SOL 
■ SOLLIES-LE-PONT, a town of France, department of 
the Var, on the Latay. Population 2800 ; 9 miles north-east 
of Toulon. 
SOLMISA'TION, s. [from the musical term sol, mi.'] A 
kind of solfaing. See To Sol-fa. —Shakspeare shows by the 
•context, that he was well acquainted with the property of 
these syllables [fa, sol, la mi,] in solmisation, which imply a 
series of sounds so unnatural, that ancient musicians prohibited 
their use.- Burney. 
SOLMS, a district in the west of Germany, in Wetteravia, 
formerly a principality of the empire, but deprived of that 
rank in 1806, and subject at present in part to Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, in part to Prussia. The products of this district are 
wheat, barley, oats, and flax. in the hilly tracks are mines 
of iron. The chief manufacture is linen. Population 
36,000. 
SOLNA, Silein, or Zilina, a small town of Hungary, 
on the Waag; 120 miles north-by-west of Buda. 
SOLNITZ, a town of Bohemia ; 80 miles east of Prague, 
Population 1100. 
SOLO, s. [Italian.] A tune played by a single instru¬ 
ment; an air sung by a single voice.—There is not a la¬ 
bourer or handicraftman that, in the cool of the evening, does 
not relieve himself with solos and sonatas ! Tatler. 
SOLO, in Italian Music, used substantively, implies a 
composition for a single instrument, with a quiet and sub¬ 
dued accompaniment, to display the talents of a great per¬ 
former ; as a solo for a violin, German flute, or violoncello. 
In full pieces, concertate, each part is informed when it be¬ 
comes principal, by the word solo; and when subordinate, 
by tarn,.which implies the chorus, or full band. 
SOLO, or Saura-Corta, an inland town of Java, the 
the capital of a district and residence of an emperor; this is 
a very large and populous town, intersected with broad and 
shaded avenues or streets, running at right angels. The 
Crattan, where the emperor resides with his court, is very spa¬ 
cious, and comprises several palaces in its area. The other 
chiefs and nobility live in villas, surrounded by high walls, 
interspersed through the town and neighbourhood. The 
European town and fort are very neat; the latter, which is 
not above 800 yards from the Crattan, contained a British 
garrison, when the island of Java was in possession of this 
country. Close to the fort is the resident’s house, which is a 
large and very handsome building. The emperor has not a 
very shewy or populous court: his troops, though numerous 
are mostly of a motley description : he has but one regiment 
of mounted carabineers in his service which make any toler¬ 
able appearance. A fine river which flows near this town, and 
passing through the dominions of the sultan and emperor, 
falls into the harbour of Gressie, affords in the rainy season a 
ready conveyance for the various productions of a large 
track of country, in exchange for commodities which are sent 
up in boats from the coast. 
SOLOFRA, a town of Naples, in the Principatro Ultra, 
with 6100 inhabitants. It has several manufactures on a 
small scale; among others, leather, parchment, and gold and 
silver plate. 
SOLOLA, province of Guatimala, in Spanish America, 
in the interior of the country. It is mostly inhabited by In¬ 
dians, living in missions and villages. It is bounded on the 
north by the provinces of Quesaltenango and Totanicapan, 
south by the sea, west by the province of Suchitepeque, and 
east by the valley of Guatimala. It is of limited extent, but 
fertile in excellent wheat. The capital is of the same name. 
It is large, and contains, according to Alcedo, 4700 In¬ 
dians. 
SOLOMBO, Great, a small island in the Eastern seas. 
Lat. 5. 36. S. long. 114. 45. E. It is of a moderate height. 
• SOLOMBO, Little, a small island a little to the north¬ 
east of Great Solombo. 
SOLOMIAC, a town in the south of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of the Gers, on the river Gimone, with 800 inhabi¬ 
tants. 
SOLOMON’S FORK, a branch of the river Kanses, which 
falls into the Missouri. 
Vol. XXIII. No. 1574. 
S O L 341 
SOLOMON’S ISLANDS, a group in the South Pacific 
ocean, situated chiefly between Lat. 5. and 12. S. long. 155. 
and 160. E. but neither their precise site nor number seem 
completely ascertained. The largest are Ysabel, Guadalcanar, 
San Cristoval, and an island called New Georgia by lieute¬ 
nant Shortland. Probably Bougainville’s islands on the west, 
belong to this group. The Spaniards affirm that Ysabel and 
Guadalcanar are very large islands: the extent of the former 
is uncertain; that of the latter is probably near 70 miles; 
Georgia is still larger; and San Cristoval is not less than 60. 
Great variety of vegetables grow on these islands; and the 
wild boar is common in the woods. Prodigious numbers of 
birds are also seen, as loories, cockatoes, and aquatic fowl of 
all kinds. Snakes are among the animals of the Solomon 
islands: ants of great size, and many uncommon insects. The 
inhabitants are apparently of different races, some being per¬ 
fectly black, others copper coloured. The former have woolly 
hair, very soft to the touch: the nose is not so flat, nor are 
the lips so thick as in negroes. Those who are copper co¬ 
loured have black hair; and most of them cut their hair short 
around the crown, powdering both it and their eye-brows 
with lime. The men tattoo their bodies, or paint a white 
line over the eye brows, from one temple to the other, and it 
appears that this latter ornament is used by the women also. 
The ears are pierced; and the hole, in which rings of dif¬ 
ferent kinds are inserted, is dilated to a great size; and an 
ornament is likewise wore in the septum of the nose, and 
others about different parts of the body. Both sexes go 
entirely naked, except a scanty girdle around the waist. 
Their arms are the bow and arrow, spears and clubs; and in 
defence they use shields of wicker-work. From the mode in 
which the arrows are pointed with a fish bone, they are ren¬ 
dered exceedingly dangerous. Their canoes are skilfully and 
neatly constructed of pieces joined together, unlike those of 
most savage nations: the head and stern are very high, and 
in general ornamented with pieces of mother of pearl. One 
of the larger measured 56 feet long, by 3] feet broad. It is 
affirmed that voyages of 10 or 12 days’ duration are made in 
these vessels. These pedple are said to be in a state of con¬ 
stant warfare, which is hot improbable, considering the 
vicinity of other islands-, but nothing is known with certainty 
of their government, religion, or customs. They have con¬ 
ducted themselves treacherously towards Europeon navigators, 
and seem to be averse to visits by them in their territories, and 
view them with much distrust. It appears that Alvaro de Men- 
dina discovered these islands in 1567, at which time it is af¬ 
firmed the natives were cannibals. The islands were com¬ 
puted at eighteen in number, and some of them of large size. 
Scarcely any remembrance of them was preserved, until M. 
de Surville’s voyage in 1767, who had an unfortunate en¬ 
counter with them, which terminated in his entrapping a 
young islander into his possession, and carrying him off. 
They were called by him the Land of Arsacides. They have 
been recognized, but not completely surveyed, by later na¬ 
vigators. " 
SALOMON’S LOAF, s. A plant. 
SO'LOMON’S SEAL, s. [ polygonatum. Lat.] A plant, 
SOLOMON’S TOWN, an Indian settlement of the United 
States, in Ohio, near the head of the great Miami; 17 miles 
south of Fort M‘Arthur. 
SOLON, the Grecian lawgiver. See Greece. 
SOLON, a township of the United States, in Somerset 
county, Maine, on the Kennebeck. Population 312.— 
2d. Of Courtland county. New York; 132 miles west of 
Albany. Population 12k0. 
SOLOON, a small island in the Eastern seas, 25 
miles from the island of Samar. Lat. 10. 55. N. long. 
125. 42. E. 
SOLOR, an island in the Eastern seas, situated to the south 
of the island of Celebes, about 70 miles in circumference, 
separated from the east coast of the island of Flores, 
by a narrow channel called the Straits ofFlores. Lat. 1. 33. 
S. long. 123. 17. E, 
SOLOS, [2 0 X 0 ?, Gr.] in Antiquity, an instrument with 
which the exercise of the quoit was performed. 
4S SOLOTSCHEV, 
