S O L 
$ o n 
S 0 L 
c-W 
uomecUans, as the cothurnus was by tragedi- 
ans. 
SOCIETY See Academy. 
SOCI N LANS, in church history, a sect of 
Christians, so called from their founder Faus- 
tus Socinus, a native of Sienna, in Italy. He, 
about the year 1 -.74, began openly to declare 
against the catholic faith, and taught, 1. '1 hat 
■ tire eternal father was the one only God ; 
that the Word was no more than an expres- 
sion of tiie godhead, and had not existed from 
all eternity; and that Jesus Christ was God 
no otherwise than by his superiority above 
all creatures, who were put in subjection to 
t him by the Father. 2. That Jesus Christ 
P was not a mediator between God and men, 
: but sent into the world to serve as a pattern ot 
i their conduct ; and that he ascended up to 
heaven only to- take a journey thither.. 3. 1 hat 
| the punishment of hell will last but for a cer- 
j tain time, after which the body and soul will 
be destroyed. And 4. That it is not lawful 
I hr princes to make war. 1 hese four tenets 
were what Socinus defended with the great- 
est zeal. In other matters, he was a iutheran 
: or a calvinist; and the truth is, that he did 
but reline upon the errors of all the antitrini- 
tarians that went before him. The socinians 
spread extremely in Poland, Lithuania, and 
Transylvania. 
SOCMEN. See Socage. 
. SOCOME, is taken for a custom of grind- 
j jug corn at the lord's mill; whence came the 
'i name or term of bond socome, by which the 
; tenants were bound to it ; and also love so- 
i come, where they did it voluntarily out of 
jove to their lord. 
SODA, called also fossil or mineral alkali, 
: because it was thought peculiar to the mineral 
I kingdom, was known to the antients (though 
not" in a state of purity) under the names of 
v f!.p ay and nitrum. 
It is found in large quantities combined 
I with carbonic acid in different parts of the 
earth, especially in Egypt; and common 
| salt is a compound of soda and muriatic acid. 
But the soda of commerce is obtained from 
the ashes of different species of the salsola, a 
o-enus of plants which grow upon the sea- 
shore, especially from the salsola soda, from 
which the alkali has obtained its name. The 
soda of commerce is also called barilla, be- 
cause the plant from which it is obtained 
1 bears that name in Spain. Almost all the 
3 ahue, especially the fuci, contain also a con- 
j siderable quantity of soda. The ashes of 
these plants are known in this country by the 
name of kelp; m France they are called 
' varec. 
The soda, or barilla of commerce, is far 
1 from being pure; besides carbonic acid it 
i contains common salt, and several other fo- 
reign ingredients ; but it may be obtained 
1 perfectly pure by the processes for purifying 
potass. ' (See that article.) 
Soda and potass resemble each other so 
nearly, that they were confounded together 
t ill Du Hamel published his dissertation on 
[ common salt in the Memoirs of the French 
: Academy for 1736. He first proved that 
the base of common salt is soda, and that soda 
i is different from potass. Iiis conclusions 
; were objected to by Pott, but finally con- 
firmed byMargraffin 1758. 
Soda is of a greyish-white colour, and agrees 
exactly with potass in its taste, smell, and 
action upon animal bodies; but its specific 
gravity is only 1.336. 
Heat produces on it exactly the same 
effects .as upon potass. When exposed to 
the. air, it absorbs moisture and carbonic acid, 
and is soon reduced to the consistence of 
paste ; but it does not liquefy like potass ; in 
a few days it becomes dry again, and crumbles 
into powder. 
It has a strong affinity for water, dissolves 
in it like potass, and may also be obtained in 
crystals bv evaporating its aqueous solution. 
It is not altered by light; nor does it com- 
bine with oxygen, hydrogen, azote, carbon, 
charcoal, or "metals. Its action upon phos- 
phorus and sulphur is the same with that of 
pofass. The sulphuret and hydrogenated 
sulphuret of soda possess the properties of the 
sulphuret and hydrogenated sulphuret of 
potass, and are formed in the, same manner. 
In its action on metals, metallic oxides, and 
in its affinities, it also agrees with potass. 
In short, the two fixed alkalies, in a state of 
purity, resemble each other very nearly in 
almost every particular. Its importance in 
manufactures is not inferior to that of potass. 
For several purposes, as for sAap and glass, 
it answers even better than potass. 
SOFF1TA, or Soffit, in architecture, 
any plafond or ceiling formed of cross beams 
of flying cornices, the square compartments 
or pannels of which are enriched with sculp- 
ture, painting, or gilding. 
SOFI, or Sophi. See Sophi. 
SOFTENING. See Painting. 
SOIL. See Husbandry. 
SOIT FAIT COMME IL EST DESIRE', be it 
done as it is desired, a form used when the 
king gives the royal assent to a private bill 
preferred in parliament. 
SOL, in music, the fifth note of the ga- 
mut, ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. See Gamut. 
Sol, or Sou, a French coin made up of 
copper mixed with a little silver, value the 
23d part of our shilling. 
Sol, the .ran-, in astronomy. 
Sol, in the old chemistry, is gold. 
SOLANDRA, a genus of plants belonging 
to the class of pentandria, and to the order 
monogynia The calyx is bursting; the co- 
rolla elevate, funnel-formed, very large ; ber- 
ry four-celled, man^-seeded. The only 
species is grandiflora. I his genus was first 
named solandra in honour of Dr. Solander, 
by Mu rray, in the 1 4th edition of the Sys- 
tema Vegetabilium. In Jamaica it is called 
the peach-coloured trumpet-llower. 
SOLAN UM, a genus of the monogynia 
order, in the. pentandria class of plants, and 
in the natural method ranking under the 
28 th order, luritke. The calyx is inferior ; the 
corolla is rotate and monophy lions ; the fruit 
a berry, bilocular, and containing many small 
and flat seeds. Of this genus there are 93 
species, most of them natives of the East and 
West Indies, the most remarkable of which 
we the following : 
1. The dulcamora, woody nightshade a 
native of Britain and of Africa, is a slender 
climbing plant, rising to six or more feet in 
height. The leaves are generally oval, 
pointed, and of a deep-green colour ; the 
flowers hang in loose clusters, of a purple Co- 
lour, and divided into live pointed segments. 
The calyx is purple, persistent, and divided 
into five'; the berry, when ripe, is red, and 
i Contains many flat yellowish seeds. It grows' 
J in hedges well supplied with water, an 1 
| flowers about the end of June. On chew ng 
j the roots, vre first feel a bitter, then a sweet 
: taste : hence the name. The berries are said 
| to be poisonous, and may easily be mistake if 
j by children for currants. I he slipitcs or 
1 younger branches are directed for use, and 
j may be employed either fresh or dried; they 
| should be gathered in the autumn, 'fins 
| plant is generally given in decoction or m 
} fusion. Several authors take notice, that 
i the dulcamara partakes of the milder powers 
| of the nightshade, joined to a resolvent add 
j saponaceous quality ; hence it promotes the 
| secretions of urine, sweat, the menses, and 
j lochia. It is recommended in a variety ot 
disorders; but particularly in rheumatism, 
obstructed menses, and lochia ; also in some 
obstinate cutaneous diseases. 
2. The nigrum, garden nightshade, com- 
mon in many places in Britain about dung 
hills and waste places. It rises to about twu 
feet in height. The stalk herbaceous ; the 
leaves alternate, irregularly oval, indented, 
and clothed with soft hairs. The flowers are 
; white ; the berries black and shining. It ap- . 
| pears to possess the deleterious qualities of 
j the other nightshades in a very high degree, 
i and even the smell of the plant is said to 
cause sleep. T he berries a;e equally poi- 
sonous with the leaves, causing caulialgia 
and delirium, and violent distortions oi the 
limbs in children. Mr. Gelaker, in 1757, 
recommended its internal use in old sores, m 
scrofulous and cancerous ulcers, cutaneous 
eruptions, and in dropsies. He .says, tnat 
one grain infused in an ounce of water, some- 
times produced a considerable effect ; that 
in Hie dose of two or three grains it seldom 
failed to evacuate the first passages, to in- 
crease very sensibly the discharges by the 
skin and kidneys, and sometimes to occa ion 
lieacl-ache, drowsiness, giddiness, and dimness 
of sight. Mr. Broomfield declares, that in 
cases in which he tried the solatium they 
were much aggravated by it ; and that in one 
case in the dose of one grain it proved mor- 
tal to one of his patients; therefore he con- 
tends its use is prejudicial. This opinion 
seems tacitly to be confirmed, as it is now 
never given internally. In antient times it 
was employed externally as a discutient and 
anodyne in some cutaneous affections, tume- 
factions of the glands, ulcers, and disorders 
of the eyes. The solanum nigrum e rubrum, 
a native of the West Indies, is called guma by 
the negroes. It is so far from having any 
deleterious quality, that it is daily served up 
at table as greens or spinach. It lias an 
agreeable bitter taste. 
3. Lycopersicum, the love-apple, or to- 
mato, cultivated in gardens in the warmer 
parts of 'Europe, and in all tropical countries. 
The. stalk is herbaceous ;the leav es pinnated, 
oval, pointed, and deeply divided. The 
flowers are on simple racemi ; they are small 
and vellow. The berry is of the size of a 
plum ; they are smooth, shining, soil ; and 
are either of a yellow or reddish colour. The 
tomato is in claly use; being either boiled in 
soups or broths, or served up boiled as gar- 
nishes to flesh-meat. 
4. Melougena, the egg plant, or vegetable 
egg. This is also cultivated in gardens, par- 
ticularly in Jamaica. It seldom rises above a 
foot in height. The fruit is as big as, and 
