SWA 



SWE 



mensuration. For this purpose, the 

 contents arc divided into iriangrles, 

 the side of any of which can be meas- 

 ured on the ground, to assist or cor- 

 rect the reckoninjr. The chain con- 

 tains 100 links of 7 92 inches. A 

 square chain forms the tenth of an 

 acre ; the calculation is therefore 

 made in links, which are a decimal 

 portion of the acre ; and the resulting 

 area being reduced by three tigures, 

 gives the number of acres in a field. 



But in better examinations the the- 

 odolite is used, and the distances de- 

 termined i)y trigonometrical observa- 

 tions, and not by measurements with 

 a chain. The inclinations of hills, &c., 

 are also reduced to a plane surface. 



SUTURE. The serrated junction 

 of two bones, especially of the skull. 

 In insects, the line along which the 

 wing cases meet. Jn botany, the nat- 

 ural division or opening in a fnut. 



SWAMP. A low lake or morass 

 in wiiich trees grow. The emana- 

 tions from swamps in the spring and 

 fall are extremely injurious, and fatal 

 to men and animals. They should be 

 dramed, if possible. The mud from 

 them consists, in a great measure, of 

 vegetable matter, and when compost- 

 ed with lime or putrescent matters, 

 forms a good coarse manure for 

 amending the character of lands. 

 Twenty to forty loads are used to the 

 acre. 



SWAX. Cygnvs olor. The most 

 ^aceful and majestic of the family 

 of birds. They are much used in Eu- 

 rope to adorn rivers and small lakes, 

 are not destructive to fishes, but feed 

 c<n vegetables and grains. The fe- 

 male breeds in the summer, lays five 

 t(^ eight eggs, sits a month, and pre- 

 fers a retired islet. The cygnets are 

 driven off the next spring, and are 

 Tiot in full plumage till three years. 

 These birds are disposed to migrate 

 n the fall, and should have the feath- 

 ors of one wing clipped. They are 

 iilso very quarrelsome, and seldom 

 live in peace when more than one 

 pair are placed on a small water. The 

 black and all other kinds of swan are 

 inferior to the large white {Cygnus 

 olor), the base of w hose upper bill is , 



furnished with a black prominence.- 

 They require to be led in the winter, 

 and the ice broken for their accom- 

 modation until the weather is very 

 severe, when they should be allowed 

 to retire to a sheltered yard. 



SWARD. The green surface of a 

 meadow. 



SWARD GRASSES. A name giv- 

 en to the genus Poa, which forms the 

 best natural meadows. 



SWATH. The bands of hay or 

 grass cut in mowing. 



SWAYS. Uong bramble or other 

 flexible rods, used in thatching with 

 coarse straws or reeds. 



SWEATLNG HAY. The slight fer- 

 mentation which occurs when fresh 

 grass, clover, &c., are placed in heaps. 

 It is attended with considerable heat 

 if the quantity is great, and should, 

 therefore, he looked after. Fruits 

 and grain also undergo a sweating 

 process, if heaped soon after collec- 

 tion. It is the best method to pre- 

 pare the different kinds of hay. See 

 Hay-making. 



SWEAL. To singe the hair from 

 hogs or other slaughtered animals 

 with lighted wisps of straw. 



SWEET flag. Aconis calamus, 

 the root of which is pleasantly aro- 

 matic. 



SWEET GRASS. The genus 

 Glyccrm, for the most part water 

 grasses. The seeds of G. finitans, or 

 Marona grass, are cultivated in Ger- 

 many for gruel. The G. aquatica, or 

 water fescue, is a large, permanent 

 grass, growing in rich marshes and 

 the edges of rivers, and affording an 

 abundance of good provender. 



SWEET POTATO. Convolvulus 

 hatlatus. A convolvulus, the root of 

 which attains a large size, and con- 

 tains much sugar mixed with an 

 agreeable farina. They require a 

 rich, light soil. The potatoes are set 

 out in a warm place early in April. 

 In the Northern and Eastern States 

 a warm bed is necessary. They sprout 

 in two or three weeks, and throw out 

 a number of runners ; these are ta- 

 ken off when three inches above the 

 soil, and trans[)lanted to beds proper- 

 ly prepared in hUls four to five feet 



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