II 



SAILORS. 



SAINT. 



-ii 



lion by cros* bearings of objeU whose relative bearing and distance 

 from each other are- well known. 



Composite -ailing WM so called, and ably illustrated by Mr. Towson, 

 1..U the subsequent inrentiun of the 8pherogra|>h lias NMMfM it u a 

 atiting quite uuimi-irunt. 



Having thus expUined the luual resources of the BMIpte in but 

 work of calculation under tyttmu of progression, the aubject may be 

 viewed from another point. The comparative itoadineai of large 

 uuncn on th ocean, ami the greater advantages they possess in their 

 iwtial independenoe ai to the direction at the wind, wight aeem to be 

 a relief to the ahip.ma.ter; uch U, howerer. counterpoised by the 

 extmw difficulties inherent in (team navigation, and especially in iron 

 hips. It U true the courses of (teamen are more direct and free from 

 " traverses," but it U the question of local attraction, ever liable to 

 vary, which needa all the vigilance of the commander. Thin important 

 subject has been treated of under LOCAL ATTU.U TI..N, l.ut . 

 add that Professor Airy has further illustrated his previous investiga- 

 tion by a rery valuable communication read before the Institution ..f 

 Naval Architects on March 1st, 1880. 



SA I !.<'!> Sam; 8IAJUN.] 



SA I N Ic US.' iHuliycAi* uHra, in a plant of the family of the Lcju- 

 miuattr, which grows "luxuriantly and spontaneously on the calcareous 

 >ib> of the miilille and south of Europe. It has been in regular culti- 

 vation for upwards of two centuries for the purpose of supplying 

 f.,1,1.-! .ther in the green state or when converted into hay. 



uta which have more rapidly unproved the value of 

 dcareous soils than sainfoin ; and in the richer kinds of 

 hich contain a considerable proportion of calcareous matter, it 

 value surpasses even that of broad clover, giving fully as great a return, 

 with a much smaller expenditure of manure. The plant has a strong 

 woody and fibrous root, which insinuates itself into the fissures of 

 calcareous rocks, and finds moisture in the driest seasons, while its 

 spreading fibres keep the earth from being washed down the steep 

 slopes of the bilk- Being nearly perennial, or at least of man 

 duration, it Muds the soil together. In favourable situations it may 

 be made into hay twice in the year, or cut oftener as green fodder. In 

 the most arid and exposed situations it gives at least one good crop of 

 hay. The plant grows about two feet high, and the stem, which 

 branches out into many compound leaves, is crowned with a beautiful 

 spike of papilionaceous flowers. After it has been mown it shoots out 

 rapidly again, and may be advantageously depastured by every kind of 

 cattle or sheep. There are varieties of the plant which ditier in the 

 rapidity of their growth : the best is called in France apanette, or 

 mi'if/cn'n d deux coupes. From France it has been introduced into 

 England. The duration of sainfoin depends on the nature of the soil, 

 and the state it was in with respect to weeds when it was sown. A 

 cold wet subsoil soon destroys the roots, whereas a free and dry one, 

 whether rocky or gravelly, gives them vigour. Grass and weeds, which 

 choke the crown of the plant, soon cause it to decay, as is the case with 



it before the flower is" faded or the seed formed ; and if sheep are 

 folded on the aftermath, the next crop will well repay the trouble. It 

 is usually sown in spring in a crop of barley or oats, which should be 

 sown thin in order that the sainfoin may not be smothered. The land 

 should have been prepared by a cleansing crop, such as turnips fed off 

 by sheep folded on them. From three to four bushels of rough seed 

 may be sown, harrowed in, and rolled. It is not often drilled, although 

 this method, by allowing the use of the hoe between the rows, would 

 much strengthen the young plants, and protect them against coarse 

 grasses, which are their greatest enemies. In the first year the sainfoin 

 should not be fed off by sheep; and if it is mown, it should not be 

 mown too close to the ground. The crown of the root in tlui young 

 plant rises a little above the ground, and if this be bit off or cut with 

 the scythe the plant dies. It is useful to harrow the ground lightly, 

 to draw the earth round the roots, and to destroy the seed- weeds soon 

 after the barley or oats are reaped. The sainfoin does not produce a 

 Urge crop the first year, for some of the seeds will lie a twelvemonth 

 in the ground before they spring up. It is in perfection after the 

 second year, when a portion may be reserved for seed. Sainfoin hay is 

 extremely nourishing for every kind of cattle, especially if it lias been 

 made without rain. Although it is not apt to beat in the stack, it 

 must be put up in a very dry state ; and if it has suffered from rain 

 too much care cannot be taken thoroughly to dry it, for the water 

 insinuates itself into the hollow stems, and is long in evaporating, HO 

 that when it feels quite dry it may yet contain much water. The 

 mode of discovering this is to twist it strongly in the hands into a 

 rope, when the moisture, if there is any, will ooze out. It is better to 

 let it dry thoroughly, than, by carrying it in a hurry, to run the risk 

 of iU becoming mouldy within. In very precarious seasons it m.iy lie 

 carried in a half-dried state, provided there be no moisture in it from 

 dews or showers, and stacked in alternate layers with good straw. It 

 win impart some of Its fragrance to the straw, and lose none of its 



ive qualities. The same may be done with lucem or clover. 

 The most advantageous use of sainfoin, however, is to cut it green and 

 give it immediately to the cattle. There is little danger of 1Mb I.ein- 



>.y it, for it ferments very s'owly, owing to the fibrous nature of 



the stem. If the situation of the field admits of occasional irri- 

 without danger of the water stagnating, the produce of the sainfoin 

 will be greatly increased; and it has been known to be tut four or 

 even five times in a season without exhausting its strength. When it 

 begins to appear thin on the ground, and other plants seem to get th.- 

 better of the sainfoin, it is time to break it up. The hind will In- 

 found much improved in fertility by the sainfoin. A poor chalk or 

 gravel, which before would scarcely repay the seed sown in it, will 

 now, by the gradual decay of the roots ami lilucs of the sainfoin, pro- 

 duce good cro[ without manure. If clean, it may be ploughed up lor 

 wheat ; if foul, as it is most likely to be, it may be pared and burned. 

 and yield a crop of turnips, to be partly fed off and followed l>y I 

 Many a poor barren tract of calcareous rock and gravel hn> 

 fertilised and raised in value by the sole effect of the sainfoin, without 

 w hieh it must have remained in its unproductive state. 



Although a chalky soil is best adapted to the growth of sainfoin, it 

 may be sown with advantage in all light calcareous loams, provided the 

 substratum be sound and dry. On very rich deep moulds lucem is a 

 more profitable crop ; but sainfoin will thrive where lucern will fail, 

 and it is particularly adapted for poor dry soils. 



There is nothing peculiar in the manner in which sainfoin is made 

 into hay. It should not be shaken about too much, but treated as 

 clover U, for fear of injuring the flower and breaking off the leaves. 

 The swathe should be merely turned over when dry on one side, and 

 then, as soon as it is dry through, it should be put into small cocks, 

 turned once or twice when the dew is off the ground, and carried to 

 the stack as soon as it is sufficiently made. It should take a good heat 

 in order to make it compact, but without acquiring too dark a colon r. 

 Experience alone can teach the exact time when it should bo w 

 When it is left for seed, it should be examined carefully after the 

 blossom fades. The lower pods will be filled with ripe seed before the 

 blossoms at the top of the spike of flowers are withered or the seed 

 formed in them. If the sainfoin were left standing till these seeds 

 were ripe, the lowest would be shed; but by cutting it at a proper 

 time these may be preserved, while most of the latter will ripen in tin- 

 straw sufficiently to vegetate when sown. Rainy weather is very 

 injurious to the seed crop; a fine time should therefore be selected, if 

 possible, even at the risk of a smaller crop. The produce varies from 

 three to five, or even six, sacks per acre. It is easily threshed out, 

 and this operation is often done on a cloth in the field, when the 

 weather permits. It is readily done by a threshing-machin 

 winnowed like corn. On the whole, there are few plants the culti- 

 vation of which is so advantageous as that of sainfoin on the limestone 

 soils on which it thrives best. 



SAINT, derived from the Latin " sanctus," through the French 

 " sainct," properly signifies a holy or pious person, and is so used in the 

 ( 'hristian church. From the commencement of the Christian religion, 

 great veneration was always shown to persons remarkable for their 

 .holiness or piety, and their memory was cherished after their death. 

 In course of time it became the custom to implore departed saints to 

 assist the living by their prayers and intercessions with the l)eit\ 

 as man has in all ages felt the want of a mediator between himself ami 

 the Deity, the practice of praying to saints increased rapidly, and 

 superstition multiplied the number of such mediators to so gi . 

 extent, that it was at length found necessary to put some restraint 

 upon the practice. It was accordingly decreed by the ecclesiastical 

 councils in the 9th century, that no departed Christian should be con- 

 sidered as a saint to whom prayers might be addressed, until the 

 bishop in a provincial council, and in the presence of the people, had 

 pronounced him worthy of that honour. Kven in that century many 

 divines thought that it was proper that the decisions of bishoi 

 councils should be confirmed by the consent and authority of the pope, 

 who was regarded as the supreme and universal bishop. It was not, 

 however, tiU the following century that any person was sainted by the 

 bishop of Home alone ; and this honour wan first conferred on Ud'alrie, 

 bishop of Augsburg, by John XV. Shortly afterwards the privilege 

 of declaring deji*cd Christians to lie saints was confined to the 

 pope; and the creation of saints was distinguished by the. n... 

 " canonisation. ' 



The invocation of mints in the Homan Catholic church is frequently 

 stigmatised as idolatry; and the Church of England condemns the 

 Homish doctrine on the subject as " a fond thing vainly invented, and 

 grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the 

 word of God." (Article xxii.) In this, as in any other case of religious 

 controversy, it is right to take the account of the doctrine from the 

 persons who believe in it, and not from a statement of their opponents. 

 Thus Bellarmine says," It is not lawful to ask of the saints to v'ant to 

 us, as if they were the aulkun of divine benefits, glory, or grace, or the 

 other means of blessedness. This is proved, first, from' Scripture : 'The 

 Lord will give grace and glory.' (Psalm Ixxxiv.) Secondly, from the 

 usage of the church; for in the mass prayers and the saints' offices we- 

 never ask anything else but that at their prayers benefits may be 

 granted to us by God. Thirdly, from reason ; for what we need ".sur- 

 passes the power of the creature, and therefore even of saints ; th. re. 

 fore we ought to ask nothing from saints beyond their impel i 

 from God what is profitable to us. Fourthly, from August! n 

 Theodoret, who expressly teach that saints are not to I.,- imokcd as 

 gods, but as able to gain from God what they wish. However, it must 



