1061 



EIjc Crragttri) ai 2Satang. 



[SINA 



plant is cultivated in some botanic gar- 

 dens under the name Brocchia dichotoma. 

 The genus commemorates T.W. Simmonds, 

 a naturalist who accompanied Lord Sea- 

 forth to the West Indies. [A. A. B.] 



SIMOCHILT7S. A genus belonging to the 

 order of heath worts. Its calyx is coloured 

 four-angled and fleshy in its nature, and 

 furnished with eight ribs ; the border of 

 the corolla is four-cleft, and the seed- 

 vessel two or four-celled, very rarely one- 

 celled. The only species is a Cape shrub, 

 resembling a heath, whose leaves are in 

 whorls of three or four together, and 

 the flowers in terminal heads. [G. D.] 



SIMPLE. Not consisting of several dis- 

 tinct parts. 



SIMPLER'S JOY. 



Verbena officinalis. 

 divided 



SIMPLICISSIMTJS. Not 

 ! branched at all. 



SIMSIA. A genus of Composite, natives 

 of Texas and Mexico, closely related to 

 Helianthus. They are perennial herbs one 

 to three feet high, the lower leaves oppo- 

 site trilobed and toothed, the upper usually 

 alternate and entire. The uniserial strap- 

 i, shaped yellow ray-florets are neuter, the 

 II disk-florets tubular and perfect; and the 

 ! compressed two-awLed achenes are seated 

 jj on a chaffy receptacle, enclosed by an in- 

 | volucre of two or three series of narrow 

 scales. Germa belongs to this genus, and 

 I; a plant which has been called Barrattia 

 only differs in the absence of pappus-awns. 

 Its name commemorates Dr. John Sims, for 

 i many years editor of Curtis's Botanical 

 J Magazine. [A. A. BJ 



SLMSOX. Senecio vulgaris. 



I SINAPIDENDROX A genus of Cruci- 

 ferce of the tribe Brassicacece. They are 



, undershrubs from Madeira, with the habit 

 of Brassica nigra or Sinapis arvensis, dif- 



: fering from both genera in the more 

 beaded pods, and especially in the sub- 



; angular seeds partly imbedded in the 



: somewhat spongy dissepiment. [J. T. S.] 



; SINAPIS. An adaptation of the Greek 



word for 'mustard' applied to a genus of 



C'ruci/erce. In the opinion of most mo- 



: dern botanists this genus is inseparable by 



: any save arbitrary characters from Bras- 



\ sica. The features especially assigned to 



Sinapis are the following :— Calyx of four 



\ spreading sepals; style small short acute; 



fruit cylindrical, its valves traversed by 



one or more prominent nerves ; seeds in 



i one row. The species are herbaceous 



, plants found inmost quarters of the globe, 



i but especially in the Mediterranean re- 



I gion. 



The Black Mustard, ,5. nigra, yields the 

 greater portion of the condiment so gene- 

 rally used in this country. The plant is in- 

 digenous, but is nevertheless largely culti- 

 vated in Yorkshire and Durham. The seeds 

 are of a reddish-brown colour. Mixed with 

 those of 8. alba they are crushed between 

 rollers, and subsequently pounded and 

 sifted twice or oftener. From the residue 



left on the sieve a fixed oil is obtained by 

 pressure. The powdered mustard is usu- 

 ally mixed with a considerable quantity of 

 wheaten flour and a small quantity of ' 

 turmeric powder— admixtures which are 

 readily detected by the microscope. The 

 term 'flour of mustard' is not quite ac- 

 curate, as the mustard-seeds themselves 

 contain little or no starchy material. The 

 chemical ingredients of mustard-seeds 

 are somewhat complex. Among them are 

 a peculiar acid called myronic acid, no- 

 ticeable as containing a proportion of 

 sulphur, and which, when mixed with 

 water and a peculiar substance called my- 

 rosine (analogous to albumen), also found 

 in mustard-seeds, yields Volatile Oil of 

 Mustard, which has no separate existence 

 in the seeds, but is formed artificially in 

 the manner just stated. This oil is very 

 acrid, and has been employed as a rube- 

 facient. The fixed oil before mentioned 

 as existing in the seed itself has little or 

 no acridity, and has been used as a purga- 

 tive and vermifuge. 



Hippocrates is said to have employed 

 mustard medicinally, while Columella 

 speaks of its irritant action on the eyes — 

 Segue lapessenti fletum factura sinapis. 



In modern medicine mustard is most 

 frequently employed in the well-known 

 form of poultice. If its effects be properly 

 watched, this application is safe and most 

 valuable where a speedy result is desired ; 

 but if allowed to remain on too lonsr, 

 especially in persons who from disease or 

 other causes are not sensitive to pain, it 

 may produce ulceration and gangrene. 

 Internally mustard is employed as an 

 emetic in narcotic poisoning, &c. As a 

 condiment mustard is valuable for its 

 stimulant effects, which render it useful 

 in cases of weak digestion, or as an ad- 

 junct to fatty and other indigestible arti- 

 cles of faod. 



The White Mustard, S. alba, is also in- 

 digenous in this country. Its seeds are 

 larger than those of the Black Mustard, 

 and of a yellow colour externally. Chemi- 

 cally they differ in containing a crystal- 

 line substance known as sulpho-sinapisin. 

 Moreover, its myrosine yields with water 

 a pungent oil of a different character from 

 the Volatile Oil of Mustard previously 

 mentioned. The seeds have similar pro- 

 perties to those of S. nigra. They have 

 been recommended to be swallowed whole 

 as stomachics and laxatives, a process by 

 no means free from danger. The seed- 

 leaves or cotyledons of this plant, together 

 with those of Lepiclium sativum, form the 

 well-known agreeable salad known as 

 ' mustard and cress.' The facility and speed 

 with which this salad may be grown at all 

 seasons and in all places, together with its 

 wholesome properties, are great advan- 

 tages. It is, moreover, both interesting and 

 instructive to watch the germination of 

 these seeds, and the peculiar shape of their 

 seed-leaves. 



The seeds of 8. arvensis, the Common 

 Chaiiock, yield an oil that is good for 



