S I z 
what aqua fords may remain in the Composi- 
tion; when dry, rub it with a clean rag, and 
give it one or two coats of varnish. This sil- 
vering is not durable, but may be improved 
by heating the article, and repeating the ope- 
ration till the covering seems sufficiently 
thick. 
Silver plating. The coat of silver applied 
to the surface of the copper by the means 
mentioned above, is very thin, and is not du- 
rable. A more substantial method of doing it 
is as follows: Form small pieces of silver and 
copper, and tie them together with wire, put- 
tinga little borax between. The proportion of 
silver may be to that of copper, as ] to 12. 
Put them into a white heat, when the silver 
will be firmly fixed to the copper. The 
whole is now made to pass between rollers till 
it is of the required thickness for manufac- 
turing the articles required. 
SILURUS, a genus of fishes of the order 
abdominales. The generic character is, head 
large, depressed ; mouth wide, bearded by 
long tentacula; body lengthened, naked; 
first ray of the pectoral fins, or of t e first 
dorsal fin, toothed backwards. There are 28 
species. 
1. Silurus glaris, European silure. The 
S I M 
Very broad and depressed; on the upper lip 
two cirri; on the lower four; teeth small and 
numerous. Native of the African rivers; ob- 
served by Forskal in the Nile: possesses a de- 
gree of electric or galvanic power, but in a 
much slighter degree than the torpedo. 
3. Silurus catus, cat silure. Length about 
two feet; form rounded and thick; colour 
dusky above, pale flesh-colour beneath ; head 
round; mouth very large ; on the upper jaw, 
beneath each eye, a very long beard ; on the 
lower jaw four short beards; first dorsal fin 
small and conic; second, or adipose fin, with- 
out rays ; rest of the fins small and red ; tail 
forked. Inhabits the sea and rivers of North 
S I M 
07 i 
mated as to general similitude,'are yet speci- 
fically distinct. The specimens imported 
into Europe have rarely exceeded the height 
of two or three feet, and were supposed to b® 
young animals ; but it is said that the full* 
grown ones are, at least, six feet in height* 
The general colour seems to be dusky off 
brown; in some ferruginous or reddish brown, 
and in others coal-black, with the skin itself 
white. The face is bare ; the ears, hands, 
and feet, nearly similar to the human, and the 
whole appearance such as to exhibit the most 
striking approximation to the human figure. 
The likeness, however, is only a general one ; 
and the structure of the hands and feet, when 
America, preying on all kinds of smaller ! examined with anatomical exactness, seems 
fishes ; and not sparing even those of its own 
kind: in taste resembles an eel, and is much 
esteemed by the Americans: is a fish of slow 
motion, like the European silure. 
4. Silurus costatus is an inhabitant of 
South America and India. See Plate Nat. 
Hist. fig. 360. 
SIMIA, ape, a genus of quadrupeds of the 
order primates. The Linnsean generic cha 
to prove, in the opinion of those most capa- 
ble of judging with accuracy on the subject^ 
that the animal was principally designed by 
nature for the quadrupedal manner of walk- 
ing, and not for an upright posture, which i« 
only occasionally assumed, and which, in 
those exhibited to the public, is, perhaps, ra- 
ther owing to instruction than truly natural. 
The count de Bulfon, indeed, makes it one of 
the distinctive characters of the real or proper 
j 1 acter ls > do”! teeth in each jaw four, placed j apes (among which the oran otan is the chief). 
near together; canine teeth solitary, longer 
than tlie others, distant from the remaining 
great or common silnre may perhaps be con- teeth, or grinders; grinders obtuse. This 
sidered as the largest of all European river- | numerous race may be properly divided into 
fishes; growing to the length of eight, ten, or four sections, of which there are about 70 spe- 
even fifteen feet, and to the weight of three j ties, viz. 1. Apes, or such as are destitute of 
hundred pounds. Its more general length, j a tail. 2. Baboons, or such as have very 
however, is from two to .three or four feet, i muscular bodies, and whose tails are comraon- 
The head is broad and depressed; the body 1 ly short. 4. Monkeys, whose tails are, in ge- 
to walk erect on two legs oniy ; and it must be 
granted, that these animals support an upright 
position much more easilv and readily than 
most other quadrupeds, and may probably be 
very often seen in this attitude even in a 
state of nature. 
The manners of the oran otan, when in 
captivity, are gentle, and perfectly void of 
thick and of a lengthened form, with the ab- neral, long : and, lastly, sapajons, or moil- i that disgusting ferocity so conspicuous in 
’ ' ’ ' T ‘ " * 1 ’ some of the larger baboons and monkeys. It 
is docile, and may be taught to perform, with 
dexterity, a variety of actions in domestic 
life. Thus it has been seen to sit at table, 
and, in its manner of feeding and general be- 
domen very thick and short. It is a fish ot a keys, with what are termed prehensile tails, viz 
remarkably inert or sluggish disposition, be- ! such as can, at pleasure, be twisted round 
ing rarely observed in motion, and com- any object, so as to answer the purpose of an 
monly lying half-imbedded in the soft bottom additional hand to the animal, 
of the rivers it frequents, under the project- 
ing roots of 
stances. In tms situation it remains, with its are commonly 
wide mouth half-open, gently moving about position. The lirger^ap^are ai^ oTa ma- 
, , , - , ■ Of the whole genus, or the monkey tribe in , ....... - 
of trees, rocks, logs, or other sub- general, it may be observed, that the baboons havi ° ur ’ ° limtate the company m which it 
In tins situation it remains, with its are commonly of a ferocious and sullen dis- ! 18 P lacecl - to pour out tea, and drink it. 
the long cirri or tentacula situated on each 
side the jaws ; which the smaller fishes mis- 
taking for worms, and attempting to seize, be- 
come a ready prey to the sluggish silure. 
The usual colour of this species is dark dive, 
varied with irregular spots of black ; the ab- 
domen and lips being of a pale flesh colour, 
and the fins tinged with violet. It is an in- 
habitant of the larger rivers of Europe, as 
well as some parts of Asia and Africa ; but 
appears to be most plentiful in the north of 
Europe. It is in no very high estimation as 
a food, the flesh being of a somewhat gluti- 
nous nature ; but, from its cheapness, is in 
much request among the inferior ranks, and 
is eaten either fresh or salted : the skin also, 
which is smooth, and destitute of apparent 
scales, is dried and stretched, and after rub- 
bing with oil, becomes of a horny transpa- 
rency and. strength, and is used in some of 
the northern regions instead of glass for win- 
dows. The silure is not a very prolific fish ; 
d epositing but a small quantity of spawn, 
consisting of large globules or ova: these, as 
well as the newly hatched young, are fre- 
quently the prey of other fishes, frogs, See. 
and thus the great increase of the species is 
K revcnted. The ova, according to Dr. 
loch, usually hatch in the space of seven or 
nine days from their exclusion. 
2. Silmuselectricus, electric silure. Length 
about twenty inches; head and fore -parts 
ignant temper, except the oran otan and the 
gibbons. 'The monkeys, properly so called, 
are very various in their dispositions ; some 
ot the smaller species are lively, harmless, 
and entertaining; while others are as re- 
markable for tiie mischievous malignity of 
their temper, and the capricious uncertainty 
of their manners. 
It may not be improper here to observe, 
that it" is no easy task to determine with exact 
precision the several species of this extensive 
genus; since, exclusive of the varieties in 
point of colour, they are often so nearly al- 
lied as to make it difficult to give real dis- 
tinctive characters. The most remarkable 
species are. 
Apes. 
1. Simia satyrus, oran otan. Of these 
singular animals, the species which has most 
excited the attention of mankind is, the oran 
otan, or, as it is sometimes called, the satyr, 
great ape, or man of the woods. It is a na- 
tive of the warmer parts of Africa and India, 
as well as of some of the Indian islands, 
where it resides principally in woods, and is 
supposed to feed, like most others of this ge- 
without aukwardness or constraint ; to prepare 
its bed with great exactness, aud compose 
itself to sleep in a proper manner. Such are 
the actions recorded of one which was exhi- 
bited in London in the year 1738 . and the 
count de Bulfon relates nearly similar particu- 
lars of that which he saw at Paris. Dr. Ty- 
son, who, about the close of the last century, 
gave a very exact description of a young 
oran otan, then exhibited in the metropolis, 
assures us, that, in many of its actions, it 
seemed to display a very high degree of sa- 
gacity. “ The most gentle and loving crea- 
ture that could be. Those that he knew a 
ship-board he would come and embrace with 
the greatest tenderness, opening their bo- 
soms, and clasping his hands about them ; 
and, as l was informed, though there were 
monkeys aboard, yet it was observed lie 
would never associate with them, and, as if 
nothing akin to them, would always avoid 
their company.” 
But however docile and gentle when taken 
young, and instructed in its beaaviour, it is 
said to be possessed of great ferocity in its na- 
tive state, and is considered as a dangerous 
animal, capable of readily overpowering the 
strongest man. Its swiftness is equal to its 
mis, on fruits. The oran otan appears to ad- ; strength, and for this reason it is rarely to be 
mit of considerable variety in point of colour, ! obtained in its full-grown state; the 'young 
size, and proportions; and there is reason to alone being taken. A few years past, the 
believe, that, in reality, there may be two or hand of a supposed full-grown oran otan was 
three kinds, which, .though nearly approxi- j brought from Sierra Leona, which, from H§ 
