SAL 



526 



SAL 



Sago 



II 

 Salamanca. 



SAGO is a nutritive substance used in diet, and ob- 

 tained from a kind of palm tree, called Landau, the 

 Cycas circinalis of Linnaeus, which grows spontane- 

 ously in the Moluccas. It grows also in Japan, and 

 among dry and rocky mountains in Malabar. It is an 

 universal article of food among the inhabitants of the 

 eastern islands. 



Sago is procured in the form of a gummy kind of 

 meal, which lies between the filaments or fibres of the 

 tree within the bark. The pure sago is obSrtine 1 by 

 mixing the whole sap with water, the filaments float- 

 ing, and the sago falling to the bottom. 



SAHARA. See AFRICA. 



SAHLITE. See MINERALOGY Index. 



SAIDA, or SEIDA, a sea-port town of Syria, built on 

 the site of the ancient Sidon. It stands on the north 

 side of a hill, stretching along the sea 6'00 yards, and 

 having a breadth of 150. It is ill-built, dirty, and filled 

 with ruinous buildings. The castle is built in the sea, 

 and is joined to the mainland by arches. To the west 

 of this castle is a shoal fifteen feet high above the sea, 

 and about 200 yards long ; and between that and the 

 castle is the road for vessels. On the opposite side of 

 the town is a modern fort, consisting of a large tower. 

 The town is surrounded with orchards and gardens, 

 containing mulberry and lemon trees. On the south- 

 ern extremity of the city there is to be seen close to the 

 sea a large tesselated pavement of variegated marble, 

 about ten feet of which is perfect, representing a horse, 

 soldiers, &c. Many ancient granite columns are built 

 into the wall, and some stand as posts to the bridge 

 leading to the fort. There is a small square building, 

 containing tombs of the emirs and the druses. Saida 

 is the emporium of the trade of Damascus and the 

 neighbouring country. Corn, silks, raw and spun 

 cottons, the last of which constitute the principal em- 

 ployment of the inhabitants, are the chief exports. Po- 

 pulation about 8000. East Long. 35 1 4', North Lat. 

 33 25'. See Volney's Travels in Syria ; and Browne's 

 Travels. 



SAILING. See NAVIGATION. 



SAINTFOIN. See AGRICULTURE, Vol. I. p. 314. 

 and FRANCE, Vol. IX. p. 702. 



SAL-AMMONIAC. See CHEMISTRY and MATK- 

 RIA MEDICA. 



SALAMANCA, a city of Spain, in the province of 

 Leon, is situated in the form of an amphitheatre on 

 the declivities of three hills, and on the banks of the 

 Tormes, which washes its walls, and flows through its 

 beautiful planes. This river is crossed by a stone 

 bridge of 27 arches, and 500 feet long, supposed to be 

 Roman. The city is defended by a wall with thir- 

 teen gates, and has several squares, fountains, and hand- 

 some edifices. The principal square, which is large, 

 has piazzas all round it, the houses in it being uniform, 

 and three stojies high, with balconies in front conti- 

 nued all round. The architecture of this square is mo- 

 dern and elegant, and it is reckoned among the finest 

 in Spain. It is encircled with a parterre of -twenty 

 arcades. The town-house occupies one side of the 

 square, and several streets run from the other sides. 

 Salamanca has' twenty-seven parish churches and fif- 

 teen chapels, the university, twenty convents of monks, 

 several of nuns, and several hospitals, &c. 



Of all the edifices in the city the cathedral is the 

 most imposing. It was begun in 1513, but not finish- 

 ed till 1734. It is 378 feet long, 181 wide, 130 high 

 in the nave, and 80 in the centre. It is altogether a 

 noble and majestic building ; but the most striking 



Salem. 



parts of it are the sculptures that are over the principal Salamanca 

 gate, which are as fresh and sharp as if they had been 

 newly put up. It has a superb steeple, surrounded by a 

 handsome and spacious gallery, where several people x 

 can walk abreast. In front of the cathedral is a spa- 

 cious square, paved with large square stones, surround- 

 ed with thick pillars about six fet-t high, connected by a 

 strong iron chain, with openings for foot passengers. The 

 church of the Dominicans is considered little inferfor 

 to the cathedral in its sculptures. The ancient church 

 of the Jesuits, and that of St. Marc, merit notice; and 

 also the handsome convents of St. Dominic, St. Ber- 

 nard, and St. Augustine. The King's College, and the 

 Co'legios Majores de St. Bartolome, are also much ad- 

 mired ; the last of these being very large. All the col- 

 leges and convents have libraries, which contain some 

 valuable MSS. 



The university of Salamanca has long been cele- 

 brated. It was founded in 1230, out of the ruins of 

 that at Palencia, and it is said to have contained at one 

 time 15,000 scholars, of whom 7000 were foreigner*. 

 There are 61 professors, and in 1785 there were 1909 

 students; but within the last five years they are said 

 not to have exceeded 300 or 400. The buildings annexed 

 to the university consist of twenty-five colleges, each of 

 which has accommodation for thirty students. Besides, 

 there are four of what are called grand colleges, for 

 young men of family. There is here an Irish college, 

 built in 1614. The academical dress is a black cassock, 

 like that of the priests, and the heads of the students are 

 shaven, and covered with a cap. The library, which is 

 spacious, contains some modern books ; but the greater 

 number are works on scholastic theology. The city 

 abounds in beggars, as the hospicio, or general work- 

 house, can only support 450 paupers. Here there are 

 various useful machines and implements, particularly 

 one for weaving tape, which is so expeditious that a 

 little child can weave fifty yards a day, and a woman 

 more than 120. Here is a Roman road leading south- 

 ward to Merida. Population about 14 000. West 

 Long. 6 10', North Lat. 41 21'. See Lahorde's View 

 of Spain ; and Townshend's Travels in Spain. 



SALAMANCA, BATTLE OF. See FRANCE, Vol. 

 IX. p. 652. 



SALAMANDER. SeeHERpTOLOGY,Vol. XI.p.Sp. 

 SALAMIS. See GREECE, Vol. X. p. 466. 

 SALDANHA BAY. See CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 

 Vol. V. p. 394. 



SALEM, a sea-port town of the United States, and 

 capital of Essex county in Massachusets. It is sup- 

 posed to be the second town in point of magnitude in 

 the United States, and, except Plymouth, the oldest. 

 The town is situated on a peninsula formed by two 

 small inltts of the sea, called the North and South Ri- 

 vers. Over the North River there is a bridge called 

 Essex bridge, upwards of 1500 feet long, and erected 

 in 1789- It connects Salem with Beverley. The South 

 River forms the harbour, which has good anchorage; 

 but vessels drawing more than thirteen feet of water 

 are obliged to unload at a distance from the wharf. 



Though the situation of Salem is low, it is salubri- 

 ous. The houses, now mostly of brick, are well built, 

 but the streets are irregular. It contains a court-house, 

 a jail, a market-house, an alms-house, three banks, a 

 custom-house, a grammar school, an asylum for or- 

 phans, a savings bank, a museum, an athenaeum, with 

 a library of 5000 volumes, four insurance offices, and 

 eleven places of worship, viz. four of Congregation- 

 alists, two of Baptists, one for Quakers, one for Epis- 



6 



