624 
SAM 
state chose ten beautiful young females and ten comely and 
.virtuous young men. The most distinguished of the latter 
married the most beautiful of the former, and thus in suc¬ 
cession till the whole number was disposed of. 
SAMNITES, an order of gladiators, armed by the Cam¬ 
panians after the fashion of the country of the Samnites. 
They wore a shield broad at the top, to defend the breasts 
and shoulders, and growing more narrow toward the bot¬ 
tom, that it might be moved with the greater convenience; 
they had also a sortof belt coming over their breasts, a greave 
on their left foot, and a crested helmet on their heads. Livy, 
lib. ix. 
SAMNIUM, in Ancient Geography, a country of Italy, 
the central part of which is part of the Apennine, between 
the Marsi and Peljgni, to the north-west, the Frentani to the 
east, Apulia to the south-east, Lucania to the south, and 
Campania to the south-east. Its limits, however, have va¬ 
ried at different periods, and have been differently slated by 
geographers. The principal rivers of Samnium were the 
Sagras, which ran to the east; the Vulturnus, which pur¬ 
sued a southern course for a considerable interval, and then 
ran westward into the sea; the Trinius and Tifernus, which 
flowed eastward into the Adriatic sea; the Tamarus, &c. 
Its principal towns were Alinum, ffEsernia, Alisas, Bovianum, 
Caudium, Sapinum, Volona, Palumbinum, Aculanum, 
Cominium, Itomalea, Aquilonia, Morgantia, Ferentum, and 
Beneventum. , 
SAMO, a small town of New Grenada, in the province of 
San Juan de los Llanos, on the shore of the river Amadea.— 
It is also the name of two other settlements in Chili. 
SAMO CAPO, a promontory of the Ionian island of Ce- 
phalonia, on the north-east coast. 
SAMOCRAT, a village of Lower Egypt, on the western 
branch of the Nile; 6 miles south of Faoua. 
SAMOCZYN, or Szumaoin, a small town of Prussian' 
Poland; 35 miles west of Bromberg. Population 1100. 
Here is a large dike, a mile in length, erected to coniine the 
inundations of the river Netz. 
SAMOEN, a small town of the north-w'est of Italy, in 
Savoy, with 3100 inhabitants; 24 miles west of Geneva. 
SAMOG1TIA, or Szamait, a track of country in Russian 
Lithuania, forming the north-west part of that great province, 
and bearing the title of a county. It lies to the south of 
Courland, and to the north of Prussia proper, having part of 
its western boundary along the Baltic, but without any har¬ 
bour of consequence. It is a very backward country, the 
inhabitants living in wretched hovels, one end of which is 
occupied by their families, the other by their cattle. These 
cottages are in general log huts, having the interstices filled 
with bark, moss, or straw, and the top terminating in a 
point, with a hole to give vent to the smoke. The clothing 
and agricultural implements of the inhabitants are equally 
rude, their shoes being made of bark, their carts fastened by 
wooden nails, their axles never greased, their ploughs with¬ 
out iron. A great part of the country is covered with 
forests: in these bees abound, and afford both wax and 
honey, two important articles of export. The wild animals 
are bears and wolves; occasionally the elk and wild ox. 
The soil is in many parts productive- The climate, though 
cold in winter, is so warm in summer, that the crops, not 
only of oats and barley, but wheat, would be abundant, if 
the cultivation were not so indifferent. The inhabitants 
appear to be of two races, one rather tall, descended from the 
Wends; the other short, but robust, more similar to the 
Lethonians. Their language resembles the other dialects of 
the Gothic, and is not uncouth ; but many of their customs 
are continued without improvement since tire days of their 
unci ilised ancestors. 
SAMOLUS [of Pliny. A diminutive from Samos, in 
which island this plant was observed by Valerandus], in Bo - 
tany, a genus of the class pentandria, order nronogynia, natu¬ 
ral order of precise. Lysimachiae (Juss .)—'Generic Charac¬ 
ter. Calyx: perianth, five-parted, superior, blunt at the base, 
segments erect, permanent. Corolla one petalled, salver¬ 
shaped : tube very short, the length of the calyx, patulous; 
SAM 
border flat, five parted, blunt; scalelets very short, at the base 
of the finus of the border, converging. Stamina: fila¬ 
ments five, short, fenced by the scalets of the corolla. Anthers 
converving, covered. Pistil: germ inferior. Style filiform, 
length of the stamens. Stigma capitate. Pericarp: capsule 
ovate, girt by the calyx, one-celled, half-five-valved. Seeds 
very numerous, ovate, small. Receptacle globular, large.— 
Essential Character. Corolla salver-shaped. Stamina, 
fenced by the scalets of the corolla. Capsule one-celled 
inferior. 
Samolus Valerandi, brook-weed or water-pimpernel, 
—Root perennial, consisting of long white fibres, commonly 
simple. The whole herb is smooth. Stem from a span to 
a foot in height, branched; leaves alternate, obtuse, perfectly 
entire, shining. Racemes terminating, erect, many flower¬ 
ed ; pedicels commonly in pairs, one-flowered, erect, jointed, 
with one lanceolate bracte at the joint. Flowers small, white. 
—It is an inhabitant of every quarter of the globe, in marshes, 
wet meadows, and great ditches. 
Propagation and Culture .—If the seeds be sown soon 
after they are ripe on a moist spot !of ground, they will 
come up readily, and require only to be kept clean 
from weeds. 
SAMON, an island in the Eastern seas, lying off Timor, 
to the north-west. It is woody, hilly land, but not moun¬ 
tainous, and towards the south end quite low. A woody 
island called Tios in the charts, lies off the south-west point, 
which is the only thing like danger on the west side of 
Samon ; but the tides run strong here, and make ripplings, 
which at first alarm, from their great resemblance to breakers. 
SAMONA, a township of the United States, in Northamp¬ 
ton county, Pennsylvania. 
SAMO PAULO, a small island near the western coast of 
the island of Samos. 
SAMORE HILL, a mountain of Ireland, in the county of 
Sligo. 
SAMOS, a name given by the ancients to three distinct 
islands, viz., one situated near Thrace, called Samos of 
Thrace, or Samothrace, now “ Samandrachi;” the second, 
called by the Greeks Samos the steep, now Cephalonia; 
and the third lying near the coast of Ionia, of which we 
shall here give an account. Some authors affirm that the 
name Samos, which has superseded other appellations, was 
derived from a hero, who was born here. Others say, that 
the Greeks calling all elevated places Samos, have thus 
designated an island, which presents considerable eminences, 
insomuch that it was a land-mark all over the Archipelago. 
It was formerly consecrated to Juno, who is said to have 
been born here, on the .banks of the river Imbrasus, under 
the shade of an agnus-castus, or chaste tree, a shrub com¬ 
mon in this island, as well as in the other islands of the 
Archipelago. The magnificent temple that was erected 
here in honour of this goddess is totally annihilated, and the 
greatest part of the ancient splendour of the island is lost. 
Samos was also the cradle of Pythagoras, of the poet Cha- 
rilus, of the mathematician Conon, contemporary of Archi¬ 
medes, of Timanthus, one of the most famous painters of 
ancient Greece; and it was in this island that Herodotus, 
flying from tyranny, sought an asylum, and composed in 
this agreeable retreat the first books of his history. Samos 
afterwards became successively subject to the Persians and 
Athenians, and did not at any future period enjoy an inde¬ 
pendent political existence. It was, however, much cele¬ 
brated by the ancients for its fertility, and for the excellence 
of its fruits. This reputation it still preserves iu modern 
times. It contains, indeed, two ranges of very lofty moun¬ 
tains, some parts .of which are verdant, covered with woods, 
and display the most beautiful scenery; but others are bleak 
and rocky. Between these, however, are rich and cultivated 
plains, which produce abundantly grain, vines, and all the 
fruits of this climate. Pococke says, the soil runs naturally 
to wood, and that he had observed in Samos all the .trees 
which grow in Asia, except the cypress. Samos is 24 miles 
long, 12 broad, and about 70 in circumference. The popu¬ 
lation is estimated by Tournefort, at only 12,000; but Mr. 
Turner, 
