SUP 



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S Y N 



under the red sandstone, or the coal 

 under the greywacke. 



SUPRA-CRETA'CEOUS. (from supra, above, 

 and cretaceus, chalky, Lat.) Above the 

 chalk ; formations more recent than those 

 of the chalk. The supra-cretaceous de- 

 posites, says Mr. De La Beche, are very 

 commonly termed tertiary. This is, how- 

 ever, a name exceedingly objectionable, 

 as it would imply that there were three 

 great classes of rocks possessing marked 

 characteristic distinctions, and that the 

 deposites above the chalk -constituted the 

 third of such classes. The supra-creta- 

 ceous rocks constitute a large portion of 

 the dry land of Europe, among the lowest 

 of which in Western Europe are those of 

 the London and Paris basins. The su- 

 pra-cretaceous group passes so insensibly, 

 apparently, into the present order of 

 things, viewing the subject on a large 

 scale, that probably no line of demarca- 

 tion will ever be drawn between them. 

 Still, even during the time that the upper 

 portion of the series was being deposited, 

 great changes must have been produced 

 in animal life over a considerable part of 

 the earth's surface. Mr. Bakewell con- 

 siders the term supra-cretaceous, or, as 

 he writes it, super-cretaceous, to be pe- 

 culiarly inappropriate, and adds, " if a 

 new name were necessary, jsostf-cretaceous 

 should have been chosen." 



SURBE'D. To set stone edgewise, contrary 

 to the posture it had in the quarry. 



SU'RTURBRAND. A name given to Bovey 

 coal, or brown coal. See Brown Coal. 



SU'SSEX MA'RBLE. A member of the Weal- 

 den group : this occurs in layers varying 

 from a few inches to upwards of a foot in 

 thickness, the layers being separated by 

 seams of clay, or loose friable limestone. 

 It is a fresh-water deposit, and contains 

 in great abundance shells of paludinse, a 

 genus of fresh-water univalves. 



This limestone has obtained the name 

 of Sussex marble from its great abund- 

 ance throughout the Weald of that county. 

 It is of various shades of grey and bluish- 

 grey, mottled with green and yellow ; it 

 bears a high polish, and is used exten- 

 sively for architectural and ornamental 

 purposes. 



SU'TURE. (sutura, a seam, Lat. from suo, 

 to sew, suture, Fr. cucitura, It.) A 

 seam ; the junction of the bones of the 

 head by an irregularly jagged zig-zag line. 



SWI'LLEY. A provincial term for a coal- 

 field of very limited extent. 



.SWINE-STONE. The name given by Kir- 

 wan to fetid carbonate of lime or stink- 

 stone. See Stink-stone. 



SY'ENITE. See Sienite. 



SY'LVANITE. Native tellurium. A re- 

 . cently discovered metallic substance. 



SY'MPHYSIS. (cv^vaiq, Gr. from (rvpQvu 

 to grow together; symphyse, Fr.) A 

 term used in anatomy to denote a parti- 

 cular form of union of two bones. Bones 

 united by symphysis have no manifest 

 motion. 



SY'NCHRONAL. ) (from GVV, the same, and 



SYNCHRONOUS. $ XQOVOQ, ti 6 or a e > 

 Gr. synchrone, Fr. ) Occurring at the 

 same period of time ; simultaneous ; of 

 the same age. 



SY'NCLINAL LINES. " A term," says Mr. 

 Lyell, "first used, I believe, by Prof.Sedg- 

 wick : lines which form ridges and 

 troughs running nearly parallel to each 

 other." 



SYNGENE'SIA.' (from GVV, with, and ylvf- 

 <TIQ, generation, Gr.) In botany, the 

 nineteenth class of plants in Linnseus's 

 artificial system. This class contains 

 plants with syngenesious anthers : the 

 orders of this large class, five in number, 

 are founded on the circumstance of the 

 florets of the capitule being hermaphro- 

 dite and unisexual, variously combined in 

 the disk and ray. The anthers are united 

 into a tube, and the flowers are com- 

 pound. The following are the five orders 

 composing the class Syngenesia ; they are 

 determined by the arrangement of their 

 flowers, and by the sex of their florets. 



1. Polygamia sequalis, where each floret 

 is perfect, being furnished with stamens 

 and pistils, and capable of bringing its 

 seed to maturity : the leontodon tarax- 

 acum, or dandelion, is a familiar ex- 

 ample. 2. Polygamea superflua. The 

 florets of the disk perfect, those of the 

 margin having pistils only : the anthemis 

 nobilis, or chamomile, is an example. 

 3. Polygamia frustranea. Florets of the 

 disk perfect or united, those of the margin 

 neuter, or destitute of pistils as well as of 

 stamens. 4. Polygamia necessaria. The 

 florets of the disc are male, of the ray 

 female : the garden marygold affords an 

 illustration. 5. Polygamia segregate. 

 Several florets, either simple or com- 

 pound, but with a proper calyx, included 

 within one common calyx : the globe- 

 thistle is an example. To these five 

 orders, some authors add a sixth, namely, 

 Monogamia, which has the flowers se- 

 parate, and not crowded in heads. 



SYNGENE'SIAN. > Belonging to the class 



SYNGENE'SIOUS. ) Syngenesia. 



SYNO'VIA. (from <rvv, with, like, and 

 MOV, an egg, Gr. synovie, Fr.) A glairy 

 lubricating fluid contained within the cap- 

 sular ligament of joints, serving the pur- 

 pose of preventing friction, and resem- 

 bling the white of an egg, whence its 

 name. 



SYNO'VIAL. Pertaining to synovia ; resem- 

 bling synovia ; secreting synovia. 

 K K 



