S I T 
whole flavour is extracted by spirit of wine, 
which elevates very little of it in distillation ; 
and hence the spirituous extract has the fla- 
vour in great perfection, while the watery 
extract has very little. A tincture drawn 
with pure spirit* is of a green colour. The 
seeds have been esteemed aperient, diuretic, 
and carminative ; but are little regarded in 
the present practice. 2. 1 he inundatum, 
least water-parsnip ; it grows in ditches and 
ponds. 3. Segetum, corn parsley or honey- 
wort : it grows in corn- fields and hedges. 
SISYMBRIUM, water-cresses, a genus 
of plants belonging to the class of tetrady- 
namia, and to the order ot siliquosa; and in the 
natural system ranged under the 39th order, 
siiiquosie. The siliqua, or pod, opens with 
valves somewhat straight. I Ive calyx and 
corolla arc expanded. There are fifty-three 
species, of which eight are natives of Britain : 
the nasturtium, or common water-cress ; syl- 
vestre, water-rocket ; amphibium, water- 
radish ; terreslre, annual water-radish ; mo- 
nense ; sophia, llixweed ; irio, broad-leaved 
hedge-mustard. 
SISYRINCTIIUM, a genus of plants be- 
longing to the class ol monadelphia, and order 
of triandria ; and in the natural system rank- 
ed under the 6th order, ensatax i he spa- 
tha is diphyllous ; there are six plane petals. 
The capsule is trilocular and inferior. "There 
are ten species, natives ot North America 
and the Cape. 
SITTA, nut-hatch, a genus belonging to 
the class of aves, and order of pica;. It is 
thus characterized by Dr. Latham ; Ihe 
bill is for the most part straight; on the lower 
mandible there is a small angle ; nostrils 
small, covered with bristles r fleeted over 
them ; tongue short, horny at the end, and 
jagged ; toes placed three forward and one 
backward, the middle toe joined closely at 
the base to both the outmost; back toe as 
large as the middle one. 'There are eleven 
species ; the europaea, canadensis, carolinen- 
sis, jamaicensis, pusilla, major, nsvia, suri- 
namensis, cafra, longirosta, and chloris. I he 
europaea, or nut-hatch, is in length near five 
inches three-quarters, in breadth nine inches; 
the bill is strong and straight, about three- 
quarters of an inch long ; the crown of the 
head, back, and coverts of the wings, of a fine 
blueish grey ; a black stroke passes over the 
eve from the mouth ; the cheeks and chin 
are white ; the breast and belly of a dull 
orange-colour. The female is like the male, 
but less in size, and weighs commonly five or 
at most six drams. The" eggs are six or seven 
in number, of a dirty white, dotted with ru- 
fous ; these are deposited in some hole of a 
tree, frequently one which has been deserted 
by a woodpecker, on the rotten wood mixed 
with a little moss, &c. If the entrance is too 
large, the bird nicely stops up part of it with 
clay, leaving only a small hole for itself to 
pass in and out by. While the hen is sitting, 
if any one puts a bit of stick into the hole, 
she hisses like a snake, and is so attached to 
her eggs, that she will sooner suffer any one 
to pluck off her feathers than fly away. Dur- 
ing the time of incubation, the male supplies 
her with sustenance. 
The bird runs up and down the bodies of 
trees, like the woodpecker tribe ; and feeds 
not only on insects, but nuts, of which it lays 
up a considerable provision in the hollows of 
trees. Dr. Plott tells up, that this bird, by 
S K I 
putting its bill into a crack in the bough of a 
tree, can make such a violent sound as if it 
was rending asunder, so that the noise may 
be heard at least twelvescore yards. 
S1UM, ivater parsnip, a genus of plants 
belonging to the class of pentandria, and 
order of digynia, and in the natural system 
ranging under the 45th order, umbellatae. 
The fruit is a little ovated, and streaked. 
The involucrum is polyphyllous, and the pe- 
tals are heart-shaped. 'There are nineteen 
species ; three are natives of Britain : 1 . 
The latifolium, or great water-parsnip, which 
grows spontaneously in many places both of 
England and Scotland, on the sides, of lakes, 
ponds, and rivulets. Cattle are said to have 
run mad by feeding upon this plant. 2. The 
angustifoiium, or narrow-leaved water-pars- 
nip, grows in ditches and rivulets, but is not 
common. 3. The noditlorum, reclining wa- 
ter-parsnip, grows on the sides of rivulets. 
The sium sisarium, or skirret, is a native 
of China, but has been for a long time cul- 
tivated in Europe, and particularly in Ger- 
many. The root is a bunch of fleshy fibres, 
each of which is about as thick as a finger, 
but very uneven, covered with a whitish 
rough bark, and has a hard core or pith run- 
ning through the centre. Skirrets come 
nearest to parsnips of any of the esculent 
roots, both tor flavour and nutritive qualities. 
They are rather sweeter than the parsnip, 
and therefore to some few palates are not 
altogether so, agreeable. Mr. Margraaf ex- 
tracted from half a pound of skirret-root an 
ounce and a half of pure sugar. 
SIXTH, in music, an interval formed of 
six sounds, or five diatonic degrees. There 
are four kinds of sixths, two consonant and 
two dissonant. 'The consonant sixths, are 
first, the minor sixth, composed of three tones 
and two semitones major. Secondly, the 
major sixth, composed of four tones and a 
major semitone. 1 he dissonant sixths are, 
first the diminished sixth, composed of two 
times and three major semitones. Secondly, 
the superfluous sixth, composed of four tones, 
a major semitone, and a minor semitone. 
SIZE, the name of an instrument used to-- 
find the bigness of fine round pearls. It con- 
sists of thin p eces or leaves, about two inches 
long and half an inch broad, fastened toge- 
ther at one end by a rivet. In each of these 
are round holes drilled of different diameters. 
'Ihose in the first leaf serve for measuring- 
pearls from half a grain to seven grains'; those 
of the second, for pearls from eight grains or 
two carats, to five carats, &e.; and those of 
tire third, for pearls from six carats and a 
half to eight carats and a half. 
SIZE. See Gelatina. 
SKA'ITE. See Raia. 
SKELETON. See Anatomy. 
SKIM MIA, a genus of the monogynia 
order, in the tetrandria class of plants, and in 
the natural method ranking under the 40th 
order, personatax The calyx is quadripar- 
tite ; the corolla consists of four concave 
petals; and the berry contains four seeds. 
There is only one species, viz. the japonica. 
SKIN. See Cutis. 
SKINNER, one who works in skins. 
Skinners, qc fellmongers, shall not retain any 
journeyman, &o. to work in their trade, ex- 
cept they themselves have served seven 
years as apprentices thereto, on pain ef for- 
SLU <579 
fating double the value of the wares wrought 
by such persons. 
SKULL, cranium et calvaria. See Ana- 
tomy. 
SLAB, an outside sappy plank or board, 
sawed off from the sides of a timber-tree; 
the word is also used for a flat piece of mar- 
ble. 
SLATE. This stone constitutes a part of 
many mountains. Its structure is slaty. Its 
texture foliated. Fracture splintery. Frag- 
ments often tabular. Lustre most commonly 1 
silky. Specific gravity from 2.67 to 2.88. 
Does not adhere to the tongue. Gives a 
clear sound when struck. Streak white or 
grey. Colour most commonly grey, with a 
shade of blue, green, or black; sometimes- 
purplish, yellowish, mountain-green, brown* 
bluish-black; sometimes striped or spotted 
with a darker colour than the ground. 
It is composed, according to Kirwan, of 
silica, alumina, magnesia, lime, oxide of 
iron. In some varieties the lime is wanting. 
Several varieties contain a considerable quan- 
tity of carbonaceous matter. 
SLAV ER Y. The law of England abhors, 
and will not endure, the existence of slavery 
within this nation. A slave or negro, the 
moment he lands in England, falls under 
the protection of the laws, and becomes a 
free man. 
SLEDGE, a kind of carriage without 
wheels, for the conveyance of very weighty 
things, as huge stones, &c. 
This is also the name of a large smith’s; 
hammer, to be used with both hands. Of 
this there are two sorts ; the up-hand sledge, 
i which is used by under-workmen, when the 
I work is not of the larger sort ; it is used with- 
| both the hands before, and they seldom raise 
! it higher than their head; but the other, 
I which is called the about-sledge,, and which 
is used for battering or drawing out t-he lar- 
gest work, is held by the handle with both- 
hands, and swung round over their heads at 
their arm’s end, to strike as hard a blow as 
they can. 
SLEEP. See Physiology. 
SLEEPERS, in a ship, timbers lying 
before and aft, in the bottom of the ship, as 
the rung-heads do; the lowermost of them- 
is bolted to the rung-heads, and the uppermost, 
to the futtocks. and rungs. 
SLINGING, is used variously at sea, but 
chiefly for the hoisting up casks, or other 
heavy things,, with slings ; i.e. contrivances- 
of ropes spliced into themselves, at either 
end, with one eye big enough to' receive the 
cask, or other thing, to be slung.. 
SLOAN EA, a genus of plants belonging 
to the class of poiyandria, and order of mono- 
gynia; and in the natural system ranking; 
under the 50th order, amentaceax There is- 
no corolla ; the calyx is. monophyllous ; the 
stigma is perforated ; the berry is corticose,. 
echinated. There are three species, large 
trees of South America and the West Indies.. 
SLOATH, or Sloth. See Bradypus. 
SLOE, primus sylvestris, the English name 
for the wild plum. See Prunus. 
SLOOP, a sort of small ship or vessel, usu- 
ally with one mast, otherwise called shallop.. 
In our lAivy,.. sloops are tenders on the men. 
of war, and are usually of about sixty tons,, 
and carry about thirty men. 
SLOW-WORM. SeeANGuis. 
SLUICE, in hydraulics, a frame of timber*. 
