Smellie
Smellie, Willialf, 1740-95; B. Edinburgh, Scotland; Became A Printer, Educated Himself, And In 1759 Was Editor Of The Scots Magazine. In 1771, Then Being A Publisher, He Issued The First Edition Of The Encyclopaedia Britannica, Many Of The Articles Being Written By Himself. From 1773 To 1776 He Was Joint ...
Smith
Smith, Rev. Sydney, A Celebrated Wit And Humorist, And The Original Projector Of The Edinburgh Review, Was Born At Woodford, In Essex, In 1771. His Father Was An Eccentric English Gentleman Of Moderate Independence; His Mother Was The Granddaugh Ter Of A French Refugee; And Sydney, It Was Said, Fairly ...
Smith James
Smith. James And Honace, Authors Of The Rejected Addresses, Were Sons Of An Eminent London Solicitor. James Was B. Feb. 10, 1775, D. Dec. 24, 1839; Horace Was B. Dec. 31, 1779, D. July 12, 1849. James Followed His Father's Profession, And Suc Ceeded Him As Solicitor To The Board ...
Smithfield
Smithfield. This Name Has Become So Celebrated, In Connection With A Cattle Market In London That It Has Been Applied To Similar Establishments Elsewhere Smith Field, In The 12th C., Was An Open Spot Which Served The Citizens As A Playground And A Place For A Stroll. Being A Little ...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution (ante), At Washington, D.c., Founded On The Bequest Of James Smithson, An Englishman To The Government Of The United States For The Purpose Of Creating An.establishment For The Increase And Diffusion Of Knowledge Among Mankind. The Amount At First Received, $515,000, Was Subsequently Increased By The Residuary Estate ...
Smoke Nuisance
Smoke-nuisance, In London, Is Punishable With Fine. The Act Applies To Every Furnace Employed In Working Engines By Steam, And Every Furnace In Any Factory, Printing-house. Dye-house, Distillery, Bake-house, Etc., Which Is Not Constructed So As To Consume Its Own Smoke. Or Which Is So Negligently Used That The Smoke ...
Smollett
Smollett, Tomas, An Eminent British Novelist, B. In The Year 1721, Was Descended From An Old And Distinguished Family In Dumbartonshire. His Grandfather, Sir James Soloilett Of ]innhill, Was One Of The Commissaries Or Consistorial Judges Of Edinburgh, And Sat In The Scots Parliament As Representative Of His Native County. ...
Smuggling
Smuggling Is The Offense Of Importing Or Exporting Goods Prohibited. Or Without Paying The Duties Imposed On Goods Not Prohibited. The Offense In General Leads To For Feiture Of The Goods. If Goods Are Imported To Defraud The Revenue, Treble Value Of The Goods Is Forfeited. Many Of The Offenses ...
Smut
Smut, The Popular Name Of Certain Small Fungi Of The Section Coniomyeetes, And Group Or Family Uredinem, Parasitical On Plants, Particularly On Grasses, And Notable For The Great Abundance Of Lark-colored Spores Which They Throw Off. The Name Smut, Although Somewhat Variously Used, Is Now Very, Generally Limited To The ...
Snail
Snail, Helix, A Genus Of Gasteropodous Mollusks Of The Family Helidda, Having Gen Erally A Sub-globose, Sometimes A Depressed, Spiral Shell; The Mouth Of The Shell More Or Less Encroached Upon By The Last Whorl But One, Strengthened With An Internal Thickened Rib, Its Edges More Or Less Reflexed; The ...
Snake
Snake, A Term Synonymous With Serpent.—the Name Common Snake Is Very Gen Erally Given In England To A Species Very Abundant In Most Parts Of That Country. And Throughout Europe From The S. Of Scandinavia To The Mediterranean, Although There Is Only One Doubtful Instance Of Its Having Been Found ...
Snell Exhibitions
Snell Exhibitions. These Exhibitions Were Founded In The Year 1677 By John Snell Of Uffetou, In The County Of Warwick, For The Purpose Of Educating Scottish Stu Dents At The University Of Oxford. Such Was Born In The Parish Of Colmonell, In Ayrshire, In 1629, And Entered The University Of ...
Snipe
Snipe. Feolapax, A Genus Of Birds Of The Family Seolopacidte (q.v.), Having A Very Long Straight Bill. With Nasal Grooves Extending Almost To The Tip, Which Expands A Little, The Upper Mandible Slightly Exceeding The Lower In Length, The Whole Bill Soft And Very Sensitive, Smooth And Shining In The ...
Snorri Stublesson
Snorri Stublesson, A Learned Historian, And A Distinguished Icelandic Politician, Was B. In 1178 At Eva/mint, In Iceland, Where His Family, Who Traced Their Descent To The Ancient Kings Of Norway And Sweden, Had Been Settled Since The Early Colonization Of The Island. Snorri Sturlesson• Was Placed At An Early ...
Snow
Snow Is The Frozen Moisture Which Falls From The Atmosphere When The Temperature Is 33` Or Lower. It Is Composed Of Crystals, Usually In The Form Of Six-pointed Stars, Of Which About 1000 Differ'ent Kinds Have Been Already Observed, And Many Of Them Figured,. By Scoresby. Glaisher. And Others. These ...
Snow Line
Snow-line. The Snow-line Marks That Height Above The Sea-level Below Which All The Snow That Falls Annually Melts During Summer; Higher Than This Lies The Region Of Perpetual Snow. No General Rule For The Height Of This Line Call Be Given. Owing To The Different Causes Which May Determine It. ...
Soap Test
Soap-test. This Test, For Which Science Is Indebted To Prof. Clark Of Aberdeen, Is Now Universally Employed For Determining The Degree Of Hardness Of Water. Every One Knows How Much More Readily A Lather Is Formed—as, For Example, In Washing The Hands —with Soft Than With Hard Water. This Is ...
Socialism
Socialism, The Name Given To A Class Of Opinions Opposed To The Present Organization Of Society, And Which Seeks To Introduce A New Distribution Of Property And Labor, Ia Which Organized Co-operation Rather Than Competition Should Be The Dominating Principle, Under The Conviction That The Happiness Of The Race, And ...
Society Islands
Society Islands, A Small Archipelago In The South Pacific Ocean, In Lot 16° To 18° S., Long. 148° To 155° \v., Is Formed Of A Number Of Islands, Of Which The Greater Number Are Under French Rule. Exclusive Of Islets, The Group Is Formed Of 13 Islands—tahati Or Otaheite, Maitia, ...
Socintis
Socintis, The Name Of Two Celebrated Heresiarchs, Uncle And Nephew, Who Have Given Name To Is Sect Of Christians, The Soeining, Better Known, However, As Unitarians (q.v.). —tazz.lius Socinus, The Elder Of The Two, Was B. At Sienna, In Tuscany, In 1525, And Belonged To A Family That Had Long ...
Socrates
Socrates, The Celebrated Greek Philosopher, Was B. At Athens In The Year 469 73.0. His Father, Sophroniskos, Was A Sculptor; And He Followed The Same Profession In The Early Part Of His Life. His Mother, Phsenaretc. Was A Midwife, To Which Avocation He Was Wont To Compare His Own Peculiar ...
Sodium
Sodium (symb. Na, Equiv. 23, Spec. Gray. 0.972) Is One Of The Metals Of The Alkalies— Its Oxide Being Soda. It Properties Closely Resemble Those Of The Allied Metal,potassinm. It Is Of A Bluish-white Color, Is Somewhat More Volatile Than Potassium, And Further Dif Fers From That Metal In Having ...
Sofala
Sofa'la, Or, As The Old Geographers Sometimes Wrote It, Cefola., Is The Name Given Rather Indefinitely To That Portion Of The S.e. Coast Of Africa Extending From Tile Delta Of The Zambezi (quaina Of Old Geographers) As Far S. As The Rio Maned Or Delagoa Bay, Or From Lat. 18' ...
Sohodiburgx
Sohodiburgx, Sir Robert A Celebrated Traveler, Was Born At Freiburg In Prussian Saxony, June 5, 1804. Ile Began At An Early Age To Apply Himself To Geo Graphical Science And Natural History, And Subsequently Made An Abortive Attempt To Succee.ias It Tobacco Manufacturer In Virginia. In 1830 Lie Went To ...
Soils
Soils Consist Of The Disintegrated Materials Of The Hard Crust Of The Earth, Mixed With Decayed Vegetable Matter. This Disintegration Is Effected Partly By The Chemi Cal Action Of Oxygen, Carbonic Acid, And The Other Acid Or Alkaline Substances Brought By The Atmosphere To_bear Upon Rocks, And Partly By The ...
Soldiers Homes
Soldiers' Homes. The First Institution Of This Character Established By The U. S. Government Was Founded By Act Of Congress Passed Mar. 3, 1851—" To Found A Mili Tary Asylum For The Relief And Support Of Invalid And Disabled Soldiers Of The Army Of The The Funds To Conduct This ...
Sole
Sole, So!ea, A Genus Of Fiat-fishes (pleuroneetid(n), Of An Oblong Form, With A Rounded Muzzle, Which Almost Always Advances Beyond The Mouth; The Month Twisted To The Side Opposite To That On Which The Eyes Are Situated, Which Is Usually The Right Side, Although Individuals Of The Same Species Are ...
Solenhofen Lithographic Stone
Solenhofen Lithographic Stone, A Famous Deposit Of Limestone Of Upper Oolite Age, Which From Its Fine-grained And Homogeneous Texture Is Admirably Adapted For Lithographic Purposes. It Occurs Near Aichstadt In Bavaria, And Has Been Extensively Quarried Since The Invention Of Lithography. The Quarrymen Work Upon The Lines Of Stratification, Which ...
Solitaire
Solitaire, Pezopliaps, A Genus Of Birds Of The Dodo (q.v ) Family (dialitus), But Differing From The Dodos In A Smaller Bill And Longer Legs. Like The Dodos, The Only Species Of This Genus, Of The Existence Of Which There Is Any Evidence (p. Solitaria), Seems To Be Now Extinct, ...
Solomon
Solomon (hebr. Shelomo, Salomon, Salomo. Sulehmin, Derived From Shalom Peace =peaceful, Like Germ. Friedrich), The Second Son Of David And Bathsheba; Successor Of The Former On The Throne Of The Ismelitish Empire For 40 Years (1015-975 N.c.*). Noth Ing Is Known Of His Youth Except That He Was Probably Educated ...
Solon
So'lon, The Most Famous Of All The Ancient Greek Lawgivers, Was A Native Of Athens (b. About 638 N.c.), And Belonged To One Of The Most Distinguished Families Of Attica. His Father, Execestides, Having Seriously Impaired His Income By Improvidence, Solon Was Obliged, While Still Young. To Embark In Trade. ...
Solution
Solution. A Substance Is Said To Undergo Solution, Or To Become Dissolved, When The Force Of Adhesion Between It And A Liquid In Which It Is H»rnersed Is Sufficient To Over Come The Force Of Cohesion Between The Solid Particles. Thus Sugar Or Salt Is Dissolved By Water, Camphor, Or ...
Solyman Suleiman Ii
Solyman (suleiman) Ii., Surnamed " Magnificent," The Greatest Of The Turkish Sultans. Was B. In 1496; And Iu Sept., 1520. Succeeded His Father, Sam I. (q.v.), Who Had Carefully Initiated Him Into The Secrets Of Ottoman Policy. At The Commence Ment Of His Reign, He Restdred A Large Amount Of ...
Soma
Soma (" The Moon-plant," Or Ascrepias Acida) Is, In The Vedic Hymns, The God Who Represents This Plant. And One Of The Most Popular Deities Of The Vedic Religion. The Reason For This Popularity Must Be Sought For In The Important Part Which The Juice Of The Soma-plant Played In ...
Somersetshire
Somers.etshire. A Maritime Co. In The S.w. Of England, Is Bounded On The Li.w, By The Bristol Channel, And In Other Directions By Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Wilts, And Gloneestei Shire. Area, 1,019,81.1 Acres, Pop '71, 463,4v•;3. Its Form Is Oblong, Its Length Hung About So M., And Breadth About 36. The ...
Somerville
_somerville, Mrs. Manv, A Lady Famed For Her Mastery Of Mathematics And Physi Cal Science, Was The Daughter Of Admiral Sir William Fairfax. She Was B. At Jedburgh On Dec. 26. 1780, And Brolight Up At Burntisland; Amid Somewhat Narrow Family Circum Stances. Her Mother Taught Her To Read; But ...
Somnambulism
Somnambulism (let. Sleep-walking). Walking In Sleep Is The Most Palpable, But Not The Most Marvelous Characteristic Of This Condition. The Person Affected Walks, Rides, Climbs, With The Eyes Shut Or Insensible; His Movements Are Precise, Cautious, Lead Ing Him Into Positions Of Difficulty And Peril, Which, If Perfectly Alive To ...
Song Or Birds
Song Or Birds. All Birds Have Some Voice Or Cry Which They Litter, And Most Of Them Various Noes Appropriate To Various Occasions. The Power Of Producing Clear And Sweet Musical Rotes Is Chiefly Found In Certain Families Of The Order Some Of Which, As The Lark, Pour Forth Their ...
Sophists
Sophists. The Sophists Were The Leading Public Teachers In Ancient Greece During The 5th And 4th Centuries }lc., And Their Character Has Been A Subject Of Much Dispute. Most Of The Historians Of Philosophy—influenced Seemingly By The Lampoons Of Aris Tophanes, The Comic Poet, And By The Disparaging Remarks Of ...
Sophocles
Sophocles, The Great Master Of Greek Tragedy, Was B. At Colonus, A Village About A Mile From Athens. The Date Of His Birth Is Not Exactly Known, But Is Fixed At 495 Sophillus, His Father, A Man Of Good Birth And Fortune, Bestowed Much Care On His Son's Education; Insomuch ...
Sorbonne
Sorbonne. A Celebrated Academic Body At Paris, Which Dates From The Middle Of The 13th C., And Which, Down To The French Revolution, Held A Prominent. Place In All Church Controversies. It Derives Its Name From Its Founder, Robert De Sorbon, A Canon Of Cambrai, Born At Sorbon, In The ...
Sou Thcot T
Sou Thcot T, Joatna, A Curious Specimen Of The Religious Visionary, Was B. In Devon Shire, England, Of Humble Parentage, About 1750. In Her Youth She Was A Domestic Ervant, Chiefly Ln Exeter; Joined The Methodists, And Becoming Acquainted With A Man Named Sanderson, Who Laid Claim To The Spirit ...
Soul
Soul, In The Language Of Spiritualistic Philosophers, Covers The Whole Region Of Mind, And Is Generally Conceived Of As A Naturally Imperishable Entity, In Relation With The Body, But Definable, For The Most Part, Only In Terms Of The Complete Negation Of Mate Rial Attributes. With This The Popular Conception ...
Sound
Sound (lat. Sonitus) Is The Impression Produced On The Ear (q.v.) By The Vibrations Of The Elastic Medium, Such As Air Or Water, In Which It Is Plunged. That This Is The Ease Is Proved, First, By The Fact That A Bell Or Tuning Fork In Vacuo Gives No Sound ...
Sounding Deep Sea
Sounding. Deep Sea. Until Within A Few Years Past, The Term Deep Sounding Was Understood To Be That In Which A Ship Sounded To Ascertain Her Position, And Where The Depth Exceeded That Which Could Be Obtained With The Lead Oirown By The Band, Or Hand Lead; But The Necessities ...
Soup A S
Soup (a.-s. Step-an, To Sip Or Sup) Is A Well Known Form Of Food, Obtained Either From Flesh And Vegetables, Or From Vegetables Alone. Before Noticing The Most Important Varie Tics Of Soup, It Is Expedient That We Should Have A Clear Idea Of What Soup Really Is, Or, In ...
South Australia
South Australia. Recent- Legislation Has Rendered This Name A Misnomer By Extending The Boundaries Of The So As To Include The Entire Center Of The Australian Continent Comprised Between The Southern And The Indian Oceans, And Beaveen The 129th And The 141st Degrees Of E. Long —an Area Of 914,730 ...
South Carolina
South Carolina (c4nnt-rxa, Solent, Ante) Was Settled By English Colonists, Who Founded Port Royal In 1,70, And 10 Years Later Removed To The Present Site Of Charleston, The Territory At That Time .being Only A Part Of The Carolina Province. Many French Huguenots Found Their Way Thither In 1683, And ...
Southampton
Southampton, A Municipal And Parliamentary Borough, Important Sea-port: And County Of Itself, In The S. Of Llampshire, 78 In. S.w. Of London By The London And South Western Riiihvay. It Occupies A Peninsula At The Head Of Southampton Water. And Bet Ween The Estuary Of The Test Or Anton On ...
Southey
Southey, Ronent, Was B. Aug. 12, 1774, At Bristol, In Which City His Father Was A Linen-draper. In 1788 He Was Sent To Westminster School By His Maternal Uncle, The Rev. Herbert Hill, Chaplain To The English Factory At Lisbon, Who Undertook The Charge Ofyls Eslueations Hiss-father's Pecuniary Affairs Having ...
Sowing And Sowing Machines
Sowing And Sowing-machines. Sowing Is The Deposition In The Ground Of The Seeds Of Cultivated Plants, And While Agriculture Was Yet In A Rude Condition, Was Always Performed By Scattering The Seeds From The Hand Over The Prep Tred Surface Of The Soil. This Mode, Distinguish:a As Hand-sowing. Is Still ...
Space And Time
Space And Time. Space And Time Being The Most General Conditions, Forms, Or Auritmtes Or All Existing Things, Their Discussion Is Linked With The Highest Proh:ems Of Philosophy. Space Is Co-extensive With, And Inseparable From, The Sehsible, External, Or Object World; Time Is A Property Both Of The Object World ...
Spade Husbandry
Spade-husbandry, Cottaqe-fatiysisg, And Field-gardening, Are Phrases Of Synonymous Meaning, And Denote The Cultivation Of Farm-crops On A Small Scale By Means Of The Spade. This System Has Long Been In Operation In Belgium And Flanders, Where The Holdings Average Little Amore Than Live, Though A Few Are As Large As ...
Spain
Spain (span. A Kingdom Of Europe. Occupying The Larger Portion Of The Great Peninsula Wide]] Forms The S.w. Corner Of The European Continent, Reaching Further S. Than Any Other European Country, And Further W. Than Any Except Portugal. It Is Bounded On The Rt. By The Bay Of Biscay And ...
Spanish Language And Literature
Spanish Language And Literature. The Spanish Language Is One Of The Romanic Tongues, And, Like The Others, Originated In The Lingua Montana Ruxtica. See Romanic Languages. The Earliest Of The Different Spanish Dialects That Assumed A Lit Erary Form Was The Castilian, Which Gradually Became, And Has Continued To Be, ...
Spanish Wines
Spanish Wines. Of All The Vegetable Productions Of Spain The Vine Is The Most Important, The Lands Being Almost Everywhere Favorable To Its Culture. The Excess Cf The Vintage Above The Quantity Consumed In The Country Forms A Considerable Branch Of The Export Trade. In 1877 Spain Exported To Great ...
Sparks Jared
Sparks. Jared, American Historian, Was B. At Willington, Conn., May 10. 1789: Graduated At Harvard University In 1t--15; Became Tutor In Mathematics And Natural Philosophy, And One Of The Conductors Of The North American Review. In 1819 He Was Settled As A Unitarian Minister At Baltimore, When .he Wrote Letters ...
Sparrow
Sparrow, Passer Or Pyrgita, A Genus Of Birds Of The Family Fringillidte, Having A Strong Conical Bill, The Upper Mandible Slightly Curved, The Lower Mandible Compressed And Shorter Than The Upper, The Nostrils Partly Concealed By The Short Feathers At The Base Of The Bill, The Legs Moderately Long And ...
Sparta
Sparta, Anciently Lacedxmon, The Capital Of Laconia, And The Most Famous City Of Pelopoutiesus, Occupied Partly A Range Of Low Hills On The Right Bank Of The Eurotas, And Partly The Intervening Plain. Its Appearance, Even In Its 'mintiest Days, Was By No Means Equal To Its Renown, For Though ...
Spartacits
Spartacits, Tire Leader In The Great Insurrection Of Roman Slaves In Southern Italy Which Took Place 73 N.e., And In All Probability The First Servile Captain In Point Of Genius Of Whom History Preserves A Record, Was A Native Of Thrace, And Originally Followed The Occupation Of A Shepherd, But ...
Spasm
Spasm (gr. Spasma) Consists In An Irregular And Violent Contraction Of Muscular Parts —involuntary Even When The Voluntary Muscles Are Concerned. There Are Two Sorts Of Spasm. In One There Is An Unusually Prolonged And Strong Muscular Contraction, Not Rapidly Alternating As Usual With Relaxation, The Relaxation Only Taking Place ...
Speaker
Speaker, The Name Given To The Presiding Officer In Either House Of Parliament. In The House Of Lords, The Lord-chancellor, Or Lord Keeper Of The Great Seal, Is Ex-osica, Speaker, And One Or More Deputy-speakers Are Appointed By Commission To Take His Place In His Absence. Since 1851 It Has ...
Species
Species, In Natural History, A Term Employed To Designate Groups Inferior To Genera (see Gen Us), But Superior To Varieties (see Vaiiiety). In Mineralogy, The Term Is Of Very Arbitrary Application, Serving Only, Like Class, Order, Genus, Etc., The Purpose Of Classifica Tion, Although It Thus Indicates Common Characters Or ...
Specific Gravity
Specific Gravity Of Any Body Is The Proportion Which The Weight Of A Certain Billie Of That Body Bears To The Same Bulk Of Another Body, Which Is Taken As A Standard. The Standard For Substances Solid And Liquid Is Distilled Water At The Temperature Of 62° Fah., Barometer 30 ...
Spectrophone
Spectrophone And Photophone Or Radiophone. The Action Of These Instruments Depends Upon The Phenomena Of Radiant Energy Which Within A Few Years Have Been Observed By Different Physicists, But Whose Practical Results, If The Time Has Arrived When The Term May Be Used, Have Been Principally Accomplished By Prof. Alex ...
Spectrum
Spectrum (gr.) Is A Term Applied In Optics To The Colored Image Of The Sun Or Other Luminous Body, Produced By Refraction Through A Prism' (q. V.), By Disfraction (q.v.) Through A Fine Grating, Etc. In What Follows We Shall Confine Ourselves To The Spectrum Produced By A Prism, As ...
Spermatozoa
Spermatozo'a Is The Term Given To The True Fertilizing Agents Occurring In The Male Genetatt Organs. They Appear To Be Formed From The Epithelial Dining Of The Tortuous Semina Lies, Of Which The Organ Known As The Testis Is Essentially Composed. At The Period Of Puberty In Man, And At ...
Speter
Speter, Also Speiet (fr. Spires), The Capital Of Rhenish Bavaria (the Former Pala Tinate), And One Of The Oldest Towns In Germany, Stands At The Influx Of The Speyerbach Into The Rhine, 14 M. S.w. Of Heldelberfr, And 23 N. Of Carlsruhe. It Is Connected With Mannheim, And Thence With ...
Spheniscida
Sphenis'cida, The Penguin Family, Or A Sub-family Of Brevipennatal, Belonging To The Order Natatores, Or Swimmers. The Principal Or Typical Genus Is Srlieniseus. The Penguins Occupy In The Southern Hemisphere The Place Filled By The Auks In The Northern. See Auk, Ante. They Live Gregariously In The Seas Of The ...
Sphere
Sphere, A Regular Solid'figure, Every Point Of Whose Surface Is Equally Distant From Its Center; And Whose Outline Is Traced By A Circle Revolving Round Its Diameter. All Sections Of A Sphere By A Plane Are Necessarily Circles, And All Sections By Planes Passing Through The Center, Or By Planes ...
Spherograph
Spher'ograph, A Simple And Exceedingly Efficient Instrument For The Mechanical Solution Of Such Problems In Spherical Trigonometry As Navigation, Geography, Etc., Present, Was Invented In 1856 By Mr. Stephen Martin Saxby, Nix. It Consists Of Two Circular Pieces Of Paper, The Whole Of The Under And The Rim Of The ...
Spheroidal Condition
Spheroidal Condition Of Liquids Is The Name Usually Given To A Series Of Very Singular Phenomena Discovered By Leidenfrost, But First Carefully Investigated By Bou Tigny. Indeed, One, At Least, Of These Phenomena Has Been Popularly Known For A Very Long Time, Being The Foundation Of The Rough Practical Method ...