mV 
S O N 
S' O II 
greatest pari of tlic» year ; and we may add, 
that the female of no species of birds ever 
sings. This is a wise provision of nature, be- 
cause her song would discover her nest. In 
the same manner, we may rationally account 
for her inferiority in plumage. The’faeulty of 
singing is confined to the cock birds; and 
accordingly Mr. Hunter, in dissecting birds 
of several species, found the nancies of the 
larynx to be stronger in the nightingale than 
in any other bird 01 the same size; and in all 
those instances where lie dissected both cock 
and hen, the same muscles were stronger in 
the cock. 
Some have ascribed the singing of the 
cock bird in the spring solely to the motive 
•-of pleasing his mate during incubation ; others, 
wuo allow that it is part ly for this end, believe 
it is partly owing also to another cause, viz. 
■the great abundance of plants and insects in 
the spring, which, as well as seeds, are the 
proper food of singing birds' at that time of 
the year. 
Mr. Barrington remarks, that there is no 
instance of any singing bird which exceeds 
our blackbird ;n size ; and this, lie supposes, 
may arise from the difficulty of its concealing 
itself, if it called the attention of its enemies, 
not only by its bulk, but by the proportion - 
able loudness of its notes. This writer fur- 
ther observes, that some passages of the song 
in a few kinds of birds, correspond with the 
intervals of our musical scale, of which the 
cuckoo is a striking and known instance: but 
the greater part of their song canisot be re- 
duced to a musical scale ; partly, because the 
rapidity is often so great, and it is also so un- 
certain when they may stop, that we cannot 
reduce the passages to form a musical bar in 
any time whatsoever; partly also, because 
the pitch of most birds is considerably 
■higher than the most shrill notes of those in- 
struments which have the greatest compass; 
and principallt , because the intervals used 
birds are commonly so minute ,that we 
cannot judge of them from the more gross 
intervals into which we divide our musical 
octave. This writer apprehends that all birds 
sing in the same key. 
Most people, who have not attended to the 
notes of birds, suppose that every species 
sing exactly tiie same notes and passages ; 
but this is by no means true, though it is ad- 
mitted that there is a general resemblance. 
Thus the London bird-catchers prefer the 
song of the Kentish goldfinches, and Essex 
chaffinches ; and some of the nightingale- 
fanciers prefer Surry birds to those of Mid- 
dlesex. 
Of all singing birds, the song of the night- 
ingale lias been most universally admired : 
and its superiority (deduced from a caged 
bird) consists in the*following particulars : its 
tone is much more mellow than that of any 
other bird ; though at the same time, by a 
proper exertion of its musical powers, it can 
.be very brilliant. Another point of supe- 
riority is its continuance of song without a 
pause, which is sometimes no less than 20 
seconds ; and when respiration becomes 
necessary, it takes it with as much judgment 
,as an opera-singer. The sky-lark in this par- 
ticular, as well as in compass and variety, is 
only second to the nightingale. The night- 
ingale also sings (if the expression may be 
allowed) with superior judgment and taste. 
observed, that his 
a very capital bird, 
Mr, Barrington ha: 
nightingale, width was . __ . _ j 
began softly like the antient orators; reserv- 
ing its breath to swell certain notes, which by 
these means had a most astonishing effect, 
i his writei adds, that the notes of birds, 
which are annually imported from Asia, 
Africa, and America, both singly and in con- 
cert, are not to be compared to those of 
European birds. 
The following table, formed by Mr. Bar- 
rington, agreeably to the idea oi INI: de Piie>, 
in estimating the merits of painters, is de- 
signed to exhibit the comparative merit of the 
British singing birds; in which 20 is suppos- 
ed to be the point of absolute perfection. 
Nightingale 
Sky-lark - 
Wood-lark 
Tit-lark - 
Linnet - 
Goldfinch 
Chaffinch 
Greenfinch 
Hedge-sparrow 
Aberdavine, or siskin 
Red-poll 
Thrush - 
Blackbird 
Robin - 
Wren - 
Reed sparrow 
Black-cap., or Norfolk 
mock-nightingale 
Mellowness 
of tone 
c a 
Plaintive 
notes. 
Compass. 
i Execution. 
19 
14 
19 
19 
19 
4 
19 
4 
IS 
18 
18 
4 
17 
12 
8 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
12 
16 
12 
16 
18 
4 
19 
4 
12 
12 
4 
12 
4 
8 
8 
4 
4 
4 
4 
6 
6 
0 
G 
4 
4 
2 
4 l 
O 
4 
4 
0 
4 j 
0 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
O 
2 
2 
6 
1G, 
12 
12 
12 
O 
12 j 
O 
4 
4 
O 
4 
O 
. 2 
o 
I 
14 
12 ! 
12 
14 
14 j 
SONNERATIA, a genus of plants belong- 
ing to the class of icosandiia, and to the 
order of monogynia. The calyx is cut into 
six segments ; the petals are six ; the capsule 
is multilocular and succulent ; and the cells 
contain many seeds. The only species is the 
acida, a tree of New Guinea. 
SONNET. See Poetry. 
SOOT, a substance deposited from the 
flame of burning vegetables. It consists 
chiefly of carbon, which, for want of complete 
contact with the air, could not be consumed, 
and is partly carried off mechanical’ v* with 
the smoke, and partly precipitated. 
SOPHORA, a genus of plants belonging 
to the decandria monogynia class, with a 
papilionaceous flower : its fruit is a very long 
and slender unilocular pod, containing a 
great many roundish seeds. It agrees in 
every thing with the diadelphia and papiliona- 
ceous plants, except that its stamina are dis- 
tinct and separate. There are 25 species, 
all foreign shrubs. 
SORBUS, service-tree, a genus of plants 
belonging to the class icosandria, and to the 
order of trigynia. The calyx is quinquetkl ; 
the petals are five; the berry is below the 
flower, soft, and containing three seeds. 
There are three species ; the aucuparia, 
domestica, and hebrida. 
1. The aucuparia, mountain-ash, quicken- 
tree, quick-beam, or roan-tree, rises with a 
straight upright stem and regular branching 
head , 20 or 30 feet high or more, covered 
with a smooth greyish-brown bark ; pinnated 
leaves, and large umbellate clusters of white 
s o rt 
flowers at the sides and ends of the branches 
succeeded by clusters of line red berries’, 
ripe in autumn and winter. There is a va- 
riety with yellow-striped leaves. 'Phis species 
grows wild in many parts of this island, m 
mountainous places, woods, and hedge-rows, 
often growing to the size of timber ; and is 
admitted into most ornamental plantations, 
for the beauty of its growth, foliage, flowers, 
and fruit.. 
2. The domestica, or cultivated service' 
tiee, with eatable fruit, grows with an up- 
right stem, branching 30 or 40 feet high, 
or more, having a brownish bark, and The 
\oung shoots in summer covered with a mealy 
down : pinnated leaves of eight or ten pair. 
T his tree is a native of the southern warm 
parts of Europe, where its fruit is used at 
table as a dessert ; and it is cultivated here in 
many of our gardens as a fruit-tree, and as an 
ornament to diversify hardy plantations. 
3. r l he hebrida, or mongrel service-tree of 
Gothland, grows 20 or 30 feet high ; it has 
half pinnated leaves, very downy under- 
neath ; and clusters of white flowers, suc- 
ceeded by bunches of round reddish berries in 
autumn. 
SOB EX, shrew, a genus of quadrupeds of 
the order ferae '1 he generic character is, 
front teeth in the upper jaw two, long, bilid ; 
in the lower, two or four, the intermediate 
The genus sorex, of which there are 17 
ils, which are evidently rather carni- 
| vorous than frugivorous. It’is more closely 
allied to the genus talpa; insomuch that 
these two genera may be considered as linked 
to each other by intermediate species, which 
in habit resemble the one genus, and in teeth 
the other. It is owing to this circumstance 
that Linnaus, in the twelfth edition of the 
Sy sterna Natural, has placed one or tw'o ge- 
nuine species ol talpa in the genus sorex. 
The most common species of sorex in this 
country is the S. araneus, commonly known 
by the name of the shrew-mouse. 
L Sorex araneus. This little animal, 
which is perhaps the smallest of the Euro- 
pean quadrupeds, is a very common inha- 
j bitant ot our fields and gardens, and mea- 
j sures about tw'o inches and a half, and the 
, tail one and a half. Its colour is nearly 
similar to that of a mouse, but of a somew hat 
more ferruginous tinge ; and the animal is 
readily distinguished by its long and sharp 
snout; the eyes are small, and almost hid in 
the fur. it feeds on roots, grain, inserts, 
and almost any kind of neglected animal sub- 
stance. Jt has a very strong and unpleasant 
smell ; and it is remarkable that cats will kiil 
but not eat it. Mr. Pennant observes that 
there seems to be an annual mortality among 
these little animals every autumn; numbers 
of them being found dead at that season by- 
paths and in tl>e lields. It inhabits most 
parts of Europe, and is also said to lie found 
in Siberia and Kamtschatka. It breeds in 
holes, under banks, among moss, &c. and is 
said to produce several young at a time. 
2, boi ex moschatus, musk-shrew. Ibis is 
a very, singular species, which, though ex- 
10 
