S P A 
S P E 
SFE 
6go 
to the order of triandria, and in the natural 
system ranged under the 3d order, cala- 
mariae. The amentum of the male flower is 
roundish, the calyx is triphy lions, and there 
is no corolhi. r l’ he amentum of the female 
flower resembles that of the male. 'I he stigma 
is bifid ; the fruit is a dry berry containing 
one seed. There are three species, all of 
them natives of Great Britain and Ireland, 
and growing in pools and lakes. 
SPARMANNIA, a genus of plants be- 
longing to the class of polyandria, and to the 
order of monogynia. The corolla consists of 
four petals, and is bent back ; the nectaria 
are numerous, and swell a little ; the calyx 
is quadriphyllous; the capsule is angulated, 
qumquelocular and echinated. There is only 
one species, the africana, a shrub of the Cape. 
SPARROW. See Fringilla. 
Sparrow-hawk. See Falco. 
SPARTIUM, broom, a genus of plants 
belonging to the class of diadelphia, and or- 
der of decandria, and in the natural system 
arranged under the 32d order, papilionacex. 
The stigma is longitudinal and woolly above, 
the filaments adhere to the germen. The 
calyx is produced downwards. There are 
27 species. AH these, except the scoparium, 
are exotics, chiefly from Spain, Portugal, 
Italy, &c. The scoparium, or common 
broom, is used for a variety of purposes. 
It has been a great benefit sometimes in drop- ! 
sical complaints. The manner in which Dr. | 
Cullen administered it was this: he ordered t 
half an ounce of fresh broom-tops to be boil- : 
ed in a pound of water till one-half of the 
water was evaporated. He then gave two 
table-spoonfuls of the decoction every hour 
till it operated both by stool and mine. By 
repeating these doses every day, or every 
second day, he says some dropsies have been ' 
cured. Dr. Mead relates, that a dropsical | 
patient, who had taken the usual remedies, ; 
and been tapped three times without effect, | 
was cured by taking half a pint of the decoc- 
tion of queen-broom tops, with a spoonful of 
whole mustard-seed, every morning and even- 
ing. “ An infusion of the seeds drunk treely 
(says Mr. Withering) has been known to pro- 
duce similar happy effects ; but whoever 
expects these effects to follow in every drop- ■ 
sical case will be greatly deceived. I knew | 
them succeed in one case that was truly de- 1 
plorable; but out of a great number of cases 
in which the medicine had a fair trial, this 
proved a single instance.” 
The flower-buds are in some countries 
pickled, and eaten as capers; and the seeds 
have been used as a bad substitute for coffee. 
The branches are used for making besoms, 
and tanning leather. They are also used in- 
stead of thatch to cover houses. The old 
wood furnishes the cabinet-maker with beau- 
tiful materials for veneering. The tender 
branches are in some places mixed with hops 
for brewing, and the macerated bark may be 
manufactured into cloth. 
SPARGELSTEIN, a mineral found in 
Spain, where it forms whole mountains, in 
different parts of Germany, and in Cornwall. 
It is sometime amorphous, and sometimes 
crystallized. The primitive form of its cry- 
stals is a regular six-sided prism. Its inte- 
grant molecule is a regular triangular prism, 
whose height is to a side of its base, as 1 to 
iff. Sometimes the edges of the primitive 
hexagonal prism are wanting, and small faces 
in their place; sometimes there are small 
faces instead of the edges, which terminate 
the prism ; sometimes these two varieties are 
united. 
SPARES, a genus of fishes of the order 
thoracici : the generic character is, the teeth 
strong; front teeth in some species disposed 
in a single row, in others in a double, triple, 
or quadruple row : grinders (in most species) 
convex, smooth, and disposed in ranges, 
forming a kind of pavement - ' in the mouth: 
lips thick ; giil-covers unarmed, smooth, sca- 
ly. The genus sparus is extremely numerous, 
there being more than 40 species, and as the 
greater number are exotic, very little is known 
of their history; a general survey is therefore 
all that can be expected ; it may be observed 
that they are much allied to the labri, and 
that the distinction between these two genera 
is not, in all cases, so clear as might be wish- 
ed : in the Sy sterna Naturae erf' Linnaeus an 
evident confusion takes place with respect to 
the characters of both. 
Sparus aurata. Gilt-head sparus. Ge- 
neral length about fifteen inches, but occa- 
sionally found of far larger size ; body broad 
and thin, the back rising into a carina: na- 
tive of the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and In- 
dian seas, and held in considerable esteem as 
a food ; much admired by the antient Greeks 
and Romans, and by the former nation con- 
secrated to Venus. 
SPATHELIA, a genus of plants belong- 
ing to the class of pentandria, and to the or- 
der of trigynia. The calyx is pentaphyllous ; 
the petals are fiye; the capsule is three- 
edged and trilocular ; the seeds solitary. 
There is only one species, the simplex, which 
'is a native of Jamaica, and was introduced 
into the botanic gardens of this country in 
1778 by Dr. Wright, late of Jamaica. 
SPASM. See Medicine. 
SPATULA, an instrument used by sur- 
geons and apothecaries for spreading plas- 
ters, bzc. 
SPECIES, in algebra, the characters or 
symbols made use ot to represent qu antities. 
SPECIFIC, in medicine, a remedy whose 
virtue and effect is peculiarly adapted to some 
certain disease, is adequate thereto, and ex- 
erts its whole force immediately thereon. 
Specific, in philosophy, that which is pe- 
culiar to any thing, and distinguishes it from 
all others. 
SPECIOUS ARITHMETIC, the same 
with algebra. 
SPECULATES LAPIS, in natural history, 
a genus of talcs, composed of large plates vi- 
sibly separate, and of extreme thinness ; and 
each fissile again separated into a number of 
plates still finer. (See Talc.) Of this ge- 
nus there are three species: 1. The white 
shining specularis, with large and broad 
leaves, commonly called isinglass and Mus- 
covy glass ; its lamellae, or leaves, are ex- 
tremely thin, elastic, and transparent ; it 
makes sometimes not the least effervescence 
with aquafortis, and is not easily calcined in 
the fire. It is imported in great quantities ; 
the miniature-painters cover their pictures with 
it ; the lantern-makers use it instead ot horn; 
and minute objects are usually preserved be- 
tween two plates of it, for examination by the 
microscope. 2. The bright-brown specularis, 
with broad leaves ; a very valuable species, 
though inferior to the former. 3. The purple 
bright specularis, with broad leaves, the most 
elegant of all the talcs, and as beautifully 
transparent as the first kind. 
SPECULUM, a looking-glass or minor, 
capable of reflecting the rays ot the sun, &c. 
See Optics : see also Foliating of looking- 
glasses, vol. i. p. 758. 
Speculum, in surgery, an instrument for 
dilating a wound, or the tike, in order to ex- 
amine it attentively. 
Speculum for reflecting telescopes, is 
made of a kind of white copper consisting of 32 
parts of fine red copper, one ot brass, fifteen 
of grain-tin, and three of white arsenic. 1 he 
process given by the late J. Edwards, who 
was rewarded by the board of Longitude for 
disclosing it to^the public, was published in 
the Nautical Almanack for 1787, and is as 
follows: Melt the copper in a large crucible, 
employing some black flux, composed of two 
parts of tartar and one of nitre ; when melt- 
ed, add to It. the brass and the silver. Let 
the pure tin be melted into another crucible, 
also with some black flux. Take them both 
from the fire, and pour the melted tin into 
the fused mass in the large crucible. Stir 
the whole well with a dry spatula of birch ; 
and pour off the fused metal immediately 
into a large quantity of cold water. J he 
sudden chill of the water will cause the fluid 
metal to divide into an infinite number of 
small particles, which will cool instantly. 2. 
If the copper is completely saturated, the 
fracture of one piece of this mixed metal will 
appear bright, and of a glossy look, resem- 
bling the face of pure quicksilver. But if it 
is a brown reddish-colour, it wants a little 
more tin. To ascertain the required propor- 
tion, melt a small quantity, known by weight, 
of the mixed metal, with a known very small 
part of tin; and, if necessary, repeat the trial 
with different closes, till the fracture ot the 
new mixture looks as already described. 
Having now ascertained the necessary addi- 
tion of tin that is required, proceed to the 
last melting of the whole metal, together 
with the additional proportional dose ot tin ; 
fuse the whole, observing the same cautions 
as before, and you will find that the mixture 
will melt with a much less heat than that for 
the first fusion. Have ready as many ounces 
of white arsenic in coarse powder as there are 
pounds in the weight ot metal; wrap up the 
arsenic in a small paper, and put it, with a 
pair of tongs, into the crucible ; stir it well 
with the spatula, retaining the breath to 
avoid the arsenical fumes or vapours (which 
however are not found to be hurtful to the 
lungs) till they disappear; take the crucible 
off the fire, clear away the dross from the top 
of the metal ; pour in about one ounce of 
powdered rosin, with as much nitre, in order 
to give the metal a clean surface, and pour 
out the metal into the moulded flasks. 3. 
The speculum should be moulded with, the 
concave surface downwards, and many small 
holes should be made through the sand up- 
wards, to discharge the air. The moulding- 
sand from Highgate near London, used by 
the founders, is as good as any for casting 
these metallic mirrors. The cast metal should 
be taken out from the sand of the flasks whilst 
it is hot, or else it may happen to crack if 
left to cool within. 
SPEEDWELL. See Veronica. 
SPELTER. See Zinc. 
SPENT, in the sea-language y signifies the 
same as broken. 
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