SALPIGLOSSIS SAMYDE.&. 



603 



often rising 1 to the surface. The food is in very 

 minute portions, but it is of the kind which is under- 

 stood to be most nourishing for fishes, and productive 

 of the finest flavour of their flesh. 



SMELT (Osmerus cpirlanus}. This is a small spe- 

 cies, but it is one which is held in high estimation. 

 It is found in the estuaries, generally about the top 

 of the brackish water, or perhaps a little higher up, 

 but not in the offings or very much in the fresh water, 

 though it spends fully half the year there. They 

 ascend in autumn, and descend again about the be- 

 ginning of summer, the spawning time being about 

 March, though of course varying with the place and 

 the season. They prefer the quiet waters where the 

 bottoms are rich, and generally congregate in a small 

 space, moving a little with the tide. Their food con- 

 sists chiefly of the smaller Crustacea ; but they can 

 be taken with fly, though the net is used in their 

 capture, as it is in that of most of the shoaling fishes. 

 The sea is not absolutely necessary, for they have 

 been bred in fresh water ponds, and have succeeded 

 well. They are generally about seven inches in 

 length, but one now and then occurs often inches or 

 a little more. The form is long and slender, the tail 

 much forked, and the anal fin continued with short 

 rays nearly to the base of the tail. All the upper 

 parts of the body are pale greenish ash, and the un- 

 der parts of a silvery white. The fins yellowish, 

 with black dots on the extremity of the caudal. As 

 is the case with many others of the family, they avoid 

 impure water ; hence they are found in the estuaries 

 of particular rivers only, and if a river, from any 

 cause, becomes very foul, they desert it not to return. 

 They seldom go far above the brackish water, and 

 rarely out of the tideway, which seems to have con- 

 siderable influence on their food. 



Such is an outline of the leading members of the 

 salmon family which are to be found in Britain. A 

 few more have been mentioned, and there are many 

 more in the northern parts of both continents ; but 

 we have already exceeded our limits, and must take 

 leave of them, with simply remarking, that in the 

 pleasant season of the year they are among the great- 

 est attractions of the waters. 



SALPIGLOSSIS (Ruiz and Pavon). A genus 

 of annuals and perennials from Chile. They have 

 handsome didynamous flowers, and belong to Solanecs. 

 These plants are treated as tender annuals, that is, 

 sown in pots in the greenhouse or frame, and after- 

 wards placed in the flower-border to bloom. 



SALSAFY is the Tragopogon porrifolium of Lin- 

 naeus, a British plant introduced into the kitchen 

 garden, and cultivated for its fussiform roots, which 

 are used as a table vegetable. 



SALSOLA (Linnaius). A genus of herbs, chiefly 

 annuals, found wild in many different parts of Europe. 

 They belong to Chenapodca:, and in Britain are called 

 saltwort, because the species grow on the sea-shore. 

 In Spain the Sahola kali is extensively cultivated 

 for the manufacture of barilla, as sea-weeds are for 

 kelp. 



SALTICUS (Latreille; ATTUS, Walckenaers). 

 A numerous genus of spiders, distinguished by their 

 elongated form, the comparative shortness and strength 

 of the legs ; the eight eyes arranged in a large qua- 

 drangle opened behind, the two central ones in the 

 front row being large. These are wandering spiders 

 which do not spin webs, and are to be observed on 

 walls, palings, &c., in hot and fine weather ; they are 



extremely active, and exhibit a very considerable 

 degree of intuitive caution in the capture of their 

 prey, which they seize by a sudden leap, "and there- 

 fore," observes Swarnmerdam, "nature has provided 

 them as well as other spiders with eight eves." The 

 proceedings of one of these spiders is thus interest- 

 ingly recorded by Evelyn, " which espying a fly at 

 three or four yards distance upon the balcony where 

 I stood, would not make directly to her, but crawl 

 under the rail, till being arrived to the antipodes it 

 would steal up, seldom missing its aim ; but if it 

 chanced to want any thing of being perfectly opposite, 

 would at first peep, immediately slide down again, 

 till taking better notice, it would come the next time 

 exactly upon the fly's back ; but if this happened not 

 to be within a competent leap, then would this insect 

 move so softly, as the very shadow of the gnomon 

 seemed not to be more imperceptible, unless the fly 

 moved, and then would the spider move also in the 

 same proportion, keeping that just time with her 

 motion as if the same soul had animated both these 

 little bodies, and whether it were forwards, backwards, 

 or to either side, without ata 11 turning her body, like 

 a well-managed horse ; but if the capricious fly took 

 wing and pitched upon another place behind our 

 huntress, then would the spider whirl its body so 

 nimbly about as nothing could be imagined more 

 swift, by which means she always kept the head 

 toward her prey, though, to appearance, as immove- 

 able as if it had been a nail driven into the wood, till 

 by that indiscernible progress (being arrived within 

 the sphere of her reach), she made a fatal leap, swift 

 as lightning upon the fly, catching him in the pole, 

 where she never quitted hold till her belly was full, 

 and then carried the remainder home." There are a 

 considerable number of species belonging to this 

 genus, the type being the t Salticus formicarius of 

 Latreille, a common British species. 



SALVIA (Linnaeus). A very extensive genus of 

 herbs and undershrubs, found in all parts of the 

 world. The flowers are, by abortion, diandrous, but 

 they manifestly belong to Labiates. There are 

 above one hundred and twenty species of sage. One 

 is a well-known culinary herb, and some are so 

 highly ornamental, that they are placed in the first 

 rank of greenhouse plants. They are all easily pro- 

 pagated by cuttings. 



SAMBUCUS (Linnaeus). A well-known genus 

 of herbaceous, and chiefly shrubby plants, natives of 

 Europe and North America. They belong to the 

 third order of the class Pentandria, and to the natural 

 order Capri/dice. The elder is seen on every spot of 

 waste ground, and yet it is cultivated in some places 

 for its flowers and fruit. A cosmetic and ointment are 

 made of the former, and a kind of wine from the latter. 



SAMOLUS (Linnams). A genus of small herbs, 

 one of which is a native of Britain, and called brook- 

 lime. The flowers are pentandrous, and the genus 

 belongs to Primulacca;. If brought into the garden, 

 they must be placed in a moist soil. 



SAMPHIRE is the Crithmum maritimum of 

 Linnaeus, a British rock plant, so much sought 

 after and prized as an ingredient in salads, and as a 

 pickle. 



SAMYDEJ3. A small natural order, containing 

 only two genera, viz., Samyda and Cascaria, and of 

 these there are fourteen species. They are tropical 

 shrubs or small trees, with entire stipulate alternate 

 leaves, covered with pellucid dots and axillary flowers 



