877 



SWALLOW-WORTS. 



SWIETENIA. 



678 



markings. Bluish-white is the usual colour, spotted and blotched with 

 lively reddish-brown, intermixed with obscure spots and purplish-gray 

 dashes, the markings most numerous towards the larger end. (' Birds 

 of Australia.') 



Nest of Wood-Swallow (Artamta cinrraa). (Gould.) 



SWALLOW-WORTS. [ASCLEPIAS.] 



SWANS. [CYONINJS-] 



SWA'RTZIA, the name of a genus of Plants, given by Willdenow 

 in honour of Olof Swartz, a Swedish botanist, belongs to the natural 

 order Leguminotte. This order was divided by De Candolle into two 

 groups, Cnrvembria and Sectembria : the former with the radicle of 

 the embryo bent back upon the cotyledons ; the latter with the radicle 

 straight. The curvembryose group contains two sub-orders, of one of 

 which, Swartzia, the present genus, is the type. The sub-order Suartzia 

 is known by possessing a bladdery calyx with indistinct lobes, and 

 hypogynous stamens, and by being either destitute of corolla or having 

 only one or two petals. The other genera in this order are Baphia and 

 Zollernia. [CAMWOOD.] The species are natives of South America and 

 the West India Islands. 



The genus ffaartzia is known by its calyx being divided into 3 or 

 4 pieces or teeth, which are at first united, but afterwards break up 

 and separate. It has sometimes one petal, which is flat and lateral ; 

 sometimes this is entirely wanting. The stamens are 10, 15, or 25 in 

 number, with frequently 2 or 4 of them much larger than the others, 

 and the rest are often connected a little way at the base. The seeds 

 have an arillus, and do not possess albumen. The species are trees, 

 with simple or unequally pinnated leaves, having racemose flowers, 

 which grow from the axils of the leaves. 



S. tomentoea, Tomentose Swartzia. Leaves with 5-7 leaflets ; petioles 

 terete, which, as well as the branchlets, are velvety; leaflets oval- 

 Oblong, pointed, velvety beneath ; stipules nearly orbicular. This 

 species forms a high thick tree, with strong angular branches, and 

 grows on the borders of rivers in Guyana, where it is called Anacoco 

 and Bois Pagaio Blanc. It has a fine reddish-coloured wood, which 

 becomes black by age, and is considered very indestructible, and is 

 used for the making of rudders for ships. The bark is very bitter, 

 and is used as a medicine in its native country. There are about 

 16 other species of Swctrlzia. 



SWEAT. [SKIN.] 



SWEET BRIAR. [RosA.] 



SWEET CALAMUS. This aromatic, which was of equal celebrity 

 with Spikenard, mentioned by the same authors, and procured from 

 the same country, is described by Dioscorides under the name of 

 KoAo^os apa^aTino's. It is supposed by Sprengel and some authors 

 that the Aconu Calamut of botanists is intended, which is possessed 

 of slight aromatic properties, is common in European ditches, and is 

 likewise found in India in mountainous situations. This is known to 

 the Arabs by the name Wuj, which appears to be a corruption of the 

 Hindoo Buch, Sanscrit Vacha, and has in the Arabian works the name 

 Akoron assigned as its Greek synonyme, no doubt intended for the 

 Anapa? of Dioscorides. Therefore there is no foundation for the 

 opinion of Sprengel that this Acoron is the Iris pseudacorus of 

 botanists. 



Calamus aromalicut is described by Dioscoridea immediately after 

 Ix '' ', or *X'f| vbich is usually translated Jancui odoralui, and is 

 acknowledged to be the Andropogon Schomanthva of botanists, com- 

 monly known by the name of Lemon-Grass. This has also had the 

 names of Camel's Hi\y, Pulea <le Mecha, &c., applied to it. Schcenanlkus 



HAT. mar. DIV. vou iv. 



is evidently compounded of 'schrenus' and 'anthos' (Si-flos, 'a flower"). 

 Theophrastus treats of Calamos and Schoenos together, and states 

 that they were found among the mountains of Libanus, on the shores 

 of an extensive lake ; but Burckhardt in such situati ons could only 

 find rushes and reeds. It is possible therefore that a Syrian locality 

 may have been assigned to drugs obtained from more distant countries 

 by the route of the Euphrates, for Dioscorides says they are produced 

 in India. By Hippocrates they are called KaAa^os eu57)s and 2x"">s 

 eSooyws, also KoAa/ior axoims (Hipp., f. 5 p. 138, 1. 17), evidently show- 

 ing that if they agreed in properties, they had also some resemblance 

 in nature. If we desire to find something similar to Schfenanthus, 

 and possessed of still more aromatic properties, we have only to search 

 in the genus to which this belongs, and we shall find several plants 

 famous for their agreeable odour. The roots of Andropogon muri- 

 catum, commonly known in the shops of this country by the Tamul 

 name Vitivayr, and made into small bundles for brushing velvet, are 

 remarkable for their fragrance : hence several essences are now pre- 

 pared from them in Paris. The roots are also well known to Indians 

 by the name of Khuskhus, being used throughout the Bengal 

 Presidency for making tattees ; these thatched screens being fitted to 

 doors and windows, have water constantly sprinkled over them; the 

 hot air in passing through becomes much cooled by the great evapora- 

 tion, and enters the room both cool and refreshing, diffusing a 

 delightful fragrance. The aroma here depends on the presence of a 

 principle analogous to myrrh. But other species are still more fra- 

 grant, and secrete odorous volatile oil in sufficiently large quantities 

 to be profitably distilled. Of these, Lemon-Grass, or Andropogon 

 Schcenanthtu, is the best known. The infusion of its leaves is often 

 employed in India as a pleasant stomachic, and Lemon-Grass Oil is 

 probably distilled from them. A. Nardus (?) is another species, called 

 Ginger- or Spice-Grass, by Ainslie, which is said by him to be common 

 in the Courtallum Hills and the Indian Peninsula, where the natives 

 occasionally prepare with it an essential oil useful in rheumatism, and 

 use the infusion of its leaves as a stomachic. A. Iwarancusha is a 

 species which comes near 4. Schcenantkus in habit and taste. It skirts 

 the bases of the mountains of north-west India, and was found by 

 Dr. Blane and by Dr. Boyd about Hurdwar : it was considered by the 

 former to be the Spikenard of the ancients. Dr. Royle also found it 

 near Hurdwar, and in the upper parts of the Doab of the Ganges and 

 Jumna rivers, and he states (' Illustr. Himal. But.,' p. 425) that it is 

 there called Mirchiagund, with Izkhir given as its Arabic, and Iskhinos 

 as its Greek synonym ; and infers that it may have been the 2x"" 

 of the Greeks as well as A. Sc/uenanthui. But another species is still 

 more extensively diffused, and still more remarkable for its very 

 powerful and delightful fragrance. This is the species which yields 

 the Grass-Oil of central India, commonly called Oil of Spikenard. It 

 extends southward to between the Godavery and Nagpore, and north- 

 ward to the Delhi territory, but probably still farther north, as it 

 delights in a dry and barren soil. In central India, especially at Namur, 

 Ellichpore, &c., a very delightful fragrant oil is distilled from this 

 plant, which is highly valued in the East as a scent, being added to 

 the finer expressed oils employed for anointing the hair or the bodies 

 of the natives. It is also much esteemed as an external application 

 in rheumatism, and has been introduced into practice in this country, 

 and is highly valued by some, though unknown to the generality of 

 practitioners. It has the advantage of diffusing an agreeable odour 

 at the same time that it is efficacious as a stimulant remedy. This or 

 the preceding species extends into Afghanistan. 



Sweet Cane, or Calamus, being described by Dioscorides imme- 

 diately ifter Sx'yfJ, which is generally acknowledged to be A. Sellout- 

 anthut, appears to Dr. Royle to belong to the same genus, and indeed 

 to be the above far-famed species, as Calamus aromatir.us is thought 

 also to be the Sweet-Cane and the rich aromatic reed from ' a far 

 country ' of Scripture. He states that there is no plant which moro 

 closely coincides in description with everything that is required than 

 the tall grass which yields the fragrant Grass-Oil of central India, and 

 which he has named A. C. aromaticut. (' Illust. Himal. Botany,' p. 426.) 



SWEET GUM-TREE. [LIQUIDAMBAR.] 



SWEET-SOP. [ANONACE&] 



SWEET-WILLIAM. [DiAUTHua.] 



SWIETE'NIA, a small genus of Plants of the natural family Cedrc- 

 lacece, named by Jacquin in honour of G. van, Swieten. The genus 

 Swietenia is characterised by having a small 4-5-cleft calyx; petals 

 4 to 5, deciduous; stamens 8 to 10, the filaments united together 

 into a toothed tube, bearing the anthers on the inside ; stigma peltate ; 

 ovary 5-celled, seated on a stipes ; seeds winged. The species, though 

 few in number, are found in hot parts of the world, form large trees, 

 and yield valuable timber. 



S.febrifuga of Roxburgh has been formed into a new genus, Soymida. 



[SOTMIDA.] 



S. Senegaleniit has also been formed into a new genus, Khaya, and 

 is the tree yielding African mahogany, which is brought to us from 

 Sierra-Leone. The timber, though hard, is liable to warp, but it is 

 employed where a hard and cheap wood of large size is required, as 

 for mangles. The negroes employ an, infusion of the bark, which is 

 very bitter, as a febrifuge. 



S. chloroxylan is a third species, which has been formed into a new 

 genus, and is now Cldoroxylon Swietenia, a native of the mountainous 



3 u 



