768 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



canals with which those apertures communicate. 

 Sponges are of almost universal occurrence and 

 are almost exclusively marine, being generally 

 found attached to the under-side of projecting 

 rocks, or clinging to the roofs of submarine 

 caverns. The sponges of commerce are mostly 

 obtained from the Grecian Archipelago and the 

 Bahamas. 



Spruce. The name given to several species 

 of trees of the genus Abies. The Norway spruce- 

 fir is Abies excelsa, which yields the valuable 

 timber known under the name of white or Chris- 

 t i.\nia deal. It is a native of great part of North- 

 ern Europe and is a noble tree of conical habit 

 of growth, reaching sometimes the height of 150 

 feet. The white spruce is Abies alba, the black 

 spruce-fir is Abies nigra, both natives of North 

 America. The latter attains the height of sev- 

 enty or eighty feet, with a diameter of from fif- 

 teen to twenty inches. Its timber is of great 

 value on account of its strength, lightness, and 

 elasticity, and is often employed for the yards 

 of ships and the sides of ladders. From the 

 young shoots is extracted the essence of spruce, 

 a decoction used in making spruce beer. The 

 hemlock spruce-fir is the Abies Canadensis, a noble 

 species, rising to the height of seventy or eighty 

 feet, and measuring from two to three feet in 

 diameter. It grows abundantly over great part 

 of Canada and part of the United States. The 

 wood is employed for laths, fences, coarse indoor 

 work, etc. The bark is exceedingly valuable 

 for tanning. Douglas's spruce or fir, the Abies 

 Douglasii of Northwestern America, reaches a 

 height of 100 to 180 feet in its native forests, and 

 has been introduced into Britain as an ornamen- 

 tal tree. 



Squirrel. A small rodent mammal of the 

 family Sciuridce, the type of which is the genus 

 Sciurus, or true squirrels. This family compre- 

 hends three groups the true squirrels (Sciurus'), 

 the ground-squirrels (Tamias), and the flying- 

 squirrels (Pterdmys and Sciuropterus). The 

 true squirrels are distinguished by their strongly 

 compressed inferior incisors and by their long 

 bushy tail. They have four toes before and five 

 behind. The thumb of the fore-foot is some- 

 times marked by a tubercle. They have in all 

 four grinders, variously tuberculated, and a 

 very small additional one above in front, which 

 very soon falls. In color they are usually of a 

 rich ruddy brown on the upper parts, merging 

 into reddish or grayish-white on the under parts 

 of the body, but the fur varies with the season 

 and climate so that in winter it may be of a gray 

 appearance. The head is large, and the eyes pro- 

 jecting and lively. Several species are enumer- 

 ated, as the common squirrel, which inhabits 

 Europe and the north of Asia; while the cat- 

 squirrel, gray-squirrel, black squirrel, red squir- 

 rel, and the great-tailed squirrel are American 

 species. The common British squirrel, and 

 several other species are remarkably nimble, 

 running up trees and leaping from branch to 

 branch with surprising agility. They subsist 

 on nuts, acorns, seeds, etc., of which they lay up 

 a store for winter, some of them in hollow trees, 

 others in the earth. Their nest, which consists 

 of woody fiber, leaves, and moss, is usually situ- 

 ated in a fork of a tree, and the young, of which 



there are three or four, are born in June. When 

 imaged in eatiim they sit on their haunches 

 with their tail thrown upwards on the back, 

 irrasp the eatables with their fore-paws ana 

 irnaw with their powerful teeth. The fur of 

 some of the American species is an article of 

 commerce. 



Star-fishes. A term in its widest applica- 

 tion embracing all the echinoderms compri.-cd 

 in the orders Ophiuroidea and Asteroidea, but 

 more commonly restricted to the members of the 

 lat ter order, of which the common genus Aster in* 

 may be taken as the type. The star-fishes pro] n-r 

 are covered with a tough leathery skin beset 

 with prickles, and have the form of a star, with 

 five or more rays radiating from a central disc. 

 In the middle of the under surface of the disc 

 is situated the mouth, opening into a digestive 

 system which sends prolongations into each 

 ray. If the prickly skin be removed it will be 

 seen to be supported by a series of plates beauti- 

 fully jointed together. On the under surface 

 of each ray the plates exhibit a series of perfora- 

 tions, through which, in the living state, the am- 

 bulacra or tubular feet can be protruded so as to 

 effect locomotion. Star-fishes are found in al- 

 most all tropical, European and American seas, 

 and some species are found as far north as Green- 

 land. 



Starling. Called also Stare, a bird belong- 

 ing to the conirostral section of the order Pas- 

 seres, genus Sturnus and family Sturnidce, a fam- 

 ily of birds widely distributed throughout the 

 world, and allied to the crows. The common 

 starling (Sturnus vulgaris), is found in almost all 

 parts of Europe. It is between eight and nine 

 inches in length ; the color is blackish, with blue, 

 purplish, or cupreous reflections, and each 

 feather is marked at the extremity with a whit- 

 ish triangular speck, giving the bird a speckled 

 appearance. Starlings live mostly upon insects, 

 build in old walls and hollow trees, and the eggs, 

 usually five, are of a pale bluish tint. These 

 birds are often kept in cages, and may be taught 

 to whistle some tunes, and even to pronounce 

 j words and sentences. Allied species are the 

 | Sturnus unicolor found in Sardinia, the rose- 

 colored pastor of Asia and Africa, and the red- 

 winged starling which occurs in America. 



Stork. A family of birds, whose members 

 are chiefly confined to the old world. The true 

 storks are contained in the genus Ciconia, and 

 number six species, ranging over Europe, Asia, 

 and Africa, and found also in South America. 

 In form they resemble the herons, but are more 

 robust, and have larger bills, shorter toes, with 

 a non-serrated claw on the middle toe. They 

 inhabit the vicinity of marshes and rivers, where 

 they find an abundant supply of food, consisting 

 of frogs, lizards, fishes, and even young birds. 

 They are migratory birds, arriving from the 

 south at their breeding haunts in the early spring, 

 and departing again in the autumn. The White 

 Stork, which is common in many countries of 

 Europe, constructs a large nest, most frequently 

 on the chimney of a cottage; it is a casual visitor 

 to Britain during the period of migration. In 

 plumage it is white, with black wings. 



Sugar-cane, a plant from which great 

 part of the sugar of commerce is obtained. It 



