SNAKES

tolochia serpentaria, the Virginia snakeroot, a valuable stimulant and tonic and of pleasant fragrance. (9) A. reticulata of the SW. has properties similar to Virginia snakeroot, and produces much of the snakeroot of commerce. (10) Cimicifuga racemosa, black snakeroot, is a sedative and expectorant. (11) Asarum canadense, wild ginger, is called snakeroot and Canada snakeroot in New England; it is fragrant, with properties like A. serpentaria, but more pungent.

Snakes. See SERPENT.

Snake'stone, a piece of stone, bone, or other substance placed upon the bite of a serpent to absorb or charm away the poison. The vulgar in almost all countries have faith in such cures as the madstone, which is applied to the bite of a rabid dog. In India there are apparently authentic instances of the efficacy of snakestones. It is possible that the stones may have a strong absorbtive power, for they are often porous, and the faith which the victims have in this cure is doubtless a powerful adjuvant.

SNIPE

to W. Texas, and N. up to Missouri. It is known as the alligator snapper. These are distinguishable from other turtles of the U. S. by the long and imperfectly retractile neck and tail, and the cruciform plastron or lower shell. Their popular name is due to the habit of snapping at food or enemies. Their bite is severe, and it is difficult to relax their hold. They are esteemed for food, especially for soup. They have a strong musky odor. In the early summer they lay from 20 to 40 eggs in a hole dug by themselves. (3) The name is locally applied to the soft-shell turtles, or Trionychide, which snap abruptly at food or other objects.

Sneeze'wood, the timber of the Ptæroxylon utile (family Sapindacea), of S. Africa. When sawing it, joiners are much troubled by the sneezing which its fine dust provokes.

It

Sneez'ing, or Sternuta'tion, a convulsive movement by which the lungs and chest walls are expanded and then suddenly contracted, forcing the breath out violently through the nose. is produced by reflex action, there being some irritation of the membrane of the nose which originates the action. Sneezing tends to re

The snap

Snap'per, fishes of the family Lutjanida. They inhabit warm seas, and are carnivorous. The red snapper (Lutjanus aya), of the Gulf coast of the U. S. in deep water, is an important food fish. The mangrove snapper, or gray snapper (L. griseus), ranges from the W. Indies N. to New Jersey, and is abundant along shore among mangroves. The name is improperly applied to the rosefish (Sebastes marinus), the bluefish, and others.

Snap'ping Tur'tle, in the U. S., one of several species of tortoises. (1) The common snapping turtle of the N. and most of the S. states is the Chelydra serpentina. This has the head moderately large, and covered with a soft skin, and the marginal scales of the shell are in a single row. It rarely attains 4 ft. and a weight of 50 lb. It is found from Canada S., and from the Atlantic seaboard W. to the plains. (2) A species which in some parts of the S. states replaces the C. serpentina

of cold, it indicates catarrhal inflammation. In children measles may begin with this symptom, and influenza is also frequently so initiated. Sneezing due to irritation of pollen is a distressing symptom of hay fever. The use of sternutatories, such as snuff, was long a popular method of "clearing the head."

Snipe, any bird of the Scolopacida, including shore birds or sandpipers, and commonly restricted to the 20 marsh-haunting species of

COMMON SNIPE.

the genus Gallinago, which are widely distributed. They have a straight bill, longer than the head, grooved to the end, which is slightly expanded, well supplied with nerves and used in probing the mud for worms. The eye is placed far back, over the ear. The plumage is streaked with buff and brown, black and white, and blends completely with the ground. The tail feathers vary from 12 to 26. The American snipe (G. delicata) is found over the greater part of the U. S. In winter it migrates as far S. as Brazil. It is sometimes

SNORRI STURLUSON

man in the

Snor'ri Sturluson, usually written SNORRE STURLASON, 1178-1241; Icelandic historian; b. Hvam; belonged to the powerful clan of the Sturlungs. He was speaker of laws, and for several years was the richest and most influential land. He became involved in feuds and litigation with his relatives and others. In 1218 he visited Norway, and was received by the young king, Hakon Hakonson. In 1219 he visited the lagman Eskil in Sweden, and there he must have obtained that knowledge of Swedish affairs which appears in his writing. In 1220 he returned to Iceland, after having promised to work for the subjugation of Iceland to Norway. As he made no progress he was suspected of faithlessness, and his enemies in Iceland took advantage of this to ruin him.

After endless feuds, Snorre went to Norway in 1237, but he lost the good will of Hakon and returned to Iceland. On his arrival there he got into trouble with his son-in-law, Gissur Thorvaldson, who, at the instigation of King Hakon, murdered him at his home. Snorre was Iceland's most distinguished sagaman, and he enjoys some reputation as a skald. As a writer of history he ranks with Herodotus and Thucydides. His " Heimskringla," embracing an elaborate history of the kings of Norway to the death of Magnus Erlingson in 1177, is famous. The Younger Edda " also bears Snorre's name, and is to a great extent his work.

66

Snow, the spicules of ice into which atmospheric vapor is condensed. These snowflakes assume a variety of crystalline forms, but usually present the outline of a hexagon or a six-pointed star. (See ICE.) In high and middle latitudes the ground is covered with snow each winter, but within the tropical regions no snow falls at or near the level of the sea, for the temperature of the lower atmosphere is always sufficient to melt it, even if it is formed in the upper air. As the heat of the air decreases upward, the formation of snow is always possible upon high mountains, even under the equator. At the summit of the Andes and the Himalayas the moisture condensed during the rainy season falls as snow, while it rains on the slopes and plains below. In all latitudes from the equator to the poles the tops of high mountains are permanently covered with snow, which the summer heat is not sufficient to melt. The lower limit of per

SNOWBIRD

petual snow, called the snow line, varies in altitude in the different portions of the globe. Within the tropics it is about 3 m. above sea level; in temperate latitudes it descends to below 2 m.; and at the N. limits of the continents it is half a mile, or less, above sea level; while on the Arctic islands vast fields of snow remain permanently near the seashore. See GLACIERS.

RED SNOW, real snow tinted by the presence of Hæmatococcus lacustris (or Protococcus

SNOW CRYSTALS.

| nivalis), microscopic algae of the order Protococcoidea. The cells are subglobose, and about in. in diameter. In 1819 Ross found banks of red snow on the E. shore of Baffin Bay extending for miles, and these were in some parts 12 ft. deep.

Snow'ball, the Viburnum opulus, a cultivated shrub of the Caprifoliacea, called also Guelder rose. To this species belongs the highbush cranberry of the U. S., whose fruit is edible. The species is native to Europe and N. America. The Japanese snowball is V. tomentosum (V. plicatum of nurseries).

a

Snow'berry, the Symphoricarpos racemosus,

handsome shrub (family Caprifoliacea), common in the U. S. and naturalized in European shrubberies. It has persistent, white, inedible berries. The name is also given to Chiogenes hispidula (family Ericaceae), a creeping woody plant, whose leaves and white edible berries have the taste of the checker

berry (Gaultheria). It is common in the N. parts of the U. S. and Canada.

Snow'bird, species of the genus Junco, family Fringillida, and have a small conical bill, the wings rather short; the color is blackish

SNOWDROP

or ash above, white on the belly, and not developed in streaks; the outer tail feathers are white. They are about 6 in. in length, of which the tail forms a half. They are distributed over the U. S. They are mostly birds of passage in the E. and Middle states, as the majority go N. to breed while yet snow may be on the ground, and return in the late fall. They feed on seeds and berries. The name is applied to the snow bunting (Plec trophenax nivalis), a little finch of high N. latitudes and seen sometimes in vast flocks. The back is gray, tail and wings black and white, under parts white. In breeding plumage the back and bill are black, and there is more white in the plumage than in winter.

Snow'drop, the Galanthus nivalis (family Amaryllidaceae), a small herb much cultivated for its snow-white flower, appearing in earliest spring. A native of the Alps, it is naturalized in N. Europe and in the U. S. A larger species, G. imperatri, is also grown.

Snowdrop Tree, either the Halesia tetraptera or the H. diptera (Styracacea), small trees or large shrubs native in the S. parts of the U. S. They bear showy white clusters of flowers, which appear in spring somewhat before the leaves. They are very fine in culti

vation.

Snow'flake, European herbs of the Amaryllidacea, cultivated in the U. S. They are hardy bulbous plants with white flowers. The bulbs have long been employed as an emetic.

Snow'shoes, footwear worn in Canada and elsewhere, consisting of an oval frame like a tennis racket. The Scandinavian skee is a long strip of wood, a few inches wide, curved up

ONE TYPE OF SNOWSHOE.

in front, and used as a snowshoe or skate. The object of these is to secure a larger foothold, and so prevent the wearer from sinking into the snow.

Snuff. See TOBACCO.

Soap, any salt of the fatty acids with a metallic base, usually a soda or a potash. All the true oils and fats are decomposed by alkaline hydrates, by certain metallic oxides, and also by acids, high steam, and hot water. In the decomposition of fats by alkalies the products formed are glycerin and the alkali salts of the fatty acids. This process is known as saponification. As a rule, soaps produced from soda are hard soaps, while those produced from potash are soft soaps. Castor oil forms with potash a hard and brittle soap. A distinction between the hard and soft soaps is that in the former the glycerin is removed

SOAP

in the mother liquor or spent lye, while in the latter it remains mingled with the semifluid mass. Moreover, it is not possible to dry the potash soaps, owing to the hygroscopic character of the base, while soda soaps may be dried so as to admit of grinding to powder. Formerly the clearing of forests provided a plentiful supply of potash, but the cheap production of soda by the Leblanc process has practically stopped the making of potash soaps.

In making soap with caustic potash and stearin (glyceryl stearate) the products are glycerin and potassium stearate; thus:

Stearin. 3 molecules Glycerin. 3 molecules of popot. hydrate tassium stearate. Ka (C3H8)''') (C18H350)3 -Os H3 H3 Ka

(C18H350)3 (C,H)""

The alkaline liquor (lye) is added to the neutral fat or oil in large soap pans, and the mixture heated. Resin is sometimes added, as it gives the product more than its value in weight and volume. Then, by the addition of salt, the emulsion of oils and alkali is decomposed, the salt taking the water and causing the precipitation of the newly formed soap in a curdy state, floating on the dense spent lyes in which is found the glycerin and salt, and no alkali. The soap is again boiled, skimmed, and placed on frames to harden.

The principal classes of soaps are those made from vegetable oils and those made from animal oils and fats. Marseilles or Castile soap is made of olive oil, with rape-seed oil to prevent crumbling. The richness of the olive oil in margarin or palmitin, and the freedom from animal odors, account, in part, for the excellence of this soap. Cocoanut-oil soap, or marine soap, is not easily decomposed by weak saline liquors, so it is used to wash in salt water. Common yellow or rosin soap is a serviceable soap, which lathers well and is cheap.

In domestic economy it is a practice in New England and New York to saponify the drippings of the kitchen, chiefly beef and mutton suet, with the crude potash of commerce in the cold. The following receipt is traditional for domestic soft soap: Fat, 12 lb.; potash, 9 lb.; water, 12 gal. The fat and alkali are placed in a cask, and water added, 3 gal. at a time, boiling hot, once in twenty-four hours, until all is used. Saponification sets in soon, but is not completed until after many days, and is hastened by stirring with a strong stick. When saponification is complete all lumps of unaltered fat disappear, the soap has a silky luster when stirred, and the consistency of a jelly, trailing off in slender threads from a stirrer, and is a powerful detergent for the coarser purposes of the household.

Toilet soaps are made from pure and sweet materials-sweet almond oil, beef marrow, refined sweet lard, saponified without heat and perfumed with essential oils. Pure curd soap

is also used for the foundation of toilet soaps, for which purpose the soap is reduced to thin shavings, melted over a water bath with rose and orange-flower water and common salt-24 lb. of soap, with 4 pints each of rose and or

SOAPSTONE

ange-flower water, and 8 oz. of salt. Shaving cream is made by beating up lard with one and a half times its weight of potash lye, and perfuming and coloring. Glycerin soap is prepared by mixing glycerin with a toilet soap, or with the transparent soap produced from its solution in alcohol. It mollifies the skin in cold weather. Soap was not known to the ancients. It is first mentioned by Pliny, who refers to it as something used by the Romans to beautify the hair. Geber in the second century states that soap was prepared from tallow with potash and lime. It is stated further that soap is used as a medicine, and that by means of it all dirt could be removed from the body and clothes.

Soap'stone. See STEATITE.

Soap'wort, plants of the Sapindacea, sometimes so called from the soapy quality of their fruits. Plants of the genus Saponaria (family Caryophyllacea) and other plants of the same family, which are also sometimes utilized for their detergent powers. There are many vegetables which are excellent substitutes for soap. This cleansing power sometimes depends upon the principle saponine, found in plants of widely diverse families. Sobies'ki. See JOHN III, SOBIESKI. Soc'cage, or Socage. See TENURE.

So'cial Con'tract, or Social Com'pact, an exploded theory, first fully stated by Rousseau, that society originated by the coming together of men in convention consciously to bind themselves into a community or state. The theory took for granted a previous unsocial existence, and overlooked the gradual evolution of society.

So'cialism, a conscious endeavor to substitute organized coöperation for existence in place of the present competition for existence. Socialists are divided into several schools, each with its own shades of opinion. This article will, therefore, endeavor to present the main lines of thought and the conclusions upon which most socialists are agreed.

Primitive society was founded upon communism, or common ownership of the means of production and of the products. With the institution of private property the destruction of the communal form of life and all that this involved was inevitable. But during the period of communism all the inventions and discoveries which form the foundation of the modern system of machine production were placed at the disposal of mankind. The domestication of animals, the growth of cereals, the wheel, the potter's wheel and pottery, the canoe and sail, weaving, dyeing, the use of the stencil plate, the mining and smelting of metals each and all of these were in use under communism. The names of the inventors are unknown, and the circumstances under which they lived prevented them from deriving any individual advantage from their superior ingenuity. Exchange, in the modern sense, was unknown.

As the power of man to produce wealth increased further progress in wealth production

SOCIALISM

The

was hampered by these communal forms, and by the necessity incumbent upon each member of the tribe to perform his share of the communal duty. When, also, it was discovered that the captives from neighboring tribes could produce by their labor more than was necessary to maintain themselves in health and strength, there was a strong economic reason for keeping them alive, in the service of the conquering tribe or its chiefs, in place of butchering them on the spot or reserving them for cannibal banquets. Though the slaves were often more numerous than their masters, they scarcely thought of achieving freedom. division into castes and classes followed. The extension of trade led to the rise of the merchant class. In the Middle Ages the slave was replaced by the serf. Then arose the free peasant cultivators and the city craftsmen. Owing to historic and economic causes, these free individual owners and craftsmen were gradually deprived of their private property and independence, and were driven as wageearners to produce goods no longer primarily for use but for exchange. Previously production for exchange and profit had been the exception; now it became the rule. The personal relations which, in the main, had dominated over the old civilizations became mere pecuniary relations, and thenceforth pecuniary considerations were supreme in society.

The change to the modern competitive system was gradual. Instead of individual production, generally for individual use or for the local market, only the surplus coming into exchange, production itself assumed a social form, and the local market widened into the national and international market. The members of the wage-earning class possessed, nominally at least, liberty to do what they pleased; but, having no property, they were compelled to sell their labor to those who would hire it. But these workers had no share in the ownership of the raw material, no say in the quantity or quality of the articles produced, no control over the finished product, which belonged to the master. They received as wages that which represented on the average their cost of subsistence, in accordance with the standard of life of their class, so long as their employer required their services. What then had happened? Production had become social, but appropriation and exchange remained at the entire disposal of individuals.

This initial antagonism lies at the root of all the antagonisms of the modern system of capitalist and wage-earning production for exchange and profit. Competition ruled the market. Competition by free, propertyless wageearners below; competition for increased profit by capitalists and employers above. The latter were driven to sweep aside the old local restrictive laws, and, as they gained strength, they substituted their own commercial control in politics for that of the classes theretofore supreme. Thenceforward all improvements and inventions went into the hands of the capitalist class and were shared by them, unwillingly, with the landlords. Such was the course of events in Great Britain, where the economic transformation was soonest effected, the re