SKI. 



SLO 



SILURIAN ROCKS or SYSTEM. 

 The uppir portion of the transition 

 rocks found below the old red sand- 

 stone. 



SILVER. A well-known metal: 

 it is soluble in nitric acid, the salt 

 (tikratc of silver) being used as a caus- 

 tic in farriery, and in the laboratory 

 as a test for chlorine, with which it 

 produces a white, curdy compound 

 [c/iluride of silver) that is soluble in 

 ammonia, and blackens by exposure 

 to lifiht. Equivalent 108 3, svmb. Ag. 



SILVER GRAIN, IN WOODS 

 The bright markings ; the medullary 

 rays. 



SILVER-WEED. Potcntilla an- 

 serina. A perennial running weed 

 with yellow flowers, and five-parted, 

 silvery leaves, growing on poor soils. 



SINAPISM. A mustard poultice 

 or other preparation. 



SINCIPUT. The forehead. 



SINUS. A cavity : the veins of 

 the brain are so called. 



SINUOUS. Full of cavities, tor- 

 tuous. 



SIT-FAST. "In farriery, an ul- 

 cerated sore in which a part of the 

 skin has turned horny ; if it cannot 

 be dissolved and softened by rubbing 

 with mercurial ointment, it must have 

 a mild blister applied, which will 

 cause it to separate. It generally 

 proceeds from a warble or little tu- 

 mour resulting from the pressure of 

 the saddle." 



SIZE. A thin glue made from 

 skins. 



SKEGS. The Avena stipiformis. 

 A kind of oat cultivated in Notting- 

 hamshire, England. 



SKELETON. The bony frame on 

 which the muscles and soft parts are 

 placed. 



SKID. A drag chain. 



SKIM COULTER. See Plough. 



SKIN. The external coat of ani- 

 mals. It consists of a scarfskin, or 

 epidermis, a rc/c mucosum, which is 

 thin and coloured, and the a/tis vera, 

 which forms the substance, and from 

 which hairs, &,c., proceed. 



SKIRTING. In building, the nar- 

 row, horizontal board running along 

 the walls of a room at the floor. 

 Y24 



SKIRRET. Sium sisariim. Cher- 

 vis. "This plant is first cultivated 

 by seed, and afterward by offsets 

 taken from the old roots, and planted 

 very early in the spring, before they 

 begin to shoot ; but it is best to raise 

 a small bed from seed every year, as 

 the roots grow longer than those 

 raised from slips, and are less liable 

 to be sticky. The seed may be sown 

 in drills the latter part of March, or 

 early in April, and managed the same 

 as salsify, parsnip, &c. In autumn, 

 when the leaves begin to decay, the 

 roots are fit to use, and continue so 

 till they begin to shoot in the spring. 



" Skirrets should be planted in a 

 light, moist soil, for in dry land the 

 roots are generally small, unless the 

 season proves wet. 



" The root of the skirret is compo- 

 sed of several fleshy tubers as large 

 as a man's finger, and joined together 

 at the top. They are eaten boiled, 

 and stewed with butter, pepper, and 

 salt, or rolled in flour and fried, or 

 else cold, with oil and vinegar, being 

 first boiled. They have much of the 

 taste and flavour of a parsnip, and 

 are by some considered a great deal 

 more palatable." — {Bridgcman). 



SKUNK CABBAGE. Symplocar- 

 pusfatida. Marsh cabbage. A large- 

 leaved plant of the family Aroulcz, 

 growing in wet places at the north ; 

 it has a vile odour, and is reputed an- 

 tispasmodic. 



SL.\TE. Any rock which has a 

 close texture and is readily split into 

 slabs. The term is more particularly 

 applied to the fine aluminous slates 

 used in roofing and for writing upon. 



SLEEPER. Timbers on which 

 are laid the ground joists of a build- 

 ing or railway. 



SLEET. A cold rain mixed with 

 snow. 



SLIPS. Twigs or small branches 

 torn from a tree or bush for the pur- 

 pose of propagation. Spring or au- 

 tumn is the time to do this. Thej'' 

 should he set in a rich spot and kept 

 moist. Flower slips are commonly set 

 in pots in the green-house : charcoal 

 forms a good soil to strike them in. 



SLOE. In Europe, this naaic is 



