SAL 



SAL 



thrashing machine, and winnowed 

 like corn. On the whole, there are 

 few plants the cultivation of which is 

 so advantageous as that of sainfoin 

 on the soils on whicli it thrives hcst." 



SAINT JOHN'S WORT. John's 

 wort. 



SALAL BERRY. A fruit from 

 the Columbia, of a dark colour, sweet 

 taste, and the size of a grape. 



SAL AMMONIAC. Muriate of 

 ammonia. A common salt of am- 

 monia much used in the arts. It is 

 very soluble in water, and ha.s been 

 used as a steep by .Mr. Campbell ; one 

 pound, being added to one gallon and 

 a half of water, is sufficient for one 

 bushel of seed. A small amount of 

 it exists in putrescent fluids. The 

 expense of this preparation will prob- 

 ably hinder an extensive use. 



SALEP. The farinaceous product 

 of the roots of the Orchis mascula. 



SALICIN. A neutral crystalline 

 body existing in willow bark. 



SALICYL. An hypothetical com- 

 pound radical, Cu H3 O4, existing in 

 salicylous acid, &c., bodies derived 

 from salicin. 



SALIP'EROUS. Containing salt ; 

 a name given to the new red sand- 

 stone formation. 



SALIFIABLE BASE. A sub- 

 stance which combines with acids to 

 form salts. 



SAL1V.\. The spittle : it is pre- 

 pared by the parotid and other glands, 

 and mixed with the food during mas- 

 tication : its office is important. Ac- 

 cording to Liebig, it is a means of 

 introducing oxygen into the stomach 

 to accomplish the first step in diges- 

 tion. Its loss is always injurious to 

 animals. 



SALIVATION. An excessive dis- 

 charge of saliva, slobbering ; change 

 of food, with salt, are preventives in 

 cattle. 



SALLOWS. Willows which grow 

 in marshy lands, and produce tough, 

 strong branches, are so called. 



SALLOW THORN. Hippophai 

 rhamnoides. An ornamental shrub 

 five feet in height. 



SALSIFY. IVagopogon porrifoliiis. 

 Vegetable oyster. A biennial com- 

 682 



posite plant, tlie root of which grows 

 to the size of a small carrot, is white, 

 and an excellent vegetable ; the 

 young spring shoots of the second 

 year are also eaten as asparagus. 

 Sow the seed in April or May, in 

 drills, twelve inches apart, thin to six 

 inches, and work when wanted ; the 

 roots are taken up before late frosts, 

 and kept in a moist cellar. For seeds, 

 set out some thrilty plants in spring, 

 or some may be left in the ground. 



SALSILLA. An herbaceous plant 

 of Peru, of the genus Alslramena, 

 cultivated for its edible roots. 



SALT, COMMON. Chloride of 

 sodium. It requires three times its 

 weight of water for solution, and is 

 composed of one equivalent sodium 

 (23 :j1) and one chlorine (So 47). 



It is a sub.staiice of great impor- 

 tance in agriculture : in the pure stale, 

 as a means of preserving butter and 

 , meats, or supplying cattle with a 

 i wholesome and necessary food, and, 

 in the impure state, as a manure and 

 steep for seeds. 



I As a Sleep. — A strong solution, or 

 ordinary brine, is an admirable prep- 

 arative for wheat, oats, and grains ; 

 , it destroys the seeds of smut and 

 ' other parasites, as well as the eggs 

 j of insects, and also enables us to sep- 

 arate the plump, heavy kernels from 

 I the light and motheaten. It has 

 proved a certain remedy, even when 

 the grain was known to be smutted. 

 In doses of fifteen to thirty bushels 

 to the acre, it is used in Cheshire on 

 a clean fallow to destroy insects in 

 the ground, couch grass, and other 

 noxious weeds ; the land is left un- 

 sown for three to six months after ; 

 as a manuring, in quantities of three 

 to five bushels, on wheat, oats, rye, 

 potatoes, turnips, and other crops, it 

 has often produced the best results. 

 I It is not indicated on those soils 

 which are within reach of the sea air, 

 as they receive a sufficiency. 



Plants absorb weak solutions of 

 ; salt, but are injured by a strong dose ; 

 they also possess the power of de- 

 1 composing it, and appropriating its 

 I soda. There are failures when salt 

 ' is used indiscriminately ; but all the 



