S 1 L 



S I L 



»nd lucrative, on account of the excellent quality of their 

 wool. The wild beads of this country, whofe fl<ins are 

 ▼aluable, are lynxes, foxcG, weafcls, otters, and beavers. 

 The Oder furnifhes falmoii and Iturgeon, (Ivate, lampreys, 

 &c. The other rivers, as well as the lakes and ponds, 

 abound in various kinds of fi(h, fuch as pike, carp, trout, 

 mullets, &c. Bees are bred for a lupply of wax and honey, 

 but their commodities are not in fufficient quantity to fuper- 

 lede the neceffity of importation from Poland. Silk is in 

 a ftate of increafing cultivation. The principal manufac- 

 tures of Silefia are thofe of thread, twine, linen, flax, and 

 damallv. The chief exports are madder, mill-Hones, thread, 

 yarn, linen, wool, and woollen cloth, together with ituffs and 

 paper. Under the dominion of the king of Pruflia the com- 

 merce of Silelia has been confiderably improved. 



The prevalent religion in Silefia, as well as in Pruflia, is 

 the Proteftant ; and the bifhoprics here, as well as in Poland, 

 retain their ancient limits, while the power of the prelates is 

 much abridged. 



The manners and cuRoms of the inhabitants of this pro- 

 vince refemble thofe of their neighbmirs the Bohemians ; 

 but thofe of both thefe races have been fo much melted 

 down into that of the Germans, that the peculiar features 

 are minute and unimportant. Silefia lias fome pretenfions to 

 literary fame. The capital of Silefia is Breflau ; befidcs 

 which there are only three towns which contain more than 

 600 inhabitants, viz. Glogau, Hirfchberg, and Schweidnitz. 

 For other particulars, fee Prussia. 



Silefia affords few materials for hiftory. Its ancient in- 

 habitants were the Lygii and Quadi ; but about the middle of 

 the fixth century, the Slavi having overrun the country of the 

 latter, a part of it was annexed to Poland, and called " ZIc- 

 zia." Under the Polifh fovereigns, Silefia received the Po- 

 lifh language, manners, and ufages, with the Chriftian reli- 

 gion. After having been a Slavonic province of the Polifh 

 dominion, it was feized, in the 14th century, by John of 

 Luxemburg, king of Bohemia (February, 1339), and pafTed 

 with that fovereignty to the houfe of Auftria. On the 

 death of the emperor Charles VI. in 1740, Frederick II. 

 king of Priiflla, laid claim to the principalities of Lignitz, 

 Brieg, and Wohlau ; and his claims were fo effeftually fup- 

 ported by the march of an army into Silefia, that Maria 

 Therefa, daughter and heirefs of the emperor Charles VI. 

 and queen of Hungary and Bohemia, by a preliminary treaty 

 at Breflau, which was foon followed by a ratification of the 

 fame at the peace of Berlin, did, on behalf of herfelf, her 

 heirs and fucceflbrs, of both fexcs, for ever cede to the king 

 of PrufTia, and his heirs and fucceflbrs, of both fexes, with 

 entire fovereignty and independency of the crown of Bo- 

 hemia, the countries of Upper and Lower Silefia, together 

 with the diftria of Katfcher, formerly belonging to Mo- 

 ravia, as alfo the county of Glatz ; rcferving, however, to 

 herfelf the principality of Tefchcn, with the lordlhips an- 

 nexed thereto, the part of the principalities of Troppau and 

 Jagerndorf, beyond the Oppa, the part of tiic principality 

 of Neifl'e bordering on Moravia, and a fmall diltrift belong- 

 ing to Moravia, with fome frontier towns. Silefia was never 

 immediately connefted with the empire, having at no time 

 been an imperial fief, nor obtained a feat or vote in the diet. 

 Neither has it been ever fubjeft to the fupreme tribunals of 

 the empire, fo that here the imperial laws are of no force. 

 This event happened in 1742. The king of Prullia having 

 obtained the greater part of this country with entire fove- 

 reignty, and abfolutely independent of the crown of Bohe- 

 mia, governs it accordingly, as a flate abfolutely free and 

 diverted of the leaft conneftion with the empire : but in tiie 

 year 1751, the empire becoming a guarantee to liiiPrulfian 



majefty for the fecure pofTefTion of the duchy of Silefia, a pro- 

 vilo was made for its rights confequential to fuch an engage- 

 ment. Ever fincc the clofe of the twelfth century, Silefia ha» 

 been divided into the Upper and Lower, and this divifion if 

 flill in ufe. Lower Silefia contains thirteen principalities, 

 the names of which are as follow ; vik. Breflau, Brieg, 

 Glogau, .lauer. Lignitz, Munllerbcrg, Glatz, Neifle, Oels, 

 Sagan, Schweidnitz, Wohlau, Trachenberg, and Carolath ; 

 the free flandefheirfchafts or lordfliips of Wartenberg, Mi- 

 htfch, and Gofchutz ; and many minderlierrfchaften or in- 

 ferior loidfiiips. To Upper Silefia belong the fix princi- 

 palities of Telchen, Troppau, Jagerndorf, Oppeln, Ratibor, 

 and Bilitz, the free ftandeflicrrfchalts of Plefz and Beuthen, 

 and certain niinderhcrrfchafts. At preient under two fove- 

 reigns, the capital divifious mult ntceflarily be into that of 

 PrulFian and Bohemian. Breflau is the capital of Pruflian 

 Silefia. The regency of Bohemian Silefia is erefted at 

 Troppau. The whole country is faid to contain 180 citiei 

 and towns, 4000 villages, and 1,890,000 inhabitants. For 

 other accounts of the population, fee Prussia. 

 SILESIACA Terha. See Terra. 

 SILEX, Kiefekrde, Germ., in Mineralogy, a fpecies of 

 earth which is generally found in a ilony ftate, and from 

 its forming nearly the whole compofition of flint, it has ac- 

 quired the name of filex, or filiceous earth. It is found in 

 equal or perhaps greater purity in rock-cryftal and quartz, 

 and in wiiite fand ; and it is probably an earth that mofl 

 abounds on the globe. Moil of the ttony combinations of 

 filex are remarkable for their hardnefs, and will very readily 

 ffrike fire with ileel. Silex, when pure, is white, and per- 

 fedly void of talle and fmell ; it is infoluble in water, and 

 incapable of artificial cryllallization. For its other proper- 

 ties, fee Flint and Silica. 



SILHET, in Geography, a circar of Hindoollan, in the 

 N.E. part of Bengal, bounded on the N. by Bootan, and o« 

 the E. by Mecklcy, and elfewhere by a part of Bengal.— 

 Alfo, a town of Hindooftan, and capital of a circar, to which 

 it gives name ; 106 miles N.E. of Dacca. N. lat. 24° 52'. 

 E. long. 91° 57'. 



SILI, in Botany, a name given by the old Greeks to a 

 plant called aUo/rJili. 



SILJAN, in Geography, a town of Sweden, in Dale- 

 carlia, on a lake to which it gives name } 25 miles N.W. of 

 Fahlun. 



SILICA, in jincient Geography, a town of Africa, in In- 

 terior Libya, near tlie river Bagradus. Ptolemy. 



Silica, in Mineralogy and Chemijlry. In the former 

 it is an earthy fubilance, exilling abundantly iu the com- 

 pofition of the globe, and forms a diflinft genus of miueralt 

 in fuch as it predominates. In chemillry it was formerly 

 confidered as a fimple body, under tlie clafs of earths. In 

 the prefent flate of^chemitlry it is regarded as a metal com- 

 bined with oxygen, and belongs to one of the mofl eiteufive 

 clafs of compoufids in chemillry. 



The minerals in which it is principally found are rock- 

 cryflal, quartz, agates, and flintn. The firft of thefe almoft 

 wholly confifls of fihca. In order, however, to obtain it in 

 pcrfett purity, let the rock-cryllal, or quartz, be heated red- 

 hot, and then plunged into cold water. This has the efTeft 

 of leflening its aggregation. To facilitate \\.f. reduclion into 

 powder, let one part of this powder be fufed in a lilver cru- 

 cible, with three parts of pure potalh. The fufed mafi 

 will be found foliible in pure water. To the clear folutiou 

 add any acid fufTicient to faturate the alkali, but not more. 

 A gelatinous precipitate will be found, which, when well 

 walhcd, dried, aud healed to ignition, in a filver crucible, will 



be pure filica. 



It 



