SUNDEW. 



SWEET- GRASS. 



\r<?ll as in the total amount of soluble matter, 

 the beet transcends all the other roots taken into 

 the estimate. The proportion of nutritious 

 matter in carrots and parsnips is also very con- 

 siderable. See table, Art. Foon, p. 499. 



SUNDEW (Drostra, from droftros, dewy). 

 This is a most singular and beautiful genus of" 

 plants, whose leaves are ornamented with red 

 glandular hairs, discharging from their ends a 

 drop of viscid, acrid juice, which, from its 

 semblance to dew, has given rise to the com- 

 mon and generic name. These hairs are so 

 irritable as to contract when touched, imprison- 

 ing insects, after the manner of Dumcea niusci- 

 pula. In their native state they are found 

 growing on mossy, turfy bogs. They are all 

 increased by seeds, which should be allowed to 

 sow themselves. In England there are three 

 indigenous species, all perennials. The leaves 

 are either undivided or lobed, entire. Flowers 

 terminal, racemose, rarely solitary. Petals red 

 or white. Several species are found in the 

 United States. 



SUNFLOWER (Htlianthu*, from heliog, sun, 

 and anthos, a flower; on account of the bril- 

 liant colour of the flowers, and from the erro- 

 neous idea that the flowers always turned 

 towards the sun). A highly ornamental and 

 extensive genus of plants; and from their tall 

 growth they are particularly adapted to the 

 back of flower-borders or the front of shrub- 

 beries, in which situations they make a splen- 

 did appearance in autumn : they grow well in 

 any common garden soil, the tender kinds 

 being protected in winter. It appears to pos- 

 sess far more profitable qualities than were 

 hitherto supposed, and, besides forming a beau- 

 tiful object in a bed of flowers, it may be culti- 

 vated with advantage, and applied to many 

 useful purposes. An acre of land will contain 

 125,000 sunflower plants, 12 inches distant from 

 each other. The produce will be according to 

 the nature of the soil and mode of cultivation; 

 but the average has been found to be 50 bush- 

 els of the seed per acre, which will yield 50 

 gallons of oil. The oil is excellent for table 

 use, burning in lamps, and for the manufac- 

 ture of soaps. The marc, or refuse of the 

 seeds after the oil has been expressed, made 

 into cake, will produce 1500 IDS., and the stalks, 

 when burnt for alkali, will give 10 per cent, of 

 potassa. The green leaves of the sunflower, 

 when dried and burnt to powder, make excel- 

 lent fodder fur milch cows, mixed with bran. 

 From the ease with which sunflowers are pro- 

 duced in gardens (for they seem to flourish in 

 any soil, and to require no particular care), 

 we may safely say that an acre of land will 

 yield a considerable return. Poultry are very 

 fond of the seeds. 



SUNFLOWER, WILD or FALSE. Snceze- 

 wed (Heleimim auumnale). A plant with a 

 biennial root found in the United States. 



SWAMP. Ground habitually so moist and 

 soft as not to admit of being trod by cattle, but 

 at the same time producing particular kinds of 

 trees, bushes, and plants. A swamp differs 

 fr:>m a bog and a marsh in producing trees 

 and shrubs, while the latter produce only herb- 

 age, plan's, and mosses. In autumn and 

 th" exhalations from swamps are pro- 



ductive of agues, consequently it is important 

 to fill them up or drain them. 



SWAN (C'ygwtw). Of the noble \veb-footed 

 birds so called there are three British species: 

 the Hooper, or Bewick's; the \vild, and the 

 tame swan. The wild swan and Hooper ought, 

 perhaps, to be regarded as the only true native 

 species. The tarn*? swan (C. olcr) is superior 

 in bulk to either of the wild species, and is at 

 once distinguished by a large, black, callous 

 knob on the base of the bill. Our remarks in 

 this place will be exclusively directed to the 

 domesticated swan. These graceful birds are 

 rarely dressed for the table ; they are consi- 

 dered too ornamental to destroy. They are not 

 destructive to fish, and they keep the water free 

 from weeds. Mr. Main, who long studied their 

 habits, in his work on Domestic Poultry, says 

 the tame swan is herbivorous and granivorous; 

 that is, they feed upon weeds and grain. They 

 love also bread, vegetables, &c., which they 

 eat greedily from the hand. 



The swan lays from 5 to 8 eggs in the sum- 

 mer, and breeds only once in the year. They 

 love an islet to breed their young upon, for the 

 sake of its quiet; and a little straw deposited 

 there is all they require for making their nest. 

 The swan sits a month, but if the weather is 

 bad, they arc known to remain longer before 

 they hatch. The cygnets, or young swans, re- 

 main a year with their parents ; but when the 

 breeding season approaches, the old cob or 

 male bird drives them away. This is the pe- 

 riod to sell ; and if the birds have paired, they 

 fetch a higher price in the market. Swans are 

 not in full plumage till the third year. These 

 birds often take flight at the fall of the year, 

 therefore the old birds should have the first 

 joint of one wing removed, which would pre- 

 vent their roving. Two pair of swans will 

 seldom agree together upon the same piece of 

 water. The cob, or male swan, is larger than 

 the female, and bolder. They require feeding 

 in very severe winters, and the ice should be 

 broken for them to swim about. At other times 

 they feed on weeds growing in the water, or 

 herbage on the banks of it. Swans and cyg- 

 nets are caught most easily with a swan-hook, 

 which is a long pole of 10 or 12 feet, with a 

 blunt hook 10 inches in length, bent at right 

 angles to the pole ; the angle should be turned 

 like a ring, and open in the inner side, to let in 

 the neck of the bird. The swan, has a pecu- 

 liar kind of snort, but no voice. They hiss 

 when angry. 



SWARD. Green turf; that is, the surface 

 of land under pasture grasses. A fine sward 

 may be called the characteristic feature of 

 British landscape, not being found in the same 

 degree of perfection in any other country, not 

 even in Ireland. 



8WEAL. To singe or burn off the hair, as 

 in hogs. 



SWEET-BRIER. See ELAXTIXE. 



SWEET FLAG. Sec Aconus and ABOXA- 

 TIC RKKD. 



SWEET- GRASS (Giyccria, from gliikeros, 

 sweet, alluding to the herbage; whence also 

 the common name). A genus of grasses of 

 which some of the species are aquatics. Dr. 

 Smith emumerates 6 species indigenous to 

 4 R 1021 



