed pipe and place around its mouth eight
or more forks of the harmonic series of the
sound given by the reed, with the mouths of
their resonant boxes toward the reed pipe.
After the reed has sounded for a few seconds,
stop it, and we shall find that all of the forks
are in vibration; and thus singing together,
they approximately reproduce the sound of
the reed. This experiment requires the reso
nant boxes, the forks, and the harmonics of
the reed to be in exquisite unison. The reader
may convince himself of the composite nature
of the sound given by a piano string, by the
following simple experiments. If we sound
on the piano the below the middle or treble
0, if we call this note C 2 , the harmonics of this
sound will be 3 , G 3 , C 4 , E 4 , G 4 , B^, C 8 , &c.
But the seventh harmonic, or B^, is want
ing, because the hammers of the piano strike
the strings at points about one seventh of
their length, and hence this harmonic cannot
appear. If it did, it would cause harshness of
timbre, for the seventh harmonic forms dis
sonant combinations with the other harmon
ics of the series. To show that all of the re
maining harmonics exist in the sound of Cg,
depress slowly and firmly the key of C 3 ; the
hammer will rise, press against the string, and
fall from it, but the damper of this string will
remain raised. Now strike strongly the key
of Oa, and after holding it for a few seconds
stop its sound. We shall now hear the sound
of C 3 very distinctly, showing that it has been
set into vibration by the vibrations of C 3 which
exist in the compound sound designated as O a .
In like manner one can show that G 3 , C 4 , E 4 ,
G 4 , 5 , &c., exist as components of the com
posite sound of the string of Oa. The reader
who desires further information on the subject
of sonorous analysis will find descriptions of
six experimental methods in "^Researches in
Acoustics," paper No. 5, "American Journal
of Science " for August and September, 1874.
Reproduction of Sonorous Vibrations fr.om
the Curves made by Vibrating Bodies. Experi
ment has established that the sensation of a
simple sound is alone produced when the aerial
molecules vibrate with the same reciprocating
motion as pertains to a freely swinging pendu
lum. If we obtain the sinuous trace of a vi
brating tuning fork or of a long elastic rod on
a plate of smoked glass, fig. 10, we shall find,
on making measures on these curves, that they
are sinusoids or curves of sines, and hence can
alone be produced by pendulum motions. But
the curve produced by the fork can be made to
reproduce the motions of the fork, only much
slower, in the following manner: Cut a fine
slit in a piece of paper, and slide it over the
curve from right to left, as shown in fig. 10 ;
then we shall see the portion of the curve ex
posed in the slit vibrating upward and down
ward with the same kind of motion as rules
the oscillations of a pendulum. The aerial

molecules and a point on the membrane of the
drum of the ear vibrate thus when we experience
the sensation of a simple sound. The majority

FIG. 10.

of sounds, however, are composite. It is evi
dent that a molecule of air or a point on the
tympanic membrane can have only one direc
tion of motion at one and the same instant,
and therefore that a composite sonorous vibra
tion will give to the molecule of air a motion
which must be the resultant of the combined
motions of all the pendulum motions of its
simple sonorous components. Hence we may
suppose a molecule of air, animated with a re
sultant motion like the above, to trace a curve
which evidently will be the resultant of all
the simple sinusoidal curves belonging to the
sonorous elements of the composite sonorous
vibration. We can obtain this resultant curve
as follows, and then we can reproduce from it
the motions of a molecule of air, or of a point
on the tympanic membrane, when these points
are acted on by a compound sonorous vibra
tion. Draw on the axis a &, fig. 11, sinusoidal
curves having lengths related to each other
as 1:2:3:4:5:6. These curves will then
be the separate traces of the first six harmon
ics contained in a composite vibration which
causes a musical sound, such as the sound of
a piano string. Another axis c d is now drawn
below a &, and 500 equidistant lines, perpen
dicular to a b and c d, are drawn through the
curves on a & and extended below the line

FIG. 11.

c d. The algebraic sums of the ordinates of
the curves on a 5 are now transferred to the
corresponding ordinates on c d, and through

180

SOUND

points thus found is drawn the curve having
the line c d for its axis. This curve may be
regarded as the trace of the composite vibra
tion of a molecule of air, or of a point of the
tympanic membrane, on a surface which moves
near these points. Hence if we slide this curve
along, in the direction of its axis, under a slit
in a screen which allows only one point of the
curve to appear at once, we shall reproduce
in this slit the vibratory motion of the aerial
molecule and of the point on the tympanic
membrane. The writer has exhibited this mo
tion in a continuous, or rather recurring man
ner, as follows : On a piece of Bristol board
he drew a circle, and in one quadrant of this
circle he drew 500 equidistant radii. On these
radii, as ordinates, lie transferred the corre
sponding values of the same ordinates of the
resultant curve of fig. 11, diminished to one
fourth of their lengths. He thus deflected the
axis of the curve of fig. 11 into one fourth of
a circle curve ; and this, repeated four times on

FIG. 12.

the Bristol board, rendered the curve continu
ous and four times recurring, as shown in fig.
12. He now cut this figure out of the board
and used it as a template. He placed the lat
ter centred on a glass disk 20 in. in diameter.
This disk was coated on one side with opaque
black varnish, and with the template and the
separated points of a pair of spring dividers he
removed from the glass disk a sinuous band, as
shown in fig. 12. The glass disk was now
mounted on a horizontal axis and placed in
front of a lantern, the diameter of whose con
densing lens was somewhat greater than the
amplitude of the curve. The image of that
portion of the curve which was in front of
the condenser was now projected on a screen,
and then a piece of cardboard having a nar
row slit cut in it was placed close to the disk,
in the direction of one of its radii. On re
volving the disk he reproduced on the screen
the vibratory motion of a molecule of air,
or of a point on the tympanic membrane,
when these are acted on by the joint impulses
of the first six harmonic or pendulum vibra
tions, forming a musical sound. On slowly

rotating the disk one can readily follow the
compound vibratory motion of the spot of
light ; but on a rapid revolution of the disk,
persistence of visual impressions causes the
vibrating spot to appear elongated into a band.
This band is not equally illuminated ; it has
six distinct bright spots in it, beautifully re
vealing the six inflections in the curve. By
sticking a pin in the centre of fig. 12, as an
axis about which revolves a piece of paper
having a fine slit, the reader can gain some idea
of the complex motion we have described. Of
course it is understood that in the above ex
periment the amplitudes of the vibrations are
enormously magnified when compared with the
wave lengths, and that it is really only when
the amplitudes of the elementary pendulum
vibrations are infinitely small that the resul
tant curves we have given can be rigorously
taken as representing what they purport to ;
for the law of " the superposition of displace
ments " depends on the condition that the
force with which a molecule returns to its
position of equilibrium is directly proportional
to the amount of displacement, and this condi
tion only exists in the case of infinitely small
displacements ; yet the law holds good for the
majority of the phenomena of sound. It is also
to be remarked that in order to simplify the

FIG. 13. Eesultant Curve formed by combining the curve
of a musical note \vith that of its octave. A : A : : 1 : J.

consideration of the curves, they are all rep
resented with the same phase of initial vibra
tion. Of course the resultants have an infinite

F IG. 14. Resultant Curve formed by combining the curve
of a musical note with that of its fifth. A : A :: 1 : f.

variety of form, depending on the differences
in their initial phases, and on the amplitude of
the harmonic elements. In figs. 13, 14, and

SOUND

181

15, we have drawn the resultant curves formed
by combining the curves of musical sounds
corresponding to the various consonant in
tervals indicated below the figures. As these

FIG. 15. Resultant Curve formed by combining the curve of
a musical note with that of its major third. A : A : : 1 : f .

curves are the resultants formed by the com
bination of the curves of composite musical
sounds, it follows that the components of these
curves are not simple sinusoidal curves, as in
the case of fig. 11, but are derived from the
resultant of fig. 11 by reducing to one fourth
the amplitude of that curve, and by taking
wave lengths corresponding to intervals indi
cated below the figures. From the curves of
figs. 13, 14, and 15 can be reproduced their
generating motions in the same manner as we
have done in the case of the curve of fig. 11.
As a periodic or recurring vibration can alone
produce in the ear the sensation of sound, and
as the duration of the period is always equal
to the least common multiple of the periods of
the pendulum vibrations of the components, it
follows that in the case of a sound formed of a
harmonic series the period equals the time of
one vibration of the fundamental ; but in the
cases of other combinations the duration of the
period increases with the complexity of the
ratio of the times of vibration of the compo
nents ; thus, the durations of the periods of the
following combinations are placed after them
in fractions of a second: 03 + 04=^-5-6-; Cs + Ga
= T | ; Cs + Es^V; Ot+E. + G.sjfv; 3 +
3 + 03 + 04=^ of a second. (Oa stands for
the treble ; C 4 is the of the octave above
it.) Transmission of Sound. If air were in
compressible, a motion produced at any point
of its mass would instantaneously be trans
mitted to every other point of the atmosphere.
Thus, if we imagine a long tube, open at one
end and closed at the other by a piston which
moves in the tube without friction, it is evident
that if this piston were pushed into the tube
a certain distance, the air would at the same
time move out of the tube at the open end.
But air is compressible and elastic, and after
the piston has been pushed into the cylinder,
a measurable interval of time will have elapsed
before the air moves out of the open end of
the tube. This interval is the time taken by
sound to traverse the length of the tube. The
velocity of sound is 1,090 ft. in a second at 32
F., and it increases almost exactly one foot in
velocity for each degree of elevation of tem
perature above 32. Now imagine the piston
to move forward into the tube over a minute

fraction of an inch, and that it occupied -^ of
a second in making this forward motion ; then
the length of air compressed at the instant the
piston has come to rest will be equal to ^fS
or 109 ft. If the piston makes its movement
in T i 7 and in -j-^Vo f a second, the length of
air compressed in the tube will be respectively
10-9 and T09 ft. But such a compressed por
tion of air cannot remain at rest, by reason of
its elasticity. It immediately expands, and in
so doing presses forward on the undisturbed
air in front of it and on the interior wall of
the tube. The column of compressed air in
thus regaining its natural density has com
pressed an air column of equal depth in front
of it ; this in its turn reacts on the back col
umn and prevents it from rarefying, while at
the same time it has compressed another col
umn of equal depth in front of it, and so
on. Thus the sonorous pulse, as it is called, is
transmitted through the whole length of the
tube. A beautiful illustration of the manner
in which a sound pulse is propagated is afford
ed by attaching to a sounding board a long,
elastic spiral spring of brass, while the other
end is held in the hand. On separating two
of the coils of the spring with a-finger nail,
and then allowing them suddenly to come to
gether, a pulse or compression will be thrown
through the whole length of the spring to its
further end, where striking on the sounding
board it will cause a sharp rap. This action
against the board will be reflected from the
board to the hand, and again from the hand
to the board, and so on several times in succes
sion. When the piston above spoken of makes
a backward movement, it creates a vacant
space in the tube, into w^hich the air rushes
by virtue of its elasticity, and thus a certain
depth of air is rarefied ; this first cylinder of
rarefied air in retracting to its natural dimen
sions causes rarefaction in an equal depth of air
in front of it ; this second rarefied cylinder of
air now reacts on the first, brings it to rest, and
causes rarefaction in a third equal column of
air, and so on. Thus the rarefaction, like the
compression, is transmitted through the whole
length of the tube. "When a compression trav
erses the tube it successively brings the mole
cules of air nearer together, while a rarefac
tion in its progress separates the aerial mole
cules ; hence, if we imagine the piston to move
backward and forward with a regular vibratory
motion we have rarefaction succeeding com
pression in regular order, and the effect on any
one molecule of air is to give it a like regular
motion backward and forward. In the above
discussion we have, for simplicity, supposed
the piston to have a uniform velocity during
its motions ; but this, as we have already seen,
is not the case with freely vibrating elastic
bodies, for they have the same character of
reciprocating motion as that of a freely swing
ing pendulum. To explain what will be the
effect on the air of such a motion, we will
suppose that the piston vibrates through a

182

SOUND

very small distance, a a , fig. 16, making equal
excursions on one side and the other of the
position of equilibrium m m ; and as the pis
ton vibrates like a pendulum, it will increase

FIG. 1G.

in velocity as it goes from a or from a to
m m , and diminish in velocity as it goes from
m m 1 to a or to a . Let T be the time taken
by the piston to make a semi-vibration, that
is to say, a motion from a to a or from a to
a. Divide this time T into exceedingly small
and equal parts , during which the piston
will also go over very small but unequal spaces,
increasing with the velocity from a to m m ,
and diminishing with the velocity as the pis
ton goes from m m to a . The first very small
displacement of the piston, accomplished du
ring the time , will produce in a very thin
layer of air, which touches the piston, a very
feeble degree of compression, and this com
pression will progress forward into the air of
the tube. The very small succeeding motion
of the piston during the next succeeding t
will produce a slightly greater condensation,
which will travel behind the former conden
sation with the same velocity. The third dis
placement of the piston will produce a still
greater condensation, and so on, until the dis
placement which brings the piston to the po
sition m m , which, being the greatest of all,
will produce the greatest condensation. If
the piston continues its motion to , with a
velocity which is now gradually decreasing, a
new series of condensations will take place,
less and less in degree, which will travel be
hind those of the first scries. These two se
ries will be symmetrically placed on one side
and the other of the maximum condensation,
if we suppose that the two semi-oscillations
of the piston are equal, and if we neglect the
very small amplitude of oscillation a a . If
a A! is the space through which the first con
densation progresses in the time T, then all
the condensations which have succeeded it
during the movement of the piston from a to
a will be distributed in the space a A . If
we represent by ordinates these condensations
at the moment when, the piston having ar
rived at a , the first condensation is at A ,
we will form a curve a f a A , whose maxi
mum ordinate M a will represent the conden
sation produced by the piston at the moment
of its passage through m m . Let us now sup
pose that the vibrating piston returns on its
path, it will produce by this motion a series
of increasing dilatations during the time |-T,
and then decreasing dilatations until the in
stant when the piston reaches a. These dila

tations will travel behind the condensations,
and when the piston has returned to , in
which case the series of condensations will
have reached the position A a A, these dila
tations will be distributed in the space a A ,
and the diminution of density of the lay
ers of air can be represented by the nega
tive ordinates of the curve a /? A , below the
axis of the curve a A . The state of air in
the tube at the instant when the vibrating
piston, departing from , arrives at n p, m m ,
n 1 p\ a , is indicated by the curves n N", m M,
n N , a A!. If the piston makes another com
plete vibration from a to a and from a to a,
a new series of condensations and of dilata
tions, distributed in a space equal to a A, will
travel behind the first series already described.
The dilatation and condensation contained in
a 1 A, and produced by a complete vibration
of the body at the origin of sound, i. e., by
an oscillating motion from a to a and back
from a to a, is called a sonorous wave. A
sonorous wave is always formed of two parts,
one half of air in a state of condensation, the
other half of rarefied air. The sum of all the
condensations in the condensed half of the
wave is represented by the area of the curve
a a A ; and if we divide this by the interval
T of a half vibration of the body, we have the
mean condensation of the half wave. This
mean condensation can be calculated, and it
has been found that for the sound given by
250 vibrations per second, which corresponds
nearly with the lowest of the violin, this
compression gives for the compressed half of
the wave an increase of -$$$ to the ordinary
density of the atmosphere. The length of a
wave is evidently the distance through which
the air has been affected the moment after the
first complete vibration of the sonorous body
has been made. If we designate this length
by Z, we can calculate the wave length by di
viding the velocity v of sound in a second by
w, the number of vibrations the sounding body

makes in a second ; or, Z -. By a sonorous

wave surface is understood that surface which
is at such a distance from the point or points
of origin of the sound that all points in that
surface have the same phase of vibration at
the same instant of time. Thus, it is evident
that if we have a small sphere of air which
successively and rapidly increases and dimin
ishes its volume, we shall have alternate spher
ical shells of compressed and of rarefied air
surrounding the vibrating sphere. If we view
a surface in one of these shells, in every part
of which surface the particles of air are mov
ing in the same direction with the same ve
locity, we shall have the sonorous wave sur
face. The acoustic wave lengths and wave
surfaces are not mere creations of the imagi
nation, but have a real existence. The author
of this article first devised a method by which
one can readily detect the phases of vibration
in the air surrounding a sounding body, and

SOUND

183

thereby has succeeded in measuring directly in
the vibrating air the length of sonorous waves,
and has determined in the air surrounding the
vibrating body the form of the wave surface.
("American Journal of Science," November,
1872.) It is evident that the ultimate effect
of the passage of sonorous waves through the
atmosphere will be to cause the molecules of
the air to swing to and fro with the motions
of pendulums. It is also apparent that all the
characteristics of the periodic motion at the
source of the sound will be impressed on the
surrounding air and transmitted through it
to a distance. Reflection of Sound. It fol
lows from the very nature of sound pulses that
if a sonorous wave meet a hard smooth sur
face, or encounter the surface of separation of
two media of unequal elasticity, reflection of
sound will take place, and the laws of reflec
tion will be the same as in the case of light,
viz. : the angle of reflection will equal the an
gle of incidence, and both the incident and
reflected ray will lie in the same plane, which
is at right angles to the reflecting surface.
These laws admit of a ready experimental
proof. If two concave parabolic mirrors,
formed of metal backed with hard wood or
plaster of Paris, be placed opposite each other
at a distance of 10 or 15 ft. with the axis of
the mirrors in the same line, and a watch be
placed in the focus of one of the mirrors, it
will be found that the sonorous pulses emana
ting from the watch will be reflected from the
first mirror upon the surface of the second
mirror, and here by a second reflection will
be conveyed to the focus. This fact can be
ascertained by leading to the focus a tube ter
minated at one end by a small funnel, while
the ear is applied to the other end of the tube.
In the article OPTICS it has been shown that
the action just described is a necessary conse
quence of the laws of reflection given above.
Refraction of Sound. Sound waves are also
refracted, and their refraction is due to the
same cause which produces refraction of the
rays of light ; i. e., to the change in velocity
which occurs when the sonorous beam enters
a refracting medium. When the sonorous
wave surface falls upon the refracting medi
um so that it is parallel to the refracting sur
face, there will be no refraction, or change in
the direction of the sound, but only a change
of velocity. But when the sonorous wave
surface forms an angle with the surface of
the refracting medium, the change in velo
city causes the refraction of the sonorous
beam, so that if the velocity of the sound is
less in the refracting medium than it was
before it entered it, the sound will be re
fracted toward the perpendicular to the re
fracting surface. The refraction will be away
from the perpendicular when the velocity of
the sound is greater in the refracting medium
than it was before it entered it. It follows
from the above action, that for the same me
dia there will be a constant ratio existing be

tween the sines of the angles of incidence and
refraction, and also that the incident and re
fracted ray will be in the same plane at right
angles to the refracting surface. (See LIGHT,
vol. x., p. 439.) The experimental verification
of these laws, however, is not so easy as in the
similar phenomena of light. The experiment

best adapted for this purpose is one devised
by Sondhaus and represented in fig. 17. He
constructed a lens, L, of sheets of collodion,
having the form of portions of a sphere, and
united these sheets to the opposite sides of a
metal ring. On inflating the envelope thus
formed with carbonic acid gas, a lenticular
form was given to it. A watch was placed at
W, on the axis of the lens, and it was found
that the sound waves were refracted to the
conjugate focus of the lens at F. If at F we
place a bent pipe with a funnel-shaped mouth,
and replace the watch at W by a small organ
pipe, the refraction is detected by seeing grains
of a light powder dance on the membrane clo
sing the upper mouth of the bent pipe at c.
Interference of Sound. Another necessary
consequence of the nature of sound vibrations.
and of the manner of their propagation is,
that if the condensed half of a sonorous wave
meet the rarefied half of another sonorous
wave, and these waves have the same length
and the same energy of vibration, there can be
no vibratory motion at their place of meeting,
for the directions of the vibrations in the two
half waves are opposed, and the intensities of
these opposed vibratory motions are equal.
These conditions are fulfilled in various well
known experiments, and it is one of the best
established facts in acoustics that two sound
vibrations may meet and produce silence at
the place of their meeting ; this is known as
the phenomenon of the interference of sound.
Dr. Thomas Young studied this phenomenon
attentively, and its contemplation led to his
great discovery of the similar phenomena of
the interference of light, which formed the
basis of his reasoning in establishing the
undulatory theory of light. To Dr. Young we
owe one of the simplest known means of ex
hibiting and studying the phenomena of inter
ference of sound. If a vibrating tuning fork
be held in a vertical position at a short dis
tance from the ear, and then rotated around
its vertical axis, it may be observed, when the

SOUND

surfaces of the prongs of the fork are oppo
site the ear, that sound will he perceived ; but
when the edges of the fork formed by the
meeting of those surfaces are opposite the
ear, it will be found that no sound, but entire
silence, occurs. This phenomenon is readily
explained. First, it is necessary to know that
the prongs of a vibrating fork alternately ap
proach to and recede from each other, as is
readily seen when we obtain on a piece of
smoked glass the trace of two delicate wires
attached to the ends of the prongs qf the vi
brating fork. A trace thus made is accurate
ly shown in fig. 18. When the prongs recede

FIG. 18.

from each other, condensations will be pro
duced in the air opposite the faces c c (see fig.
19, which represents a plan of the ends of the
prongs) ; but while these condensations are thus
formed rarefactions are produced in the air op
posite the opening between the prongs at r r .
The reverse of these actions occurs when the
prongs approach each other. The result of
the actions will be evident from the figure,
where the full lines show the centres of shells

FIG. 19.

of condensed air, and the dotted lines the cen
tres of shells of rarefied air. These shells al
ternate, and meeting along the planes p, p, p, p,
passing through the vertical edges of the fork,
they neutralize each other s action. "W. Weber
has shown that the points of quiescence in this
case must lie in hyperbolic sheets. This must
be so, for the difference in the distance of
every point of quiescence from two fixed points
must be a constant quantity, which in this ex
periment will be equal to the half of the wave
length given by the fork. The writer has used
this experiment of Young to show the reflec
tion of sound from flames and from sheets of

cold and heated gases, such as carbonic acid
gas and hydrogen. Two resonators were placed
as in fig. 20 with the planes of their mouths at

FIG. 20.

a right angle, and in this angle was firmly fixed
the fork to whose note the resonator resound
ed. The broad face of one of its prongs faced
the mouth of one resonator, while the space
between the prongs faced the mouth of the
other resonator. By trial the two planes of
the fork are placed at such distances from the
resonators that complete interference of the vi
brations issuing from their mouths is obtained,
and the only sound that reaches the ear is the
faint one given by