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Johnfon, an eminent native of this town, on the principle of 

 that of the antiquaries of London ; to which tranferipts ot 

 the minutes and records were regularly fent for upwards of 

 forty years, till the death of Mr. Johnfon, which happened 

 in 1755. 



In the vicinity of Spalding is Ayfcough Fee-Hall, the re- 

 lidence of Maurice Johnfon, D.D., a defcendant of Mr. 

 Johnfon above-mentioned. The manfion was built about 

 1420, but having been altered at different times, exhibits 

 fcarcely any thing of its original architefture. The prefent 

 poffeflbr has, however, endeavoured to reftore it to its ancient 

 charaAer. 



At Pinchbeck, about three miles north of Spalding, are 

 lome confiderable remains of an ancient manfion, formerly 

 called Pinchbeck-Hall, from a family of that name. Being 

 afterwards pofleffed by the Otway family, it acquired the 

 appellation of Otway-Hall. It appears to have been an ex- 

 tenfive ilrudture, and to have been built about the time of 

 Henry VIH. It was moated round, and fome of the 

 windows have pointed lights with fquare heads. The chim- 

 nies are Angularly lofty, and the gable ends have at the fides 

 and centres, fpire-fhaped ornaments, crowned with ornamental 

 balls. Beauties of England and Wales, vol. ix. Lincoln- 

 fliire, by J. Britton, F.S.A. 



SPALES, Cross-spales, in Ship-Building, are deals or 

 Tir-planks, nailed in a temporary manner to the frames of 

 file fhip, at a certain height, and by which the frames are 

 kept to their proper breadths, until fome of the deck-knees 

 are faltened. The main and top-timber-breadths are the 

 heights frequently taken for fpahng the frames, but that of 

 the gun-declc ports ib much better ; yet this may be thought 

 too high, if the (hip is long in building. 



SPALETHRA, or Spai.athra, in Ancient Geogra- 

 phy, a town of Greece, in Theflaly. Steph. Byz. Scy- 

 Jax Hates it to be a maritime town of Magnefia. 



SPALMADORI, in Geography, a fmall ifland in the 

 Grecian Archipelago, between the ifland of Scio and the 

 continent of Afia. N. lat. 38° 36'. E. long. 26° 7'. 



SPALT, a town of Bavaria, in the bifhopric of Aich- 

 ilat ; 16 miles E.S.E. of Anfpach. N. lat. 49° 7'. E. 

 long. 10° 52'. 



SPAN, a meafure taken from the fpace between the 

 tluimb's end and the tip of tiie little finger, when both are 

 flretchcd out. 



The fpan is eftimated at three hands' breadths, or nine 

 inches. 



Span, in Rigging, a fliort rope, having a block, thimble, 

 or eye, fpliced into each end : the middle is hitched round 

 a mad, yard, gaff, cap, or flay, from whence the ends 

 branch out. Spans are fometimcs fallcned at both ends, and 

 a block, &c. in the bight. They arc ufed to lead ropes 

 through, which pafs through blocks or thimbles, to incrcafe 

 power, or to prevent their fwinging about. Spanning of 

 booms, is confining them by fcveral turns of rope. Span- 

 ning of runners, is taking feveral turns with fmall rope round 

 both runners, abaft the mail, and frapping the turns. 



SfAN-Shaci/e, a bolt having a large ring in the head 

 of it. 



SPANANTHE, in Botany, a genus of umbelliferous 

 plants, received by Jacquin from die Caraccas, and fo 

 Banned by him, from o-Tavof, rare, and a»0o:, ajlower, becaufc 

 •f the fcarcity of this tribe in tropical countries. — Jacq. 

 Coll. V. 5. 248. Sprengfl Umbellif. Prodr. 34. — Clafs and 

 crder, Pentandria Digynia. Nat. Ord. UmlelUfert. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Umbel fimple, of feveral rays ; involu- 

 crum of fcveral lanceolate leaves ; perianth of five ovate, 

 acute, permanent leaves. Car. Untverfal uniform ; all the 



Vol. XXXIII. 



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flowers perfe£l and fertile ; partial of five lanceolate, in. 

 flexed petals, channelled at the back. Stam. Filaments five, 

 awl-fhaped, ereft, about as long as the petals ; anthers 

 roundifh, of two lobes. Pijl. Germen inferior, ovate, ra- 

 ther comprefled, with two lateral furrows, prominent, blunt 

 and divided at the fummit ; ilyles two, awl-fhaped, divari- 

 cated, fhorter than the ftamens ; lligmas fimple. Peric, 

 none ; fruit ovate, folid, tranfverfely divifible into two 

 parts. Seeds two, five-ribbed, contracted at their conjunc- 

 tion, convex at their fides. 



Eff. Ch. Umbel fimple. Involucrum of many leaves. 

 Perianth of five permanent leaves. Petals undivided. Fruit 

 oblong-ovate, folid. Seeds five-ribbed ; contrafted at their 

 conjunftion ; convex at the fides. 



I. S. paniculata. Panicled Spananthe. Jacq. Coll. v. 3, 

 247. Ic. Rar. t. 350. (Hydrocotyle Spananthe; Willd 

 Sp. PI. v. I. 1363, Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 2. 118.) — Native 

 of the Caraccas, according to Jacquin. It was alfo found 

 in moift places near Lima, by Dombey, one of whofe fpe- 

 cimens, under the name of Phellandrium ciliatum, was given 

 to the younger Linnaeus. We received a living one from the 

 flove at Kew, in Oftober 1790, an earlier period by five 

 years, than- is marked for the introduftion of this curious 

 plant by Mr. Aiton. The root is biennial, confifting of 

 many fibres. Stem from one to tiiree feet high, eredt, 

 branched, leafy, round, ftriated, fmooth, hollow ; fome- 

 times partly zigzag. Leaves alternate, on long Ifalks, fim- 

 ple, triangular, or fomewhat heart-fliaped, from one to three 

 inches broad, pointed, copioufly ferrated ; entire at the 

 bafe ; reticulated with numerous veins, which, on the upper 

 fide efpecially, bear a greater or lefs number of brillly 

 hairs ; the under fide is paler and nearly fmooth. The in- 

 fertion of the footflalk is marked with a tuft of briftly hairs. 

 Stipulas oblong, membranous, fringed, united to the bafe of 

 the footftalk. Umbels fimple, fmall, on long fl;alks, va- 

 rioufly coUefted into branched panicles, or fometimes irre- 

 gular compound umbels, accompanied by ovate, or lanceo- 

 late, ferrated bra&eas. Petals white, inflexed, and partly 

 heart-lhaped ; by no means fo flat and fpieading as in Jac- 

 quin's figure, from whence his defcription feems to be taken. 

 We have not feen the ripe fruit, and have therefore been 

 obliged to form our defcription thereof from Jacquin and 

 Sprengel. The latter, in the Prodromus of his new arrange- 

 ment of the Umbelliferx, of which we hope to fpeak here- 

 after, in its proper place, has widely feparatcd this plant 

 hovR Hydrocotyle ; and we have already, fee Hyukocgtvi.k, 

 n. 13, hinted a doubt on this fubjcdt, which was fuggellcd 

 by the very different habit of Spananthe. But furely the 

 learned author lalt named has widely erred, in clafling Hy- 

 drocotyle among the genera with comprefled flat fruit, like 

 Tordylium, Herackum, &c. Its fruit indeed is comprefled, 

 but tranfverfely, not laterally, fo as not to differ in tliat re- 

 fpedt from the prefent genus ; which, however, appears to 

 us fufficiently marked by its large and permanent perian- 

 thium, to fay nothing of the more oblong, and not femi-ur- 

 bicular, fliape of its feeds. If we were furninicd witfi thefe 

 in a perfeft ilate, we fhould probably find othiT dillinftive 

 charatters. 



SPANCEL, in Rural Economy, a term fignifying a 

 rope to tie a cow's hinder legs while milking, &c. 



SPANDAU, in Biography, a very pleafing and extraor- 

 dinary performer on the Frencii horn, in the fervice of the 

 lladtholder at the Hague in 1772, who in 1773 came t<i 

 England, where he was lieard with the greattll pleafurc. 

 He contrived 'n his performance fo to correft I lie natural 

 imperfedtions of the horn, as to make it a chamber inflru- 

 ment. He played in all keys, with an equality of tone, and 

 3 L »» 



