SULPHATES. 



well as iji the total amount of soluble matter, 

 the beet transcends all the other roots taken into 

 the estimate. See table, Art. FOOD, p. 499. 



SULPHATES. A class of concentrated fer- 

 tilizers, in which sulphuric acid is combined with 

 different substances, as with lime to form gyp- 

 sum ; See PLASTER of PARIS. Ammonia, to form 

 sulphate of ammonia, a new fertilizer of great 

 power, enjoying high repute in England, costing 

 about $5 per 100 Ibs., and used at the rate of 100 

 to 150 Ibs. per acre as a top-dressing or other- 

 wise. Sulphuric acid with soda, forms the well 

 known Glauber's Salts, also used as a fertilizer 

 at the rate of 100 Ibs. to 200 Ibs. per acre, and 

 costing in England about $35 per ton. Cop- 

 peras, or sulphate of iron, has been mentioned 

 as a great destroyer of disagreeable odours when 

 added to putrid animal substances. See NIGHT- 

 SOIL. 



SUNDEW. A most singular and beautiful 

 genus of plants,having leaves ornamented with red 

 glandular hairs, discharging at their ends a thick 

 acrid juice resembling dew. The hairs are irri- 

 table when touched, and contract upon insects. 



SUNFLOWER (Helianthus, from helios, sun, 

 and i/////.w, 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 i'f ilower-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- 

 f;ir inure 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 

 t^r-t'ul purposes. An acre of land will contain 

 25,000 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 t>f soaps. The marc, or refuse of the 

 seeds after the oil has been expressed, made 

 into cake, will produce 1500 Ibs., 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 for 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. Sneeze- 

 ircftl (Hi'l:,num autumnnle'}. 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, bat 

 at the same time producing particular kinds of 

 trees, bushes, and plants. A swamp differs 

 from a bog and a marsh in producing trees ' 

 and shrubs, while the latter produce only herb- 

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

 spring, the exhalations from swamps are pro- 



SWEET- GRASS. 



ducttve of agues, consequently it is impcrtam 

 to fill them up or drain them. 



SWAN (Cy gnus'). Of the noble web-footed 

 birds so called there are three British species: 

 the Hooper, or Bewick's ; the wild, and the 

 tame swan. The wild swan and Hooper ought, 

 perhaps, to be regarded as the only true native 

 species. The tam swan (C. olor) 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 are 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. 



SWEAL. To singe or burn off the hair, a- 

 in hogs. . 



SWEET-BRIER. See EGLAITTIXE. 



SWEET FLAG. See ACOHUS and AROMA- 

 TIC RKKD. 



SWEET- GRASS (Glyceria, from glukeros, 

 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 



