806 
S C I 
florescence either a dense spike, or a cluster, or somewhat of 
a panicle, terminating the stalk or stem, rarely lateral ; 
sometimes, from the extreme shortness of the stalk, almost 
radical. Common bracteas either permanent or deciduous; 
partial ones spathaceous, hooded, most usually two-flowered, 
one flower earlier than the other, which last is sometimes 
abortive. 
The discriminative characters of the order consist in the 
double perianth; solitary stamen; two-lobed anther; and 
seeds furnished with a vitellus. 
Mr. Roscoe of Liverpool, has first suggested a method of 
reducing the genera of the Scitaminece to regular order, by 
essential characters derived from the structure of the stamen, 
particularly its filament. This principle is found to be 
the only one which, while it is clear and precise in defining 
technical essential characters, leads to the establishment of 
natural genera; for the inflorescence, of which Adanson 
had first shown the importance in this respect, though not 
admitted by Mr. Roscoe into his characters, goes along 
with, and confirms, them all. The labours of Giseke 
seem not to have come under the inspection of this ingenious 
writer, nor would they, certainly, have yielded him any 
assistance. He reviews the attempts of other preceding 
botanists, and after shewing the insufficiency, or uncertainty, 
of other modes of generic definition, proposes his own, 
according to which he defines all the known genera of this 
natural order, ranging under each all the species of which 
he could discover any certain indications. His treatise on 
the subject may be found in the Transactions of the Linn. 
Soc. v. 8. 330. 
Mr. Roscoe’s ideas of a scitaminean flower are exactly 
consonant with Mr. Brown’s, except that he considers the 
inner perianth of the latter as a corolla with a double limb, 
Some have called the largest segment of the inner limb, 
which usually makes the most conspicuous and beautiful part 
of these flowers, the lower lip of the nectary, and the fila¬ 
ment its upper lip. But there is less reason than usual for 
adopting the term nectary here. It is quite unnecessary, 
and with regard to the filament, certainly erroneous; for 
that has no connexion, nor scarcely any thing in common, 
with the other; which last indeed, on account of its pecu¬ 
liar form, situation, and appearance, is still commodiously 
denominated the lip of the flower, without any implication 
of its being a nectary or not. 
The Scitaminece, as well as the Cannae, are properly placed 
in the Monandria Monogynia of the Linnaean sexual system. 
^CITUATE, a post township and sea-port of the United 
States, in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, on a bay of the 
same name. I.at. 42. 12. N. long. 70. 36. W. 
SCITUATE, a post township of the United States, in 
Providence county, Rhode Island. Population 2563. 
SCIURIS, in Botany, a genus of the class diandria, order 
monogynia.—Generic Character. Calyx: perianth one- 
leafed, five-toothed, short, acute. Corolla one-petalled, 
tubular, curved in, two-lipped. Upper lip trifid, with Ihe 
middle segment a little longer: lower, a little shorter, bifid. 
Stamina: filaments two, short, inserted into the upper lip, 
fenced by two scalelets at the base, antheriferous; three 
longer, inserted into the lower lip, hairy at the base barren. 
Anthers oblong, bifid at the base. Pistil: germ five- 
cornered, surrounded by a gland. Style length of the 
corolla, curved in. Stigma flatfish, three-lobed. Pericarp : 
capsules five, united, outwardly rounded, depressed, one- 
celled, two-valved, opening inwardly. Seeds solitary oblong. 
—Essential Character. Corolla unequal, with the upper 
lip trifid, the lower bifid and shorter. Stamina five, but 
three barren. Capsule five, united, one-celled, one-seeded. 
Seiuris aromatica.—This Is a shrub, two feet in height, 
with opposite divaricating branches. Leaves opposite, 
petioled, ternate: leaflets oblong, acuminate, quite entire. 
Spikes axillary, nodding. The leaves have pellucid dots 
scattered over them. Each flower has a little bracte.— 
Native of Guiana, in woods. 
SCIUROFIA, a village of Kerman, in Persia; 99 miles 
south-east of Kerman. 
SCI 
SCIURUS, the Squirrel, a genus of animals of the clas 
mammalia, aud order glires. The Generic Character is, thd 
it has two fore-teeth, of which the upper are wedged, the 
lower are acute: there are five upper grinders on each side, 
and four lower ones; the clavicles are perfect; the tail is shed 
on each side; the whiskers are long. The animals com¬ 
posing this elegant genus are remarkable for the liveliness of 
their disposition, the celerity of their motions, and the general 
beauty and neatness of their appearance. They inhabit 
woods, live entirely on vegetable food, and take up their 
residence in trees, where they prepare their nests. Some 
species are furnished with an expansile lateral skin, reaching 
from the fore-legs to the hind ; by the help of which they 
are enabled to spring to a greater distance than the rest of 
their genus, and to transport themselves occasionally from 
one tree to another; but this momentary support in the air, 
is all that they are capable of; and though called, from this 
circumstance, flying squirrels, they are unable to continue 
that action in the manner of bats. There are two divisions in 
this genus, containing about thirty species, of which we shall 
now give some account. 
I.—Squirrels having climbers, but no flying membrane. 
1. Sciurus vulgaris, or common squirrel.—The ears of this ’ 
species are bearded aj; the tip; the tail has the same colour 
with that of the back: it is large, with lively black eyes; the 
head, the body, the legs, and the tail, are of a bright reddish- 
brown ; the breast and belly are white; the hair on each 
side of its tail is flat.—It is a native of almost all parts of 
Europe, as well as of the northern and temperate paris of 
Asia; but it is observed to vary in the cast of its colours 
in different climates, and in the northern regions it becomes 
grey in winter. It varies in its size; but the general mea¬ 
sure of the European squirrel is about eight inches from 
the nose to the root of the tail, and the tail is nearly as 
long. In the spring these animals seem peculiarly active, 
pursuing one another in the trees, and exerting various 
efforts with great agility. They appear to dread the heat 
of the sun; for during the day they commonly remain in 
their nests, making their principal excursions by night. 
Their habitation is so contrived as to be perfectly clean,* 
warm, and impenetrable to the rain; and it is composed 
of moss, dried leaves, and other things of a similar nature. 
It is situated in the fork of two branches, having only a 
small aperture near the top, which is of a conical fprm, so as 
to throw off the rain. The squirrel generally produces three 
or four in number. It feeds on the buds and young shoots 
of trees, and is said to be particularly fond of those of the fir 
and pine; it collects likewise great quantities of nuts, which 
it deposits in the hollows of trees for its winter food, together 
with beech-mast, acorns, &c. Those that inhabit Siberia 
collect various kinds of fungi for this purpose. In a state of 
captivity, nuts form its principal food, but it will eat other 
vegetable substances, and is delighted with sugar and other 
sweets. In some parts of Siberia the squirrel'is found en¬ 
tirely white, with red eyes: in other parts, and particularly 
at Baikal, it is often perfectly black. In this country, and 
other parts of Europe, it is found with a tail milk-white, the 
other parts are of the usual colour. From these circum¬ 
stances the varieties of this species are enumerated as fol¬ 
low:—1. The upper parts are reddish-brown ; the breast and 
belly are white. 2. The tail of a pure and beautiful white. 
3. Those that are, in winter, blueish-ash, in summer red and 
the belly white. 4. Uniformly black. 5. Entirely white, 
but with red eyes. 6. Glossy silver-grey.—The squirrel, if 
it has more food than it can eat, hides the remainder: it 
drinks but little : it is said to pass rivers upon a piece of bark 
or wood, erecting its tail for a sail: the flesh is esteemed in 
some places as fit food: it is preyed upon by vermin, ser¬ 
pents, and many other animals : the skins are valuable: it 
brings forth young twice a-year, and is gravid a month. 
2. Sciurus albipes, or white-legged squirrel.—The ears of this 
species are slightly tufted; the body above is reddish-brown, 
beneath it is white; the tail is dusky.—It inhabits Ceylon : 
the tail is shorter than that of the last. 
3. Sciurus 
