SLUGWORMS

applied to other molluscs, and, wrongly, to certain insects which occur as pests in gardens.

Slug'worms, incorrectly called SLUGS, larvæ of sawflies, belonging to the Hymenoptera. They are sluglike in form. In the U. S. the pear, rose, vine, raspberry, walnut, linden, and other trees are infested with similar larvæ, which are very destructive. Decoctions of tobacco or quassia, whale-oil soap, a weak solution of carbolic acid, and petroleum are recommended for shrubs and trees infested with slugworms. For small trees and shrubs handpicking is generally sufficient.

Small Arms, the projectile arms which since the invention of gunpowder have replaced the bow and arrow and crossbow. The original firearms, bombards, were not portable, but in the fifteenth century lighter pieces came into use; even these required the service of several

SMALL ARMS

small arms were obtained, including nineteen varieties of breech-loading carbines and eight of rifles, those of Burnside, Sharps, Maynard, and Henry (the latter a magazine arm) being the best known.

FIG. 3-REMINGTON LOCKING RIFLE, MODEL, 1871.

Since 1885 there has been a great improvement in small arms, the most important being the substitution of magazine arms for single loaders, the decrease in the caliber of the barrel, and the use of smokeless powder. The penetration of the bullet has been increased by the alteration in its shape, by its harder surface, and also by its more rapid initial movement. At the shorter ranges, 200 to 300 yds.,

FIG. 1.-HALL'S BREECH-LOADING MUSKET, Patented, 1811.

men, and were fired from a tripod. Of such guns the Duke of Orleans possessed 4,000 in 1411; in 1414 they were employed at the siege of Arras, and in 1471 were introduced into England. These hand cannon could be carried by two men, had a straight stock of wood about 3 ft. long, and were fired by a match. In Italy and Spain improvements received the names of hacquebutte, arquebuse, and mousquet; the

FIG. 4.-MARTINI-HENRY (BRITISH).

protection is now obtained by 0.2 in. of steel plate and about 0.3 in. of wrought iron, and the penetration into earth at these distances is about 25 in,, into pine about 30 in. Their effect upon the living human body is yet to be fully determined; probably if striking no bone the bullets will inflict wounds on three or four men in file, but wounds less serious than those from the heavier lead ball. Knives

FIG. 2.-SPRINGFIELD RIFLE.

stock was made curved, permitting aim to be taken from the shoulder instead of firing from the chest, and the weight was reduced to 15 lb. The tripod had now been replaced by a forked rest which the soldier carried as a cane. At the battle of Pavia the Spanish had 2,000 arquebusiers and 800 mousqueteers, whose fire determined the issue of the battle, the balls penetrating the best armor of the knights.

In the flintlock the weight was greatly reduced, and without material improvement remained during one hundred and fifty years the arm of the infantry, until in the nineteenth century the percussion cap was invented and rifles were substituted for smooth bores. The needle gun used by the Prussians in the war with Austria, 1866, demonstrated the superiority of the breech-loading over the muzzleloading rifle. The blunderbuss was a short, heavy, large-bored gun, used to discharge a heavy load of slugs or small bullets at short range. During the Civil War nearly 4,000,000

Slidell, John, 1793-1871; American statesman; b. New York; settled at New Orleans; U. S. District Attorney, 1829-33; member of Congress, 1843-45; minister to Mexico, 1845, but not received by the Mexican Govt.; U. S. Senator, 1853-61, but withdrew upon the secession of his state, which he had done much to promote. Sailing from Charleston as commissioner of the Confederate Govt. to France, he and his associate, James M. Mason, embarked at Havana on the British steamer

Trent. On November 8, 1861, Capt. Wilkes, of the U. S. frigate San Jacinto, stopped the Trent, seized the commissioners, and brought them to the U. S., where they were impris

oned at Fort Warren. Bitter denunciations of the seizure appeared in the British press, and the attitude of the British Govt. was threat

ening, but the U. S. disavowed the act of Wilkes and released the prisoners January 1, 1862.

Slide Rule, an instrument for solving arithmetical problems where approximate results are satisfactory. The form invented by William Oughtred (1573-1660) is best known, and the more precise one introduced by Edwin Thacher in 1885 is much used. The principle is that of logarithms, the divisions on one scale being those of the logarithms of numbers from 1 to 100, or from 1 to 1,000, while the numbers themselves are marked at the divisions of the other; by sliding one scale along the other the products and quotients of two numbers may be read off by inspection.

Sli'go, country of Connaught, Ireland; area, 721 sq. m. Agriculture is the principal occupation, especially cattle breeding and dairy farming. Pop. (1901) 84,083. Principal town, Sligo, 137 m. NW. of Dublin; pop. (1901) 10,862.

Sling, a small disk of leather pierced by a hole and suspended by one, two, or three strings, say a yard long. A stone was placed upon the disk, and then whirled rapidly about, when one of the strings was dropped from the hand at the proper instant and the missile sent with force through the air. A sling was used by David in his encounter with Goliath. The Greeks used the sling, often with a plummet of lead. The Persians, Archæans, Acarnanians, and especially the Balearic islanders, were famous slingers.

Slo'cum, Henry Warner, 1827-94; American military officer; b. Pompey, N. Y.; graduated, West Point, 1852; appointed second lieutenant of artillery; first lieutenant, 1855. After a brief campaign against the Seminoles, he resigned to practice law. On May 21, 1861, he was colonel of the Twenty-seventh New York Volunteers, and led at Bull Run, July 21st. He was engaged in the siege of Yorktown and action of West Point. At Gaines's Mill, June

SLUGS

27th, his command rendered important service; at Glendale, June 30th, it held the right of the main line, as at Malvern Hill, July 1st. He was made a major general of volunteers July 4th, and engaged in the second battle of Bull Run, at South Mountain, and at Antietam. In command of the Twelfth Corps, he led at Chancellorsville and at Gettysburg, where he commanded the right wing. He then served in the Department of the Cumberland and the District of Vicksburg. In command of the Twentieth Corps, he was the first to occupy Atlanta, Ga., September 2d. In Sherman's march to the sea he commanded the left grand division. In September, 1865, he resigned, and resumed the practice of law; was member of Congress, 1870-72 and 1884-86.

Sloe, fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), a small thorny plum tree of Europe, sparingly naturalized in the E. U. S. The black austere fruit is used for preserves, for making a factitious port wine, and for dyeing black. The unripe fruit yields German acacia, a substitute for gum arabic, and the wood is haps the original form of the plum. made into walking sticks. The sloe is per

Sloth, any one of several species of the form resembles that of the Primates (man Bradypodidae, notable for sluggishness. The from the common abdominal integument, the and monkeys) in the freedom of the members length of the limbs, and especially of the fore reduced numbers, two or three (fully develones, and the atrophy of the tail. Toes in differ considerably. All are confined to S. and oped) in front and three behind. The species

Central America. Numerous peculiar characters are exhibited by the skeleton. The species are ill adapted for progression on the ground, the feet being bent inward, but are fitted for life in trees. Unlike all other mammals, they cling to the branches by their feet with the back downward, and thus they progress, feed, and sleep. They rarely or never voluntarily descend to the ground, but when one tree is denuded of its leaves proceed from it to a contiguous one by means of interlocking boughs.

Sloyd. See MANUAL TRAINING.

Slugs, naked terrestrial molluscs, mostly of the family Limacida. The name is sometimes

SLUGWORMS

applied to other molluscs, and, wrongly, to certain insects which occur as pests in gardens.

Slug'worms, incorrectly called SLUGS, larvæ of sawflies, belonging to the Hymenoptera. They are sluglike in form. In the U. S. the pear, rose, vine, raspberry, walnut, linden, and other trees are infested with similar larvæ, which are very destructive. Decoctions of tobacco or quassia, whale-oil soap, a weak solution of carbolic acid, and petroleum are recommended for shrubs and trees infested with slugworms. For small trees and shrubs handpicking is generally sufficient.

Small Arms, the projectile arms which since the invention of gunpowder have replaced the bow and arrow and crossbow. The original firearms, bombards, were not portable, but in the fifteenth century lighter pieces came into use; even these required the service of several

SMALL ARMS

small arms were obtained, including nineteen varieties of breech-loading carbines and eight of rifles, those of Burnside, Sharps, Maynard, and Henry (the latter a magazine arm) being the best known.

FIG. 3-REMINGTON LOCKING RIFLE, MODEL, 1871.

Since 1885 there has been a great improvement in small arms, the most important being the substitution of magazine arms for single loaders, the decrease in the caliber of the barrel, and the use of smokeless powder. The penetration of the bullet has been increased by the alteration in its shape, by its harder surface, and also by its more rapid initial movement. At the shorter ranges, 200 to 300 yds.,

FIG. 1.-HALL'S BREECH-LOADING MUSKET, PATENTED, 1811.

men, and were fired from a tripod. Of such guns the Duke of Orleans possessed 4,000 in 1411; in 1414 they were employed at the siege of Arras, and in 1471 were introduced into England. These hand cannon could be carried by two men, had a straight stock of wood about 3 ft. long, and were fired by a match. In Italy and Spain improvements received the names of hacquebutte, arquebuse, and mousquet; the

FIG. 4.-MARTINI-HENRY (BRITISH).

protection is now obtained by 0.2 in. of steel plate and about 0.3 in. of wrought iron, and the penetration into earth at these distances is about 25 in,, into pine about 30 in. Their effect upon the living human body is yet to be fully determined; probably if striking no bone the bullets will inflict wounds on three or four men in file, but wounds less serious than those from the heavier lead ball. Knives

FIG. 2.-SPRINGFIELD RIFLE.

stock was made curved, permitting aim to be taken from the shoulder instead of firing from the chest, and the weight was reduced to 15 Ib. The tripod had now been replaced by a forked rest which the soldier carried as a cane. At the battle of Pavia the Spanish had 2,000 arquebusiers and 800 mousqueteers, whose fire determined the issue of the battle, the balls penetrating the best armor of the knights.

In the flintlock the weight was greatly reduced, and without material improvement remained during one hundred and fifty years the arm of the infantry, until in the nineteenth century the percussion cap was invented and rifles were substituted for smooth bores. The needle gun used by the Prussians in the war with Austria, 1866, demonstrated the superiority of the breech-loading over the muzzleloading rifle. The blunderbuss was a short, heavy, large-bored gun, used to discharge a heavy load of slugs or small bullets at short range. During the Civil War nearly 4,000,000

SMALLPOX

pencil which follows the bullet is successively forced by its expansion and constantly deflected until its power is exhausted. See MAGAZINE GUNS.

SMILAX

scribe inoculation with the secretion of the smallpox pustule as producing a mild form of the disease, and thereby preventing the dangerous natural form. Smallpox was known in Europe in the sixth century, and in the sixteenth century it was carried by the Spaniards to America.

The manifestations of smallpox are general illness, violent pains in the back and head, often a chill, high temperature, followed in three or four days by an eruption of papules (pimples), which in about four days more become vesicles, and then pustules. The pustules may break down into ulcers, which when healed leave pits of scar tissue, which have a characteristic appearance. In discrete smallpox the pustules are separate and distinct; in confluent smallpox the pustules run together, and form serious ulcers. Confluent smallpox is a severe type. With the appearance of the papules the fever abates, but the pustules are accompanied by a second rise of temperature, after which the symptoms progress toward death or recovery.

Smallpox is both contagious and infectious; that is, it may be derived from direct association with patients or by contact with articles which have been used by them. It may be spread from corpses. The disease has appeared after articles used by the sick have been handled, even after these articles have been removed to a long distance, and after a long time had elapsed. The smallpox germ has not been satisfactorily isolated. Unborn children have developed the disease, showing that it is transmissible through the blood of a mother. Previous to the introduction of vaccination, smallpox was one of the most dreaded of diseases, and millions lost their lives from its ravages. Since the general use of vaccination, and partly on account of improved hygienic conditions among all classes of society, the ravages of smallpox have diminished and only in few localities does it appear as an epidemic. The treatment of smallpox is principally symptomatic, that is, addressed to individual conditions. Violent medication has been abandoned. The patient is isolated, given digestible food, plenty of water, and cool and antiseptic applications are made to the skin. Among the most severe complications of smallpox are gangrene, boils, and blindness.

Smectym'nuus, name compounded of the initials of the authors of a tract entitled "An Answer" (1641), written in reply to Bishop Hall's "Episcopacy by Divine Right Asserted" (1641). The five writers were Stephen Marshall, Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew Newcomen, and William Spurstowe.

Smell. See NOSE,

Smelt'ing, the process of reducing metals from their ores by fusion, or processes in which an ore or a product of other operations, such as roasting, treatment with acids, etc., is reduced to pure metal. The fusions are conducted in shaft furnaces, reverberatory furnaces, or crucibles. Metals may be produced from ores by a single smelting operation, as iron; or they may require a series of smeltings, alternated with roastings, as copper when made from sulphureted ores. The smelting process may be simply reducing, or oxidizing and reducing, or may be designed to volatilize certain bodies, to oxidize others, and to reduce still others. Charcoal, coke, and anthracite are the fuels generally used in shaft furnaces and for heating crucibles, and bituminous coal and wood for reverberatory furnaces; but peat, natural gas, petroleum, and waste gases from furnaces are used.

Smer'dis, brother of Cambyses, who, envious of his strength, sent him back to Susa from Egypt. Shortly afterwards Cambyses, having dreamed that Smerdis was seated on the throne, had him put to death secretly. A rebellion broke out in Susa, and the brother of the governor of the palace, because he resembled the dead Smerdis, was declared to be the real Smerdis, and proclaimed king. In haste Cambyses returned to defend his throne, but died on the way, and though the nobles soon discovered the fraud, the false Smerdis was able to hold the throne for seven months. He was murdered by the nobles, who elected Darius Hystaspis king.

Smi'lax, large genus of monocotyledonous plants of the subfamily Smilacea and family Liliacea. They consist of herbaceous or shrubby plants, generally more or less climbing. There are about two hundred species scattered over the globe, most numerous in the temperate and tropical parts of Asia and America. True sarsaparilla and China_root_are among the products of the genus. The U. S. has numerous species, none important. The China brier is the most widely known of them. It is very frequent in the S. of the U. S., and extends N. to New Jersey. It has large, tuberous, brownish-red root stocks, which contain much starch. Formerly the Seminoles used the root stocks for food in times of scarcity. At present a kind of beer is made from them with molasses, parched corn, and sassafras. Several plants of this genus are fine in hothouse and garden culture. The climbing plant which under the name of smilax is cultivated by florists is the Myrsiphyllum asparagoides. It comes from the Cape of Good Hope, and is closely allied to the asparagus. It has a fine, threadlike stem, sometimes 20 ft. long, and

SMILES

SMITH

Smiles, Samuel, 1812-1904; English author; b. Haddington, Scotland; educated for the medical profession; became editor and railroad official. Among his numerous works are "SelfHelp, with Illustrations of Character and Conduct," which had an enormous sale (1860); "Workmen's Earnings, Strikes and Savings"; "Lives of the Engineers"; "Character"; "Thrift"; "The Huguenots in England and Ireland"; "The Huguenots in France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes "; "Life of Scotch Naturalist"; "George Moore, Merchant and Philanthropist"; "Life of Robert Dick' (1878); "Duty"; "Men of Invention and Industry"; "A Publisher and his Friends: John Murray"; "Josiah Wedgewood" (1894).

a

Smith, Adam, 1723-90; Scotch economist and philosopher; b. Kirkcaldy. Studied at Univ. of Glasgow and at Oxford. In 1751 was Prof. of Logic and 1752 Prof. of Moral Philosophy, Univ. of Glasgow. He resolved morals into (1) natural theology, (2) ethics, (3) justice with reference to specific rules and precepts, and (4) political expediency as affecting the honor, power, and prosperity of the state. His lectures were very popular. His first publication (1759), the "Theory of Moral Sentiments," led to his being selected to accompany the young Duke of Buccleugh on his travels. Smith thus had an opportunity to become acquainted with the internal policy of other states and to confer with distinguished economists. After his return in 1766 he lived for ten years in retirement. The result was his great work, "An Inquiry into the Nature and Sources of the Wealth of Na

tions."

Many principles it laid down were derived from the French economists, but the completeness of their compilation and his clearness of statement entitle Adam Smith to be regarded as the father of modern political economy. His book will continue to be a standard of reference. "Its great object is to demonstrate that the most effectual plan for advancing a people to greatness is to maintain that order of things which nature has pointed out, by allowing every man, as long as he observes the rules of justice, to pursue his own interest in his own way, and to bring both his industry and his capital into the freest competition with those of his fellow citizens." He was appointed a commissioner of customs for Scotland, and in 1787 was elected lord rector of the Univ. of Glasgow.

Smith, Edmund Kirby, 1824-93; b. St. Augustine, Fla.; graduated at West Point, 1845; participated in Mexican War, then (1849-52) Assistant Prof. of Mathematics, West Point. In 1861 became brigadier general Confederate States army, and was wounded at Bull Run. Under Bragg he led the advance into Kentucky; routed the Union forces at Richmond, Ky., August 30th, and advanced to Frankfort. Promoted to lieutenant general, he was engaged at Perryville, October 10th,

31, 1862-January 3, 1863. He was soon after made general, and in command of the TransMississippi Department, opposing Banks in the Red River campaign, and engaged at Jenkins's Ferry, April 30, 1864. He was the last to surrender the forces under his command, May 26, 1865. He was president Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Company, 1866-68; president Western Military Academy, 1868-70; chancellor Univ. of Nashville, Tenn., 1870-75; Prof. of Mathematics, Univ. of the South, 1875-93.

Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874; American philanthropist; b. Utica, N. Y.; graduated at Hamilton College, 1818; took up his residence at Peterboro, Madison Co., N. Y., devoting himself to the management of his great landed estate; became a member of the Colonization Society, 1825, but withdrew, 1835, when he connected himself with the American Antislavery Society, of which he was thenceforth one of the leading members; member of Congress, 1852. Was a liberal contributor to the Free Soil campaign in Kansas; gave pecuniary aid to John Brown, 1859; nominated for Governor of New York, 1840 and 1858, at the latter time on a platform of abolition and prohibition; joined Horace Greeley in signing the bail bond of Jefferson Davis, 1867.

In 1871 he

Smith, Goldwin, 1823- ; English-American author; b. Reading, England; educated at Eton and at Oxford, where he graduated, 1845; fellow of University College, 1847; called to the bar, 1847, but never practiced law. Member of the popular education commission, 1858; Regius Prof. of Modern History, Oxford, 1858-66, and Prof. of English and Constitutional History, Cornell Univ., 1868-71. He championed the cause of the U. S. Govt. during the Civil War; visited the U. S. in 1864 to lecture. removed to Toronto, Canada; was for a time a member of the senate of Toronto Univ. Since his removal to Canada he has persistently advocated the annexation of that counIn addition to numerous try to the U. S. magazine articles he has published the follow"Lectures on the ing among other works: Study of History," "Irish History and Irish Character," "The Empire," "Three English ""A Trip to England," Statesmen," "Cowper,' Jane Austen," "Canada and the Canadian Question," "The Moral Crusader, W. L. Garrison," The United States," "Bay Leaves," Essays on Questions of the Day," "Guesses at the Riddle of Existence," and "Revolution or Progress?

66

66

Smith, James, 1719-1806; a signer of the Declaration of Independence; b. Ireland. He came to America in 1729, and settled as a lawyer in York, Pa. He was a member of the Continental Congress, 1776-78, and when Congress held its sessions in York the board of war occupied his law office.

Smith, John, 1579-1631; adventurer and founder of Virginia; b. England. When young he took part in the wars in the Netherlands, and afterwards fought against the Turks, was