SEED SEIGNIORIES. 



187 



covery of the metalloides, discovered the entoptic 

 phenomena, for which he received a prize from the 

 French institute, and enlarged in other ways the 

 field of optics. Since 1818, he lived in t Berlin, 

 where he was elected a member of the academy of 

 sciences, and died in December, 1831. 



SEED ; that part of organic bodies which serve? 

 to continue the species. The seeds of plants pre- 

 sent the greatest variety of form and appearance. 

 In shape, they are conical, round, oval, oblong, flat, 

 kidney-shaped, &c., with smooth and shining sur- 

 faces, or rough and provided with all sorts of ap- 

 pendages. They consist of an external covering, a 

 shell or membrane, within which are the kernel and 

 the germ. The external envelope is designed merely 

 for the protection of the kernel, and generally con- 

 sists of several membranes. When hard and woody, 

 it is called a nut or stone, and, in this case, the ker- 

 nel is enveloped in an inner, soft, and thin cover- 

 ing. The kernel consists of farinacious and muci- 

 laginous matter of more or less hardness, and 

 possesses the property of absorbing moisture from 

 the earth, by means of which it is softened, swells, 

 and affords the first nourishment to the germ. 

 Seeds are formed of one, two, or several lobes. At 

 the point by which the kernel was attached to the 

 capsule or seed vessel, a scar or mark is visible, 

 beneath which lies the germ, which contains the 

 future plant. Besides the wonderful provision 

 which nature has made for the dispersion of seeds, 

 some being wafted through the air by the light 

 downy appendages attached to them, and others be- 

 ing fitted, by their form and envelope, for being car- 

 ried down rivers, their vitality or dormancy is also 

 wonderful. Seed may be kept out of the ground, 

 for a century, and still retain the power of germin- 

 ating when committed to the soil. So also where 

 seeds have been found deeply buried in the earth, 

 or in soils not adapted for their germination, in po- 

 sitions in which they have lain quiescent for years 

 they have been known, on exposure to the air, or 

 removal to a different soil, to exercise a vegeta- 

 tive power. See Botany 



SEED LAC. See Coccus, end of the article. 

 SEELAND. See Zealand. 

 SEETZEN, ULRIC JASPER, a German traveller, 

 a native of East Friesland, was educated at Gottin- 

 gen, where he particularly studied philosophy and 

 natural history, under professor Blumenbach. Hav- 

 ing published some tracts on natural history, statis- 

 tics, and political economy, he was appointed aulic 

 councillor to the czar in the principality of the Jever. 

 He was desirous of visiting Africa and the East ; and 

 being encouraged by the dukes Ernest and Augustus 

 of Saxe-Gotha, he set off, in August, 1802, for Con- 

 stantinople. He proceeded to Syria, and remained 

 a considerable time at Aleppo, making excursions 

 into the neighbouring territories. In 1806, he ex- 

 plored the course of the river Jordan and the Dead 

 sea, travelled through Palestine, and went to Hebron 

 and mount Sinai. His enthusiastic desire of know- 

 ledge prompted him to profess Mohammedanism, 

 that he might undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca and 

 Medina, which he visited in 1809 and 1810. In 

 the month of November, 1810, he was at Mocha, 

 whence he wrote the last letters which arrived from 

 him in Europe. Having had his property seized by 

 the Arabs, under the pretext of his being a magi- 

 cian, he proceeded towards Sana, in December, 

 1811, to complain to the iman of that place; and a 

 few days after his departure, he died suddenly at 

 TUes, probably from the effects of poison given him 



by order of ti. iman. No comp*ett account of the 

 researches of this unfortunate traveller ever ap- 

 peared; but his letters, which he addressed to baron 

 von Zach, were inserted in the Geographical and 

 Astronomical Correspondence, published at Gotha; 

 and a translation was printed in the French Annales 

 des Voyages (1808 14). Extracts from his letters 

 to Blumenbach, and others also, were published in 

 the Maqasin Encyclopedique. 

 SEGARS. See Tobacco. 

 SEGUIDILLA; a Spanish form of versification, 

 consisting of four lines, generally assonant lines, of 

 seven and five syllables alternately. It usually has 

 a close of three verses, called estribillo, of which 

 the first and last lines rhyme. 



SEGUR; an ancient French family, which has 

 produced several distinguished men, including the 

 following : 



Joseph Alexander, born at Paris in 1752, died in 

 1805, was the author of several comedies and operas, 

 which still remain popular, of the Correspondance 

 secrete entre Ninon de I'Enclos, le Marquis de Vil- 

 larceaux et Mad. de Maintenon, and a romance Sur 

 les Femmes (3 vols., translated into English). 



His brother Louis Philip, born in 1753, died in 

 1830, peer of France, and member of the French 

 academy, served in America under Rochambeau, 

 and, after the peace of 1783, was ambassador to St 

 Petersburg. In 1790, he was sent to Berlin ; but, 

 after the deposition of the king, he retired from 

 public affairs, and in 1798 published his Theatre de 

 I'Hermitage a collection of plays which he had 

 composed for the private theatre of the empress of 

 Russia. In 1800, appeared his masterly Histoire 

 du Regne de Frederic Guillaume II., or Decade his- 

 torique. In 1803, he was chosen a member of the 

 Institute, and Napoleon appointed him one of the 

 council of state. After the restoration, he was 

 received into the chamber of peers. In 1824, ap- 

 peared his CEuvres Completes (30 vols., 2d ed., 36 

 vols., 1828), and, in 1825, his Memoires, Souvenirs 

 et Anecdotes (3 vols.) 



His son Paul Philip, born 1780, served with dis- 

 tinction on various occasions, and executed several 

 diplomatic missions. In 1812, he was created 

 marechal de camp, and distinguished himself in 

 several bloody actions in 1813 and 1814. In De- 

 cember, 1831, he was made peer for life, being one 

 of the thirty created for the purpose of giving mini- 

 sters a majority on the question of a hereditary 

 peerage. His Histoire de Napoleon et de la Grande 

 Armee pendant I'Annee 1812, has passed through 

 numerous editions, and given rise to several con- 

 troversies, particularly one with Gourgaud, which 

 resulted in a duel between the parties. 



SEIDELMANN, JAMES, professor in the aca- 

 demy of fine arts in Dresden, was born in 1750. 

 He perfected himself in painting, under Mengs, at 

 Rome, and subsequently invented an entirely new 

 manner of drawing in sepia, chiefly for the repre- 

 icntation of the antique. His pieces, executed in 

 this manner, and his copies in oil, are numerous, 

 and have gained him much reputation. In his 

 style of drawing in sepia, he and his wife are still 

 unrivalled, though they have had many imitators. 

 His wife was born in Venice, and perfected herself 

 n miniature painting under Theresa Maron, si&ter 

 to Raphael Mengs. She made the drawing of the 

 Madonna del Sisto, from which Miiller prepared 

 iiis admirable engraving. 



SEIDLITZ WATER. See Sedlitz. 



SEIGNIORIES, in Lower Canada; a remnant 



