SPA 



SPA 



tnon flovver-ftalk fimple. Stigma ovate, very Ihort. Head 

 of male flowers nearly folitary. — Native of rivers, pools, 

 and lakes, in Europe and North America, chiefly on a 

 muddy or clay foil, flowering in July. The roat is long, 

 perennial, creeping widely. Herb floating, with long flat 

 leaves, half the fize of the lail ; the upper ones flieathing. 

 Clujler of few heads oi Jlo'wers, of which the lop one only, 

 with fometimes a portion of the next, is male ; the lower- 

 moll is fl:alked. The fliort, broad, ovate, always folitary, 

 Jligma beft diftinguidies this from S. fimpLx. Willdenow 

 perfilts in citing the Fl. Lapp, for this, though he refers to 

 it properly under the preceding, except that in both cafes 

 he omits the afterifk. 



4. S. anguJlifoUum. Narrow-leaved Bur-reed. Br. n. I. 

 (S. angultifolium ; Michaux Boreal-Amer. v. 2. 189? 

 S. natans p ; Purfh n. 3 ?) — " Leaves flat, lax, longer than 

 the ftem. Heads of male flowers numerous. Stigma oval. 

 Drupa obovate, even; depreffed at the fummit." — Found 

 by Mr. Brown near Port Jackfon, New South Wales. If 

 the fynonyms be right, it is alfo a native of rivulets in 

 Canada. 



SPARGANOPHORUS, from crr«fy=c»«, a filet, and 

 (fifii, to hear, becaufe the feed is crowned with a mem- 

 branous band, or border. — Vaill. Aft. Parif. ann. 17 19. 

 Ga:rtn. v. 2. 395. t. 165. Michaux Boreal-Amer. v. 2. 

 95. Purfh v. 2. 518. — We have already fpoken of the 

 plant of Vaillaiit and Gasrtner under Ethulia, (fee that 

 article,) of which, in our opinion, it conftitutes a genuine 

 fpecies. Perhaps that of Michaux and Purfli may belong 

 to the fame genus, but we dare not, without examination, 

 aflert this. The word Sparganophorus, though not exaftly 

 compounded of Sparganium, may be thought rather too near 

 to that name, and we, on many accounts, prefer Ethulia. 



SPARGANOSIS, from Trafyai, to fivell, in Surgery, 

 an abfcefs of the brealt ; a milk-abfcefs. 



SPARGUS, in Ichthyology, a name given by Gaza to 

 the common fparus, \vhich he calls 3U0 futa. 



Artedi calls it the plain yellow fparus, with an annular 

 fpot near the tail. See SpARUs. 



SPARHAWK Point, in Geography, a cape on the 

 north coaft of the mouth of the river Pilcataqua. 



SPARKS'.s Island, a fmall ifland in the bay of Hon- 

 duras, at the mouth of the river Roman. N. lat. 15° 54'. 

 W. long. 86'= 9'. 



SPARLING, ui Ichthyology. See Smelt. 

 Si'AitLiNG-FoW, in Ornithology, a name given in fome 

 places, by the country people, to the female merganfcr, 

 called more uiually the eluudiver. 



SPARNECK, in Geography, a town of Germany, in 

 the principality of Culmbach ; 3 miles S.S.E. of Munch- 

 berg. 



SPARRE, Eltic, ill Biogmphy, chancellor of Sweden, 

 was born in 1550; but from this time we have no account 

 of him till 1578, when he was appointed fuprcme judge of 

 Wcllmanland and Dalecarlia ; and in 1582 he became a 

 fenator, governor of thcfe provinces, and vice-chancellor of 

 the kingdom. In 1 583 he was knighted by king James VI. 

 of Scotland ; and in 1587 he went as envoy to Poland, re- 

 fpefting the elevation of Sigifmund to tiic Polirti throne. 

 Within about two years from this time he fell in difgrace, 

 was deprived of his employments, and thrown into prifon. 

 He was likewife accufed of high crimes againit the fove- 

 reign, John III. On this occafion his letter of knighthood 

 was taken from him by the king, and torn to pieces before 

 his face. He was, however, pardoned, on the interceflion 

 of king Sigifmund ; but was again arraigned, in 1592, be- 

 fore a court at which the king himfelf prefidcd, on a cliai'jjQ 



of having promifed the ceflion of Elthonia, in direft con- 

 tradiftion to the inftruftions which he had received, whea 

 envoy of Poland. He defended himfelf with great boldnefs 

 againft all his accufers ; which fo incenfed the fovcreign, 

 that he drew his fword, exclaiming, that it was given him 

 by God to punifh traitors and breakers of their oath. 

 Duke Charles brought forth other accufations againft him; 

 but the court broke up, after coming to this conclufion, 

 tiiat Sparrc, and the other fenators who had been accufed 

 with him, were neither condemned nor acquitted. Sparre 

 fell again under the duke's difpleafure, on account of a 

 celebrated book which he wrote, entitled " Pro Lege, 

 Rege, et Grege ;" which fcemed to be direfted againft the 

 authority exercifcd by that prince. Having, however, 

 taken an oath of fidelity to the duke, and made a folcmn 

 promife of obedience in writing, he was reflored to hij em- 

 ployments ; and, as chancellor of the kingdom, fubfcribed, 

 in 1593, the reconciliation between him and Sigifmund. 

 Notwithftanding this, he was afterwards delivered up to the 

 duke, and fullered under the hands of the executioner, 

 during the bloody fcenes that took place at Linkoeping, in 

 1600 ; but he maintained his innocence to the laft, and read 

 a protefl againft thofe who had doomed him to punifhmcnt. 

 He was author of many books, befides the one already re- 

 ferred to, " Pro Lege," &c. among which are the fol- 

 lowing : " Account of the Coronation of king Si^jifmund 

 at Upfal, February 19, 1594;" " Sententia Ordinum 

 Rcgni Succix in quofdam de CoUcgio Senatorum," &c. ; 

 " Adverfus Infimulationes et Proteftationes a Regis Sigif- 

 mundi legato Polono, Oratione prolata, Defenfio." Gen. 

 Biog. 



SPARRING, among Cock-fghters, is the fighting a 

 cock with another to breathe him. In fparring, they put 

 hotts on their fpurs, that they may not hurt one anotlier. 



To /par the cock, imports in general to breathe him, in 

 order to embolden him to fight. See HoTTS. 



SPARRMANNIA, in Botany, fo named by the 

 younger Linnxus, in honour of his diflinguiflied country- 

 man, Andrew Sparrmann, or rather Sparrman, the friend 

 and pupil of his father, and the companion of the voyage 

 of the Forflers, round the world. This gentleman is well 

 known in England by the account of his travels in fouthcra 

 Africa, which difplay great candour and love of truth, as 

 well as the true fpirit of Linnian philofophy and accuracy. 

 He is, we believe, flill living in Sweden. — Linn. Suppl. 41. 

 Schreb. 355. Willd. Sp. PI. v. 2. 1160. Tliunb. Nov. 

 Gen. 88. Mart. Mill. Dift. v. 4. Ait. Hort. Kew. 

 V. 3. 298. Juff. 290. Lamarck lUultr. t. 468 — Clals 

 and order, Polyandria Momgynia. Nat. Ord. Columr.ifere, 

 Linn. Tiliacex, Jufl. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of four lanceolate, 

 undivided, fpreading, nearly equal, deciduous lenvcs. Cor. 

 Petals four, equal, wcdgc-fhapcd, flat, undivided, twice 

 the length of the calyx. Neftary ? of feveral thread-ihaped, 

 tumid, corrugated, or toothed, bodies, more properly to 

 be efteemed imperfeft filaments, or flamens, partly changed 

 to petals. Stam. Filaments numerous, thread-lliaped, in- 

 ferted into the receptacle, about half the length of the pe- 

 tals ; anthers ov.ite, incumbent. Pijl. Germen fuperior, 

 roundifli, hilpid, with five angles; ilyle thread-fliaped, 

 longer tlian the flamens; fligma in many minute legmciKs. 

 Peric. Capl'ule five-fided, with five cells ; its angles armed 

 with long, flraight, rigid, fpreading thorns, each tipped 

 with a iharp tranlparent point. Seeds two in each cell, ob- 

 long, fmooth, keeled at one fide. 



EfT. Ch. Calyx of four leaves, deciduous. Petalt four. 

 Barren filaments numerous, toothed. CapfiJc of five cells, 



angular. 



