S I L 
S I L 
may be increased by parting the roots, in the same man¬ 
ner as is practised for the perennial sun flower. To in¬ 
crease which, slip off the young shoots in July, plant them 
in a pot filled %vith light loam, plunge it in a gentle hot-bed, 
covering the pot closely with a bell or hand-glass, and shade 
it from the sun. When the slips are rooted, plant each in a 
separate pot; place them, during the warm months, in the 
open air, in a warm situation; but in winter keep them in a 
moderate stove. 
SILPHOE, a village of England, North Riding of 
Yorkshire; 6 miles north-west of Scarborough. 
SILSDEN ON THE MOOR, a village of England, 
West Riding of Yorkshire; 4 miles north-by-west of Keigh¬ 
ley. Population 1608. 
SILSOE, or Silvishoe, a village, and formerly a market 
town of England, in Bedfordshire, with annual fairs in May 
and September; 10| miles south-by-east of Bedford, and 
14£ north-north-west of London. Population 480. 
SILT, s. Mud; slime.—In long process of time, the silt 
and sands shall so choak and shallow the sea in and about it. 
Sir T. Brown. 
SILTON, a parish of England, in Dorsetshire; 8 miles 
north-west of Shaftesbury. 
SILTON, Nether and Over, adjoining villages of Eng¬ 
land, North Riding of Yorkshire; 7 miles north-by-east of 
Thirsk. 
Sl'LVAN, adj. Woody; full of woods. 
Betwixt two rows of rocks, a silvan scene 
Appears above, and groves for ever green. Dri/den. 
SI'LVER, s. [silulr, Goth.; peolpep, Sax.; siller. 
Germ.; silver , Dutch.] Silver is a white and hard metal, 
next in weight to gold. Watts. —Any thing of soft splen¬ 
dour. See Mineralogy. 
Pallas, piteous of her plaintive cries. 
In slumber clos’d her silver streaming eyes. Pope. 
Money made of silver. 
SI'LVER, adj. Made of silver.—The silver -shafted 
goddess of the place. Pope. —White like silver. 
Old Salisbury, shame to thy silver hair. 
Thou mad misleader of thy brain-sick son. Shakspeare. 
Having a pale lustre. 
So sweet a kiss the golden sun gives not 
To those fresh morning drops upon the rose, 
As thy eye beams, when their fresh rays have smote 
The night of dew that on my cheeks down flows; 
Nor shines the silver moon one half so bright, 
Through the transparent bosom of the deep, 
As doth thy face through tears of mine give light. 
Sha/cspeare. 
Soft of voice; soft in sound. This phrase is Italian, voce 
argent inn. 
It is my love that calls upon my name. 
How silver sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night. 
Like softest music to attending ears. Shakspeare. 
Soft; gentle; quiet. 
The whyles his lord in silver slumber lay, 
Like as the evening star adorn’d with deawy ray. Spenser. 
To SI'LVER, v. a. To cover superficially with silver. 
There be fools alive, I wis. 
Silver'd o’er, and so was this. Shakspeare. 
To adorn with mild lustre. 
Here retired the sinking billows sleep, 
And smiling calmness silver'd o’er the deep. Pope. 
SILVER BLUFF, a headland on the coast of South 
Carolina, at the mouth of the river Savannah, about 30 feet 
higher than the low lands of the opposite shore. It extends 
about two miles on the river, and is about one mile wide. 
It is of a fertile soil, and exhibits vestiges of antiquity. 
SILVER BUSH, in Botany, a species of Anthyllis ; 
which see. 
Vol. XXIII. No. 1566. 
221 
SILVER CREEK, a river of Kentucky, which runs 
into the river Kentucky. Lat. 37. 41. N. long. 84. 40. 
W. 
SILVER FIR, the name of a tree of the pine kind. See 
Pin us. 
SILVER GRAIN, in Vegetable Physiology, is described 
by Mr. Knight, Phil. Trans, for 1801, 344, as consisting 
of numerous thin plates, “ diverging in every direction from 
the medulla to the bark, having little adhesion to each other 
at anytime, and less during spring and summer, than in au¬ 
tumn and winter; whence the greater brittleness of wood 
in the former seasons.” The same writer remarks, that 
these plates are visible in every wood which he had examined, 
except some of the Palm tribe; but are of a different width 
in different kinds, lying between, and pressing upon, the 
sap-vessels of the alburnum. It may be observed, that in 
the oak, “ every tube is touched by them at short distances, 
and slightly diverted from its course. If these,” continues 
Mr. Knight, “ are expansible under changes of temperature, 
or from any cause arising from the powers of vegetable life, 
I conceive that they are as well placed as is possible, to pro¬ 
pel the sap to the extremities of the branches; and then- 
restless temper, after the tree has ceased to live, inclines me 
to believe, that they are not made to be idle whilst it con¬ 
tinues alive.” In support of this opinion, we would re¬ 
mark, that the plates in question are found where the spiral 
coats of the sap-vessels either no longer exist, or have lost 
their elasticity. 
SILVER LAKE, a post village of the United States, in 
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. 
SILVER RIVER, a river of Ireland, in King’s county, 
which runs into the Brosna; about 8 miles north-east of 
Banagher. 
SILVER TREE, in Botany. See Protea. 
SILVER WEED, a species of Potentilla; which 
see. 
SI'LVERBEATER, s. One that foliates silver.— Silver, 
beaters chuse the finest coin, as that which is most exten¬ 
sive under the hammer. Boyle. 
SILVERDALE, a village of England, in Lancashire; 
IQi miles north-by-west of Lancaster. 
SILVERHILL, the name of a strong military post in 
England, in the county of Sussex; 6 miles from Battle. 
It commands an extensive view of the surrounding coun¬ 
try. 
SILVERING, the covering of any work with a thin 
coating of silver. 
The only metals to which silvering is applied are copper 
and brass, and very rarely iron; and there are three modes 
of performing this operation, viz., by amalgamation, by mu- 
riated silver, and by silver in substance. The first mode is 
performed by adding plates of copper to a solution of ni¬ 
trated silver, which will precipitate the silver in its metallic 
state, and very finely divided ; scrape this from the copper, 
and let it be well washed and dried. With half an ounce of 
this powder, of common salt and sal ammoniac two ounces, 
and one drachm of corrosive sublimate, well rubbed together, 
make a paste by the addition of a little water, then clean the 
vessel to be silvered with a small quantity of diluted aqua¬ 
fortis, or by scouring it with a mixture of common salt and 
tartar. Rub it, when perfectly clean, with the paste already 
mentioned, until it is entirely covered with a white metallic 
coating; which coating is an amalgam produced by the de¬ 
composition of the corrosive sublimate by means of the cop¬ 
per, to the surface of which it applies very closely and ex¬ 
peditiously. The copper thus silvered over is then to be 
washed, dried, and heated nearly red, for the purpose of 
driving off the mercury: the silver remains behind and ad¬ 
heres firmly to the copper, in a state capable of receiving a 
high polish. The second method of silvering is that by luna 
cornea. For this purpose, prepare the luna cornea in the 
usual manner, by pouring a solution of common salt into ni¬ 
trate of silver, as long as any precipitation occurs, and boil¬ 
ing the mixture; then mix the white curdy matter thus ob¬ 
tained with three parts of good pearl-ash, one part of washed 
3 L whiting, 
