eci 



Abstract science is the knowledge of rea- 

 sons and their conclusions; natural science 

 is the knowledge of causes and their ef- 

 fects, as regards the laws of nature. Ma- 

 thematics is fnire science ; chemistry is 

 experimental science. 



SCIENO'IDES. A family of acanthoptery- 

 gious fishes, closely related to the Per- 

 coides. Type, the genus Sciepna. The 

 king-fisher of the American seas is an 

 example. 



SCIL'LA. Squill. A genus of perennial 

 plants. Herandria lHonogynia. Name 

 from ffxiXKiu, to dry, on account of its 

 property of drying up the humours of the 

 body when used medicinally. There are 

 two British species : the officinal squill ;S. 

 maritima) is a native of the South of 

 Europe. It is of great use in the materia 

 medica: its active principle is a white 

 transparent acrid alkaline substance, 

 called scillitine or scillitite. 



SCINCOI'DEA. A family of Saurians, 

 founded on the genus scincus, Daudin. 

 The Scincoideans are known by their 

 short feet, non-extensible tongue, and 

 equal scales, which cover the body and 

 tail like tiles. 



SCIN'CUS. A genus of Saurians resem- 

 bling serpents, and forming the type of 

 the family Scincoidea, Cuv. Several spe- 

 cies are found in the French Antilles, in 

 the Moluccas, and in New Holland. 



SCISTILLA'TION, Lat. scintilla, a spark. 

 In astronomy, the twinkling or tremulous 

 motion of the light of the larger fixed 

 stars. 



SCIOG'RAPHT, irxtat, a shadow, and 

 ygitfa, I describe. In painting, &c., the 

 art of casting shadows with truth and 

 mathematical accuracy. 



SCIOL'TO, It. free. In music, a term ap- 

 plied to notes that are not tied together. 



SCIOP'TIC, from irxiet, a shadow, and 

 (STTiuMi, to see. 1. Pertaining to the 

 tamera-obscura, or the art of exhibiting 

 images through a hole in a darkened 



chamber. 2. A sphere or globe with a 



lens made to turn like the eye : used in 

 experiments with the camera- obscura. 



SCI'RE FA'CIAS (Lat.). In law, a judicial 

 writ, summoning a person to show cause 

 to the court why something should not 

 be done ; as, to require sureties, to show 

 cause why the plaintiff should not have 

 execution against them for debt and da- 

 mages, or to require a third person to show 

 cause why goods in his hands by replevin, 

 should not be delivered to satisfy the exe- 

 cution, &c. 



SCIROC', \ (Ital.). In Italy, a south- 



Sciaoc'co, j east wind, very hot and 

 suffocating, blowing from the burning 

 deserts of Africa. The name is also given 

 in the north-east of Italy to a cold bleak 

 wind from the Alps. 



644 



SCL 



SCIRR'HCS, 1 from cxi^oia, to harden. 



SCIRR'HOSIS, ' These terms have been 

 applied to any very hard glandular tu- 

 mour, but they are now commonly restrict- 

 ed to the early or occult stage of cancer. 



SCIS'SEL. The clippings of various me- 

 tals produced in several mechanical ope- 

 rations. 



SCITAMIN'E.E. The name of an order of 

 plants in Linnaeus' Natural Method, con- 

 sisting of those which have an herbaceous 

 stalk, broad leaves, and the germen ob- 

 tusely angled under the irregular corolla, 

 as Amomum, Cauna, &c. Name from sci- 

 tfiminciis, dainty, cordial, aromatic, in 

 allusion to their seasoning qualities. 



SCIU'RTS. The squirrel : a genus of 

 Mammalia: order Rodenlia. Name from 

 ffzi, a shadow, and otifat, a tail. There 

 are many species, all light and active 

 creatures, living on trees, and feeding on 

 fruits. The common squirrel (S. vulyaris, 

 Buff.), is of a lively red on the back, has 

 a white belly, and ears terminated by a 

 tuft of hair. Those of the north in winter 

 become of a beautiful ash colour, pro- 

 ducing the fur called minever, when taken 

 from the back, and vair by the French, 

 when it consists of the whole skin. The 

 cat squirrel (S. cinereus, Lin.), and the 

 grey squirrel (S. carolinensis, Lin.), appear 

 to be peculiar to America. The ground, 

 squirrel (S. striatus, Lin.), is found 

 throughout all Asia and America, parti- 

 cularly in pine forests. The flying squir- 

 rels have been separated from the genus 

 Sciurus, Lin., by Cuvier. See PTEROMTS. 



SCLAVO'NIAN. Pertaining to the Sclavi, 

 a people who inhabited the country be- 

 tween the rivers Save and Drave, or to 

 their language. Hence the word came to 

 denote the language which is now spoken 

 in Poland, Russia, Hungary, Bohemia, 

 &c. 



SCLERI'ASIS, \ from fx>^<n, hard. A 



SCLERO'SIS, 'hard tumour: a scirrhus. 

 "Written also scleroma. 



SCLERODER'MI. A family of fishes of the 

 order Plectognathi, Cuv., easily recognised 

 by their pyramidal snout, prolonged from 

 the eyes and terminated by a small mouth. 

 Name from fxts/^os, hard, and Sseua, 

 skin; the skin being usually rough, and 

 invested with hard scales. The Mediter- 

 ranean file-fish (Ealistes cariscus, Lin.), is 

 an example. 



SCLER'OPHTHALMY, from trxKr.eos, hard, 

 and e0aAoo?, the eye A dry painful 

 state of the eyes and eyelids, accompanied 

 with swelling and hardness. 



SCLEROT'IC, from <r*A7<r, hard, from 

 <rzXY,*ou, to harden. Applied to a mem- 

 brane' of the eye. 



SCLEROT'IC COAT. Tunica Sclerotica. Scle- 

 rotis. A membrane of the eye, situated 



