STI 
are two species, viz, S. bunius, and S. dian- 
dra. 
STILBE, in botany, a genus of the Poly- 
gamia Dioecia class and order. Generic 
character: hermaphrodite, calyx exterior; 
perianth three-leaved; leaflets lanceolate, 
spreading, and niucronate^ interior, perianth 
one-Ieafed, five-toothed, cartilaginous, to 
be hardened ; corolla one-petalled, funnel- 
form ; stamina, filaments four, awl shaped, 
placed on the throat, longer; anthers cor- 
date, obtuse; pistil, germ superior, ovate; 
style filiform, length of the stamens ; stigma 
acute ; pericarpinra none, but the interior 
calyx inclosiirg, hardened, deciduous ; seed 
one : male on a distinct individual ; calyx 
exterior as in the hermaphrodite ; interior 
none; corolla as in the hermaphrodite; the 
tube membranaceous ; stamina as in the 
hennaphodite ; pericarpiura and seed none. 
There are three species, all natives of the 
Cape'bf Good Hope. 
STILBITE. This stone was first formed 
into a distinct species by M. Hauy. For- 
merly it was considered as a variety of 
zeolite. The primitive form of its crystals 
is a rectangular prism, whose prases are rec- 
tangles. It crystallizes sometimes in dode- 
cahedrons, consisting of a four-sided prism 
■with hexagonal faces, terminated by four- 
sided summits, whose faces are oblique 
parallelograms ; .sometimes in six-sided 
prisms, two of whose solid angles are want- 
ing, and a small triangular face in their 
place. Its texture is foliated. The laminae 
are easily separated from each other, and 
are somewhat flexible. Lustre pearly. Hard- 
ness inferior to that of zeolite, which 
scratches stilbite. Specific gravity 2.5. 
Colour pearl-white. Powder bright-white, 
sometimes with a shade of red. This pow- 
der, when exposed to the air, cakes and 
adlieres as if it bad absorbed water. It 
causes syrup of violets to assume a green 
colour. When stilbite is heated in a porce- 
lain crucible, it swells up and assumes the 
colour and semi-transparency of baked por- 
celain. By this process it loses 0.185 of its 
weight. Before the blow pipe it froths like 
borax, and then melts into an opaque white 
coloured enamel. The constituent parts are. 
Silica 52.0 
Alumina 17.5 
Lime... 9.0 
AVater..... lb.5 
97.0 
3.0 
100 
STI 
STILLIMGIA, in botany, so named in 
honour of Benjamin Stiliingfleet, a genus 
of the Monoecia Monadelphia class and 
order. Natural order of Tricocc®. Eu- 
pliorbi®, Jussieu. Essential character : 
male, calyx hemispherical, many-flowered ; 
corolla tubular, erose : female, calyx one- 
flowered, inferior; horolla superior; style 
trifid ; capsule tiicoccous. There is but one 
species, viz. S. sylvatica; this is a shrub 
with many upright, round, milky stems, 
three feet in height, terminated by a spike ; 
two branches commonly spring out at the 
base of the spike ; leaves alternate, petioled, 
remote, elliptic, serrulate, shining, spread- 
ing ; spike, or ament, terminating, sessile ; 
flowers small and yellow. It is a native of 
Carolina in pine woods. 
STIMULI, in botany, siings, a species 
of armature, or offensive weapon, with 
which some plants are armed, as the 
nettle. 
STINK pot, an earthen jar charged with 
powdqr, grenades, and other materials of 
an offensive and suffocating smell. It 'is 
sometimes used by privateers to annoy an 
enemy when they mean to board. 
Stink stm-e, or Stinkstein, in minera- 
logy, a species of the Talc genus. Is of a 
wood-brown colour ; it occurs massive, and 
sometimes disseminated ; internally, its lus- 
tre is from dull to glimmering ; when rub- 
bed it emits an urinous smell ; but when ex- 
posed to heat it lo.ses its colour and smell, 
and is converted into quick-lime : it effer- 
vesces powerfully with acids. It consists 
of lime and carbonic acid, and a liydro-sul- 
phuret, which is the cause of the smell 
which it emits when rubbed: it is found 
principally in beds. The lightest coloured 
varieties are the softest. 
STIPA, in botany, feather grass, a genus 
of the Triandria Digynia class and order. 
N'atural order of Gramina, Graminere, or 
Grasses. Essential character : calyx two- 
valved, one-flowered; corolla oiitp valve 
with a terminating awn, jointed at the base. 
There are fourteen species, of which we 
shall notice the S. pennata, soft feather 
grass : the root is perennial, fibrous, and 
tufted; culms simple, a foot in height, up- 
rjght, round, smootlq without knots, cloth- 
ed entirely with the sheaths of the leaves ; 
leaves rolled in, and bristle-shaped, mnero- 
nate, glaucus ; sheaths long, aqd widened ; 
s,tipole lanceolate, growing to the leaf ; pa- 
nicle simple, few-flowered ; flowers large, 
from four to six ; floret awl-shaped, round, 
nervelessj shorter than tha calyx, silky, 
