866 SOY 



autogenous, because it takes place by the fusion of the two edges of the metals 

 themselves, without interposing another metallic alloy, as a bond of union. See 

 AUTOGENOUS SOLDERING. 



SOLDERS. Alloys which are employed for the purpose of joining together metals 

 are so called. They are of various kinds, being generally distinguished into hard and 

 soft. Upon the authority of Holtzappfel, the following receipts for solder are given, 

 and these have been adopted, because, after a long and particular inquiry in the 

 workshops, we learn that they are regarded as very superior to any others recom- 

 mended : 



Pewterers' Solder, (a) 2 Bismuth, 4 lead, 3 tin. (4) 1 Bismuth, 1 lead, 2 tin. 



Soft Spelter Solder. Equal parts of copper and zinc. 



Coarse Plumbers' Solder, (a) 1 tin, 3 lead, melts at about 500 Fahr. (4) 2 tin, 1 

 lead, melts at about 360 Fahr. 



Spelter Solder. 12 ozs. of zinc to 16 ozs. of copper. 



soi.r ERINO. See ANILINE BED. 



SOMBRERZTE. An impure phosphate of lime, from the island of Sombrero, in 

 the West Indies. It appears to have been produced by the action of water, which having 

 filtered through guano, has acted on a coral rock, whereby the carbonate of lime of tho 

 coral-limestone has been converted into a phosphate. 



SOCRANJEE, called also Morindin, a dye-drug prepared from the root of 

 the Morinda citrifolia. See Crookes's ' Practical Handbook of Dyeing and Calico- 

 Printing.' See AAL. 



SOOT (Npir de fumee, Suie, Fr. ; Russ, Flatterruss, Ger.) is the pulverulent 

 charcoal condensed from the smoke of wood or coal-fuel. 



SORBZC ACID is the same with malic acid. See MALIC ACID. 



SORGHO. The name of a species of grass, the Holcus or Sorghum saccharatum. 

 See BROOM CORN. 



SORGHUM. A sugar-yielding grass has been introduced into the south of 

 Europe and North America, the cultivation of which has extended with wonderful 

 rapidity in the United States, in regions far to the north of those adapted to the sugar- 

 cane. The seeds of this plant are a good grain, similar to tho Durra so extensively 

 cultivated in the East Indies and in Africa. The Durra (Sorghum vulgare}, sorgho, 

 or Indian millet, may be said to be the principal corn-plant of Africa ; and the sugar- 

 grass, or shaloo (Sorghum saccharatum) may be regarded as a superior kind of 

 Durra. 



The sugar-grass was introduced into Europe in 1851 by the Count de Montigny, the 

 French Consul at Shanghai, who sent a package of seed to the Geographical Society 

 of Paris, only one seed of which germinated, and from this plant a small quantity of 

 ripe seed was produced ; for eight hundred of which Messrs. Vilmorin, Andrieux, 

 and Co. seed-merchants in Paris, paid eight hundred francs. Another portion of the 

 same crop passed into the hands of the Count de Beauregard, and from these sources 

 this seed was distributed over Europe and to America in 1857. Two years later, 

 Mr. Wray took seeds from Africa to America, and two classes are now recognised 

 there : the Chinese, or sorgo, and the African, or Imphee. The juice is expressed by mills, 

 of which there are many kinds in use, wrought either by steam, water, or horses. The 

 juice, as obtained from the mill, contains many impurities ; dust and earth, small 

 fragments of cane, and green vegetable-matter ; these are in part removed by filtering 

 through a straw filter, but more completely by skimming during the process of boiling ; 

 the syrup thus obtained is of a very good quality. The processes employed in procur- 

 ing sugar from the sugar-cane in tropical countries are equally applicable in the case 

 of the sugar-grass. 



SOVEREIGN. The sovereign is the standard of value in Great Britain, and its 

 weight is determined by the law that twenty pounds troy weight of standard gold 

 shall be coined into 934J sovereigns. To obtain the exact weight of one sovereign, 

 reduce the pounds to grains and divide by the number of coins. A sovereign is thus 

 found to weigh 123-2744783306581059 grains, and as it is usual to deliver tho coin 

 to the Bank in journey weights of 701 sovereigns, each journey should weigh, if it bo 

 standard work, 180-0321027287319442215 ounces; and a million sovereigns should 

 wcigli 256821-8298555377 troy ounces, in round numbers about 7'8618 tons. G.F.A. 



SOT is a liquid condiment, or sauce, imported chiefly from China. It is prepared 

 with a species of white haricots, wheat-flour, common salt, and water; in the propor- 

 tions respectively of 50, 60, 50, and 250 pounds. Tho haricots are washed, and boiled 

 in water till they become so soft as to yield to the fingers. They are then laid in a 

 flat dish to cool, and kneaded along with the flour, a little of the hot water of the 

 decoction being added from time to time. This dough is next spread an inch or an 

 inch and a half thick upon the flat vessels (made of thin staves of bamboo), and when 

 it becomes hot and mouldy, in two or three days, the cover is raised upon bits of stick, 



