353 



SCILLA. 



SCOLIA. 



The Museum of the Department at South Kensington will be noticed 

 under SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM. 



SCILLA, or as Steinheil, who separates it and another species 

 (S. Pancration) from the old genus, terms it, Squilla Maritima, also 

 Urginea Scilla (Steinh.), or Sea-onion, is a plant common on the sandy 

 shores of the Mediterranean, Portugal, the Levant, and iu North 

 Russia. It is imported into Britain from -Malta and other parts of 

 the Mediterranean, and also from Petersburg and Copenhagen. The 

 officinal part is the bulb, of which there are two varieties : the one 

 large and whitish externally; the other smaller, of a brownish-red 

 colour. The former is preferred in England, the latter in Germany. 

 This appears to be the Squilla Pancration of Steinheil. The bulb part 

 partakes in its outer part of the nature of a tunicated, in its inner, of 

 the nature of a scaly bulb. It abounds in an acrid, mucilaginous juice, 

 with an alliaceous odour, and a bitter, acrid, nauseous taste. It is 

 imported whole, or cut in slices and dried. The bulb is not of equal 

 potency in every part. The outer, dry, scarious integuments are 

 devoid of activity ; the subsequent fleshy scales are the most powerful ; 

 while the internal young ones are mucilaginous, nearly insipid, and 

 powerless. It is clear from this that the best mode of drying squill is 

 to decorticate it by removing the outer segments, and carefully sepa- 

 rating the intermediate large fleshy scales, to dry these quickly, and to 

 leave the central ones as inefficient. The drying should be conducted 

 quickly, but not by too high a temperature, lest some of the active 

 principles be driven off. Putting the thick scales on sieves or willow- 

 baskets in a moderately heated oven, or in a room fitted with a drying 

 apparatus, is the best plan. Stringing them on threads and drying 

 them slowly, by which they become paper-like and tasteless, is bad. 

 The cnmrnun method however is to cut the bulb into transverse slices, 

 which, when dried, have a horny appearance, and are semi-translucent. 

 In this case the active and inactive portions are blended together. 

 After whatever means are used to dry them, it is necessary that the 

 squills be kept in well-stoppered bottles in a dry place, as, in common 

 with all bulbous plants, they quickly absorb moisture from the atmos- 

 phere. In the process of drying, four-fifths of the weight are lost. 



The chief constituents of squill are an acrid bitter principle 

 (Sdttitm), sugar, mucilage, salts of citrate or tartrate of lime, also 

 phosphate of lime, tannin, and a volatile acrid principle, which in the 

 process of decorticating fresh squill causes a flow of tears from the 

 eyes, sneezing, *c., and severe itching, with burning pains of the hands 

 and arms, yet without obvious swelling or inflammation. A scale of 

 fresh squill applied to the skin rapidly excites rubefaction and vesica- 

 i ii 'ii. like a sinapism. Squill in large dose is unquestionably poisonous, 

 but in many cases it fortunately acts as its own antidote, by causing 

 vomiting. But even in moderate doses it may still do much harm, by 

 its stimulating effect, if prematurely employed, as it often is, as a 

 popular or domestic medicine in the early stages of colds and coughs. 

 It is for the second stage alone of these that it is suited. It augments 

 the secretion from most mucous surfaces, and also stimulates the 

 kidneys, and sometimes the akin. For the reason above stated, it is 

 imsuited to inflammatory dropsies, but it is proper for the effusions 

 occurring in leucophlegmatic subjects, depending on debility, and for 

 general anasarca rather than local effusions. Its diuretic properties 

 are increased by the previous moderate use of mild mercurials, and by 

 uniting it with other diuretics, either vegetable or saline, and still 

 more by adding bisulphate of quinia or other tonics. Its expectorant 

 properties are greatly heightened by the addition of tonics, such as 

 exist in the Mistura Cascarilkc Composita. Squill is a very improper 

 emetic for young children, as it seriously irritates the coat of the 

 stomach. 



SCILLITIX, the bitter principle of squills (Scilla maritima). This 

 is obtained by first inspissating the juice of the root, then treating it 

 with alcohol, and after having evaporated the solution, dissolving the 

 residue in water ; to the solution acetate of lead is to be added, which 

 gives a precipitate that is to be separated; afterwards sulphuretted 

 hydrogen is to be passed into the solution, and it is finally to be evapo- 

 rated. By this process scillitin is obtained, which has the following 

 properties : it is colourless, friable, of a bitter taste at first, and after- 

 wards nauseous and sweetish, and attracts moisture from the air. 

 It is soluble in alcohol and in ether ; its solution is not precipitated 

 by acetate of lead. It is emetic and purgative, and may even occasion 

 death. 



SCIOPTIC BALL is a globe of wood about 5 inches diameter, with 

 a cylindrical perforation 2^ inches diameter passing centrally through 

 it, and having at one extremity of the perforation a glass lens; The 

 globe or ball is, by means of screws, fixed in a socket, which is made 

 in a board about 8 or 10 inches square, in such a manner that while it 

 cannot fall out, it is capable of being turned on its centre, to a small 

 extent, in any direction. 



The board being screwed to a window-shutter, or to the vertical face 

 of a building in which an aperture has been made for the reception of 

 the globe, the rays of light from external objects, after being refracted 

 in the lens, form pleasing images of those objects on the opposite wall 

 of the apartment, or on a white screen placed in a vertical position to 

 receive the light; the apartment being darkened in order that the 

 images may be distinct. The images on a vertical screen being in- 

 verted, two arms generally project from the board, within the room, 

 and carry a plane mirror which turns on an axis so as to allow the 



ARTS AND SCI. DIV. VOL. VII. 



rays of light, after passing through the lens, to fall on a screen placed 

 in a horizontal position : by this means the spectators are enabled to 

 see the images in erect positions. [CAMERA LUCIDA AND CAMERA 

 OBSCURA.] 



When the construction of the building is such as to allow the ball 

 and lens to be fixed at an aperture in the roof, a plane mirror being 

 placed above it at an angle of 45 degrees with the horizon, so as to 

 reflect the rays from external objects down on the lens, the images 

 formed on a screen within the darkened apartment are more distinctly 

 formed and more conveniently seen. An apparatus of this nature was 

 formerly applied to the roof of a building connected with the astro- 

 nomical observatories at Greenwich, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, for the 

 amusement of visitors. 



SCIRE FACIAS, is a writ used to enforce the execution of, or 

 vacate, some already existing record. It directs the sheriff to give 

 notice (" Scire facias," whence the name) to the party against whom it 

 is obtained to appear and show cause why the purpose of it shall not be 

 effected. A summons to this effect should be served on the party, 

 whose duty then is to enter an appearance, after which a declaration 

 is delivered to him, to which he may plead, or demur, the subsequent 

 proceedings being analogous to those in an ordinary action. Scire 

 facias may be resorted to, 



1. Where, the parties remaining the same, it is necessary to revive 

 or set in operation the record. 



2. Where another party seeks to take the benefit of it, or becomes 

 chargeable, or is injured, by it. 



Formerly, when a year and a day had elapsed since judgment was 

 signed, the law presumed that the judgment had been satisfied ; and 

 execution could not issue against the defendant until he had au oppor- 

 tunity, by means of the notice given him under a scire facias, of 

 appearing and showing any cause which might exist why execution 

 should not issue against him. But a simpler, less expensive, and less 

 dilatory method of proceeding was provided by the Common Law Pro- 

 cedure Acts, 1852 and 1853, the former statute having at the same 

 time extended the period during which execution may issue, from a 

 year and a day to itx years. In case of a change by death, marriage, 

 bankruptcy, or otherwise, in one of the parties to au action, the repre- 

 sentative of that party may now enter a suggestion of the fact, and 

 put himself in his place. The opposite party is also enabled to call 

 upon the representative to do so, and if he fails to stop the proceedings. 

 The proceeding by suggestion on the roll is adapted to the most simple 

 cases of change in the parties to a suit. If it be not adopted, a writ of 

 Jlerivor, as it is now called, may be issued, the object of which is the 

 same as that of a scire facias. It is, however, directed to the party and 

 not to the sheriff, as was the writ of set. fa., and it may be served any- 

 where by the party, and not as formerly by the sheriff of the county 

 where the remit in the original action was laid. The subsequent pro- 

 ceedings in Rerivor resemble those of an ordinary action. 



The writ of scire facias is not itself abolished. In some cases it is 

 still the only method of proceeding; for instance, to enforce a judg- 

 ment against the terre tenants of a deceased judgment debtor. So 

 when a plaintiff, having had execution by elegit, under which he 

 obtains possession of a moiety of the rents' and profits of the defendant's 

 land, has had the debt satisfied by payment or from the profits of the 

 land, scire facias may be brought to recover the land. 



A scire facias, again, is the only proceeding for the purpose of re- 

 pealing letters patent by which the crown has made a grant injurious 

 to some party, as where he has granted the same thing which he had 

 already granted to another person ; or a new market or fair is granted 

 to the prejudice of an ancient one, &c. The sovereign may also have 

 a fire facias to repeal his own grant, and any subject who is injured 

 by it may petition the crown to use the royal name for its repeal. 

 A man may have a scire facias to recover the money from a sheriff 

 who has levied under a fieri facias and retains the proceeds. 



SCIRRHUS. [CANCER.] 



SCLEROTICUM. [EROOT.] 



SCO'LIA (from axo\t6s, crooked) were short drinking-songs, which 

 were invented and cultivated by the ancient Greeks. The origin of 

 the name " crooked pongs " has been explained by the ancients them- 

 selves in a variety of ways, of which we shall mention only two. Some 

 supposed that these songs were called scolia because they were not 

 sung by the guests in succession, and in the order in which they lay 

 on their couches, but irregularly, and without any definite order ; 

 others thought that the name referred to peculiarities in their metrical 

 forms, or, which is the most probable of all, to certain liberties which 

 the singer might take in delivering his song. The first of these two 

 opinions, though not a probable account of the origin of the name 

 scolion, yet contains the true account of the manner in which scolia 

 were sung. Artemon ('Ap. Athen.,' xv.) and Plutarch (' Sympos.') 

 distinguish three kinds of Scolia, namely, those which were sung in a 

 chorus by a whole company, those which were sung by all the guests in 

 succession, and those which were only sung by well skilled persons, 

 who, when they ceased, called upon another member of the company 

 to go on. But the name scolion seems, in the first two of these cases, 

 to be applied improperly, as they must rather be considered as a kind 

 of prelude to the real scolia, which is in fact implied in the description 

 given by Plutarch. These drinking songs were generally accompanied 

 by the lyre, which was handed by the last singer to his successor : in 



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