SYC 



SYN 



apart each way. The old tubers con- 

 tinue to throw out runntrs during 

 April and May. Soinptinics they art; 

 set out in liilis. and not in a bed, and 

 allowed to grow with little interrup- 

 tion : in this way the potatoes are 

 sooner fit for use. The hills must be 

 carpfully weeded and worked. They 

 may be taken when large enough for 

 use, but the winter crop should not 

 be removed untd the vines are dead. 

 To keep them during winter, they 

 should be dried in the sun till the 

 moisture is driven ofT, sweated in 

 heaps, and when dry, packed in dry 

 sand in a cellar not subject to wet or 

 frost. There are many varieties of 

 sweet potato, but they are not classi- 

 fied. The kind cultivated in Florida 

 is very large, and altogether superior 

 to those which are known to us. The 

 Nansemond potatoes are also large, 

 and in high repute. The yams are of 

 a difTerent genus ; the varieties are 

 derived from the Dioscorca sa/tva and 

 alala ; the roots are often palmated, 

 and often weigh thirty pounds. 



SVVEET-SCExNTED SHRUB. Ca- 

 lycanthus Floridus. Allspice, a pleas- 

 ant, Iragrant shrub with dark flowers. 



SWLNE. See Hog. 



SWINESTONE. A bituminous 

 limestone, which becomes foetid when 

 rui)bed. 



SWING PLOUGH. The plough 

 without a fore wheel under the beam. 

 It is dilhcult for a novice to manage, 

 from the point sometimes running 

 unequally, and sinking or rising sud- 

 denly, and in very rolling land is in- 

 ferior to the wheel ploughs ; but in 

 the hands of an experienced plough- 

 man is often preferred. 



SWINGING-TREE, SWINGLE- 

 TREE, WHIPPLE-TREE. The bar 

 of wood or iron to which the traces 

 of each horse are fastened, and which 

 are hitched on to the cart, plough, or 

 other implement to be drawn. 



SWITCHING HEDGES. Cutting 

 off the year's shoots. This is done 

 with a sharp hooked blade called a 

 sir itching-hook, or with large hedge 

 shears. 



SYCAMORE. The buttonwood. 



SYCON, SYCONUS. A fi uit con. 

 772 



sisting of a fleshy disk or hollow re- 

 ceptacle, as in the fig. 



SYK.NTTE. A granite with black 

 spots of hornblend. Haddam or Bos- 

 ton granite. 



SYMBOL. In chemistry, the abbre- 

 viation u.sed to distinguish an ele- 

 ment or chemical body. It usually 

 consists of the initial letter, some- 

 times of the first and second. 



SYMPATHY. A veterinary and 

 medical term used to express the ex- 

 istence of certain symptoms in a dis- 

 ease which are remote from the part 

 injured. 



SYMPATHETIC NERVE. A 

 grand connexion of nerves from one 

 end of the body to the other, furnish- 

 ed with nervous centres or ganglia, 

 by which some physiologists suppose 

 a uniformity in the operations of the 

 different viscera is maintained. It is 

 also called the trisplanchnic nerve. 



SY.MPIESO.METER. A kind of 

 barometer. 



SYN (from aw, together). A com- 

 mon prefix in descriptive words, 

 meaning united. 



SYNAPTASE. The white matter 

 of almonds freed from oil, albumen, 

 and other matters. It is probably the 

 same as emulsin. 



SYNCARPOUS FRUITS (from 

 aw, and Kapno^, a fruit). Such as eon- 

 tain several carpels united, as the ap- 

 ple, pear, &c. 



SYNCHONDROSIS (from avv, and 

 Xov6f)vr, a cartilage). Tlie junction of 

 bones by a cartilage. 



SYNCOPE. Fainting ; whenever 

 the circulation and respiration be- 

 come very feeble for a time. 



SYNGENESIA (from aw, and ye- 

 vEOLg, reproduction). The composite 

 family of plants. A class of Linnaeus, 

 in which the anthers are united into 

 a tube, the filaments being usually 

 separate and distinct. 



SYNOCHA. Continued inflamma- 

 tory fevers. 



SYNOVIA. The albuminous or 

 serous fluid secreted in the joints, to 

 diminish the friction of the extremi- 

 ties of the bones ; it is poured out 

 from little pouches, called synovial 

 bags. 



