Ml 



80MMITK. 



BOUECID.E. 



M 



SOMMITE. nrvntm] 



8ONCBU8 (2a>x"0. geniu of Plant* belonging to the natural 

 order Compotita; sub-order Ctchontcta. It is characterised by a many- 

 flowered bead, involucre imbricated with scales, swelling at the base ; 

 receptacle naked; fruit transversely atriated; pappus aimple, aoaiile. 

 The tpeciea are inhabitant* of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. 

 Da Oandolle enumerate* forty-fire species, of which four are natives of 

 Great Britain. They are not used in medicine, but tome of them are 

 cultivated in garden*. 



The mott common aped** ia the 5. oltractui, the Common Sow- 

 ThUtlr. It hu a downy aubumbellate flower-ctalk ; a glabrous 

 involucre ; lyrato-runcinate leave*, upper one* lanceolate sagittato- 

 amplexicaul at the bate, all dentato-ciliate. Thi* plant is found com- 

 monly in wa*te place* and cultivated ground all over the world. It 

 baa unal! yellow flower* and a conical involucre when in seed, and it 

 greedily fed upon by many animal*. 



crrtntit, Corn Sow-Thistle. Flower-stalks corymbose ; involucre 

 glandiloae hispid ; leaves denticulate, cordate at the base, oblongo- 

 laiiceolate, lower one* sinuato-runcinate. It is frequent in corn-field* 

 in this country and the southern parts of Europe, and in Pennsylvania. 

 Dr. Sibthorp found it in Greece, and wo* of opinion that it was the 

 same plant a* the 3^yx* Sripot of Dioscorides. 



8ONNERATIA, a genus of Plant* belonging to the natural order 

 tfyrtacttr, to named by the younger Linmeue in compliment to M. 

 Sooner at, well known by his ' Voyage ii la Nouvelle Guinee,' and his 

 ' Voyage* aux Inde* Orientates it a la Chine,' and who made known 

 many new plant*. The genus is characterised by having a 4-G-cleft 

 campanulate calyx, adhering to the ovary at the very base; petals 

 4 to 6, alternating with the valvate lobe* of the calyx ; stamens 

 numerous; style* filiform, with a peltate stigma; fruit baccate, appear- 

 ing half-superior, many-celled ; seeds numerous, nestling in a fleshy 

 pulp, curved; the species form moderate-sized trees, with opposite 

 leaves, which are entire, thick, and almost reinless ; flowers usually 

 solitary, Urge. 



>'. ariila is the best known species, being the Pagapate of Sonnerat, 

 and the Blatti of Kheede, which has an acid eatable fruit. The branch- 

 let* tetragonal ; leave* oval, oblong ; calyx 6 cleft ; petals 6 ; berry 

 globose. The tree is forty feet high, and is a native of New Guinea 

 and the Molucca*, as well at of the Malabar coast and of the delta of 

 the Ganges. 



S. tUba is another species of the Moluccas, and X apetala, a native 

 of Ava, near Rangoon, as well a* in moist situations along the Burmese 

 . .-. 



SOPHOR A, a genus of Plant* belonging to the natural order Leg*- 

 mnota, said to be so named from an Arabic name (Sophera) of one of 

 the species. These are ornamental shrub* and trees, found in central 

 and tropical Asia, also in the warm parts of North America and the 

 equinoctial and sub-tropical parts of South America. The genus is 

 characterised by baring a 5-toothed campanulate calyx; corolla 

 papilionaceous; petals of the keel usually united together at their 

 apex; stamens 10, distinct; legumes moniliform, without joints or 

 wing>, and containing several seeds ; the leave* are impari-pinnate, 

 usually exatipulate and terminal ; the inflorescence is in racemes or 

 panicle* of yellow, white, or blue flowers. The species beat known in 

 Kngland are .S. Japonica and & Cliinemu, which, being from the 

 northern latitudes of the countries from which they are named, are 

 hardy enough to withstand the climate of England ; and it ha* been 

 popoaed to engraft the Nepaul .S. rtliiliua on the .S. Jajxmica. Being 

 handsome trees, with both leave* and trees differing much from 

 European tree*, thry are well adapted for standing singly in lawns. 

 They are raised from layers, but also from seed*, and require a little 

 protection when young. 



8OKBUS, a genus of Plant*, comprising the Mountain-Ash, Rowan- 

 Tree, and Servioe-Tree. [PiHUs.] 



80HDAWALITE, a Mineral oocuring massive. Its fracture is con- 

 choids! Colour grayish- greenish- or bluish-black. Structure com- 

 pact. Hardness 2fi to 30. Brittle. Lustra vitreous. Opaque. 

 Specific gravity 2'50 to SD. It is found near Sordawla in Finland, 

 anil at Bodenmsis in Bavaria. 



IU analysis by Nordenskiold gives 



s 'lica 49-40 



Alumina 13-80 



Peroxide of Iron 18-17 



JJ**"**^ 10-67 



Phosphoric Acid . . , - 



Water ' . . Mg 



SOUK i II -.I:, the family of Shrews, or Shrew-Mice, comprising the 

 genus SWTJ- of Lintuciu. 



The *"ett*." says Mr. Swainson, "like the bats, have the 



;nnden furnished with conical points ; but they are destitute of 



rings or lateral membranes, and they posse** clavicles ; they have no 



in, and thj-y all press the mtir. sole of the foot on th ground in 



walking. In their economy they are nocturnal, leading for tho most 



rt a subterraneous life, and d -riving their principal support from 



ETIL 1 *!JT i.* V, mui of ">' countries pas, the winter in a 



thargio state : their feet are short, and their motions, when on the 



surface of the earth, slow and feeble," 



This family, according to Mr. Swainson, embraces tho Shrews, 

 Moles, and Hedgehogs, with the following characters : 



Muzzle lengthened, pointed. Leg* short, feeble; feet pentadactylous. 

 Lower incisors generally very long, pointing forwards. No lateral 

 membranes. Mammaj ventral. Tho family thus characterised includes 

 the genera rinaetu, Linnaeus ; Sore*, Linnaeus ; ilygale, Geoff.; 

 Scalopt, Cuv. ; Chrytochloris, Cur. ; Tal/ia, Linnrcus ; Cenlenet, Cuv. ; 

 and Conilylura, Desm. 



The Jiucctitora of Cuvier consist of the Hedgehogs (Ei-inacetu) ; 

 the Tenrec* (Centenet) ; the Shrews (Sort* and Xcalopt); the Desmans 

 (Myffale); ChryuKhlorii ; Talpa; and Cundylura. 



The genus Sore* of Linmcui is placed between Talpa and Erina- 

 ctui ; and this article will be confined to the true Shrews (Sort.r) and 

 the forms which most closely approximate to that genus. 



The geographical distribution of the forms of thrse fioricida is 

 wide : examples of them occur in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. 



Stores. Upper incisors curved and toothed or notched at the lose ; 

 lower incisors nearly horizontal, all much produced. Body covered 

 with soft and relvety fur. Muzzle very much attenuated ; eurs short 

 and rounded. Five toes with moderately strong claws on each foot 

 Tail generally long. 



Dental Formula : Incisors, | ; Canines,.?; Molars, ?^? = 30. 

 - W ft 5 



Teeth of Sara, from a large pccic taken in the Island of Mauritius (Six 

 times larger than nature.) 



S. aruntiu, is the Musaraigne of the French ; Toporongo of the 

 Italians ; Murgsnho of the Spanish ; Spitztnaus and ZUmaus of the 

 Germans; Nabbinus of tho Swedes; Xsebmuusand Muoseskier of the 

 Danes; and Llygoden Goch, Chwistlcn, and Llyg of tho Welsh. 

 It is reddish mouse-colour above, paler beneath; tail somewhat 

 quadrangular, rather shorter than the body, not ciliated beneath. 



Mr. Hell, whose description we have abovo given, states that he has 

 ventured, after some consideration, to retain the name of Araneiu for 

 the Common Shrew of England, notwithstanding the doubt* which 

 hare existed in the minds of many zoologists, and in which he had 

 till lately participated. These doubts, he observes, have arisen from 

 what he believes to be an erroneous statement of Geoffrey, who, in 

 his paper on the Shrews, in the ' Annales du Mus<5um,' has given as a 

 character of .<'. araneiu, that the teeth arc all white ; and as Daubenton, 



in his memoir on the same subject, in tin- ' Mr ires de 1'Acadumie 



den Sciences,' does not mention tho colour of the teeth at all, the 

 authority, he adds, of Geoffrey bos been sufficient to produce con- 

 siderable hesitation as to whether the .S'. araneiu of the continental 

 authors be identical with our Common Shrew, which has invariably 

 brown teeth. " It seems however," says Mr. Bell in continuation, " to 

 have been overlooked, that Daubenton, in his description of the 

 Shrews in IliifTm's -Histoire Naturelle,' has set the question at rest, 

 as far as regards the colour of the teeth ; for, in describing the 

 Musaraigne (S, araneiu), he refers, for the account of the teeth, to 

 his description ..f the Munsraignc d'Eau (.S. fodiein); and WB there 

 fiii<l tlitu the teeth nf tlio Mltttrsjgne ore lirowu nt the tips. Now, as 

 he invariably speaks of UiL) <peclo without any adjunct to th, 



