crystallizes by rest in the shape of needles. It is partly sublimed in needles, or brown plates, with an odour similar to that of benzoic acid. Saclactic acid, in the state of powder, is not very soluble in water. Cold water does not take up more than 200 or 300 parts of its weight; boiling water does not take up above one half more. On cooling, the acid is deposited in brilliant scales, which become white in the air. The solution has an acid taste. It reddens the tincture of turnsole. Its specific gravity at the temperature of 59° is nearly the same as that of water. This acid enters into combination with earths, alkalies, and

metallic oxides; and the salts which it forms are known by the name of saccolates.

SACRAMENT, signifies, in general, a sign of a thing sacred and holy; and is defined to be an outward and visible sign of a

spiritual grace. Thus there are two objects in a sacrament, the one the object of the senses, and the other the object of faith. Protestants admit only of two sacraments, baptism and the eucharist, or Lord's supper: but the Roman Catholics own seven, viz. baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, ordination, and marriage.

SACRIFICE, a solemn act of religious worship, which consisted in dedicating or offering up something animate or inanimate on an altar, by the hands of the priest, either as an expression of gratitude to the deity for some signal mercy, or to acknowledge a dependance on him, or to conci

liate his favour,

SACRILEGE, is church robbery, or a taking of things out of an holy place, as where a person steals any vessels, ornaments, or goods of the church.

SADDLE, is a seat upon a horse's back, contrived for the conveniency of the rider. The ancient Romans are supposed not to have made use of saddles and stirrups, and it is thought that they did not come into use till the time of Constantine the Great, A. D. 340, as appears from the Greek historian, Zonaras, who (through his whole history) makes no mention of a saddle for a horse, before such time as Constans, attempting to deprive his brother Constantine of the empire, made head against his army, and entering into the squadron where he himself was, cast him beside the saddle of his horse.

SAFE conduct, in law, is a security given by the King, under the Great Seal, to a

stranger, for his safe coming into, and pass. ing out of the realm. Passports, however, under the King's sign manual, or licences from his ambassadors abroad, which are now more usual, are obtained with greater facility.

SAFFRON. See CROCUS.

Saffron is cultivated in fields for use, and is no where raised with so much success as in

England, the English saffron being generally The usual way of propagating it is by the allowed to be greatly superior to any other. bulbs, of which it annually produces new ones. These are planted out in trenches at dom fail. They produce only leaves the five inches distance, or less, and they selfirst year, but in September, or October, of the year following, they flower. The saffron is gathered as soon as the flowers open, and is then separated from all filth, and formed into cakes by a very careful pressure and gentle heat. At the end of

October, when the flowering season is over,

hung up in a dry place, and in spring are the bulbs are taken out of the ground and put into the ground again.

It is not, however, the entire flower of the plant that produces it, but only some of its internal parts. It is met with in the shops in flat and thin cakes, into which ft has been formed by pressing, and which consist of many long and narrow filaments, that are smallest in their lower part, where they are of a pale yellow colour; in their upper part they are broader and indented at their edges, and of a very strong and deep orange colour, approaching to redness. They are somewhat tough, moderately heavy, very easily cut, of an acrid, penetrating, but not unpleasant smell, somewhat affecting the head, and of a bitterish and hot, but highly cordial taste. Thrown into water, they almost instantaneously give it a strong yellow or reddish colour, according to the quantity used. These filaments are the cristated capillaments, into which the pistil of the flower divides at its head; they are of a deep reddish orange colour, while growing, and there are only three of them in each flower.

Hitherto saffron has not been subjected to a correct chemical analysis. From the experiments of Neumann, it does not appear that any volatile oil can be procured from it by distillation. It is probable, however, that it owes its strong smell to such a principle, though in too small a quantity to be easily obtained separate. The colouring

matter of saffron is equally soluble in alco- ter; it is washed, passed through a perfo

hol and water.

SAGAPENUM. See GUM resin.

SAGE. See SALVIA.

SAGINA, in botany, pearl-wort, a genus of the Tetrandria Tetragynia class and or der. Natural order of Caryophyllei, or Caryophylle. Essential character: calyx four-leaved; petals four; capsule one-celled, four-valved, many seeded. There are five species, of which the most remarkable is the sagittafolia, growing naturally in many parts of England. The root is composed of many strong fibres, which strike into the mud; the footstalks of the leaves are in length proportionable to the depth of the water in which they grow; so they are sometimes almost a yard long: they are thick and fungous; the leaves, which float upon the water, are shaped like the point of an arrow, the two ears at their base spreading wide asunder, and are very sharp pointed. There is always a bulb at the lower part of the root, growing in the solid earth beneath the mud. This bulb constitutes a considerable part of the food of the Chinese; and upon that account they culti vate it. Horses, goats and swine eat it; cows are not fond of it.

SAGITTA, in astronomy, the arrow, or dart, a constellation of the northern hemisphere, near the eagle, consisting of five stars, according to Ptolemy and Tycho; but in Mr. Flamsteed's catalogue, of no less than twenty-three.

SAGITTA, in geometry, a term used for the absciss of a curve.

SAGITTA, in trigonometry, the same with the versed sine of an arch.

SAGITTARIA, in botany, arrow-head, a genus of the Monoecia Polyandria class and order. Natural order of Tripetaloideæ. Junci, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx three-leaved; corolla three-petalled: male, filaments commonly twentyfour: female, pistils many; seeds many, naked. There are five species.

SAGITTARIUS, the archer, in astronomy, the ninth sign of the zodiac. The stars in this constellation in Ptolemy's catalogue are thirty-two, in Tycho's sixteen, and in Mr. Flamsteed's fifty-two.

SAGO, a simple brought from the East Indies, of considerable use in diet as a restorative.

Sago and salop are vegetable fecula. The former is the produce of the cycas circinalis, and is extracted from the pith of the stem and branches, by maceration in wa

rated copper plate, so as to reduce it to grains, which are dried. Salop is the produce of the orchis mascula. The lately introduced arrow root powder is said to be the produce of the maranta arundinacea. Cassava is prepared from the tuberose root of the manise (jatropha manihot). With the fecula of this root, there is associated an acrid and poisonous juice, which is, however, completely separated by washing, in the process by which it is extracted. The roots of the bryonia alba, and the arum maculatum, are likewise composed principally of fecula, associated with acrid matter, which is separated in the process by which the fecula is extracted from them. These two were formerly prepared for medicinal use.

Wheat affords, perhaps, a larger quantity of fecula than any other vegetable substance, and in a state of perfect purity. A very pure fecula, in large quantity, is also extracted from the potatoe, the root being peeled, well cleansed, and rasped, the pulp placed on a hair sieve, and water poured on it until the fecula is extracted, which, after being deposited, is washed and dried.

SAHLITE, in mineralogy, a species of the Talc genus, of a light greenish-grey colour; it occurs massive; externally it is shining and splendent; its principal fracture is foliated; fragments frequently rhomboidal; consists of very coarse granular distinct concretions: it is translucent on the edge; semihard, brittle, and easily frangible; specific gravity 3.21. It is found at Sahlberg in Sweden.

SAICK, or SAIQUE, a Turkish vessel, very common in the Levant for carrying of merchandize.

SAIL, in navigation, an assemblage of several breadths of canvass, sewed together by the lists, and edged round with a cord, fastened to the yards of a ship, to make it drive before the wind. Every yard in a ship has its proper sail, except the crossjack, which takes its name from the yard: and those which are not bent to the yard, are the flying jib, fore, foretop, main, maintop, maintop-gallant, mizen, mizentop-mast, stay-sails, main and maintop studding sails.

SAILING, properly denotes the art of navigating and working a ship, or of causing her to observe such motions and directions as are assigned by the navigator; in which sense, sailing differs from navigation, and must be learned by practice on shipboard. See NAVIGATION.

́erected bend-ways, standing so as that his right fore-foot is the dexter chief point, and his hinder left foot is the sinister base point of the escutcheon, by which it is distinguished from rampant.

SALIC, or SALIQUE LAW, an ancient and fundamental law of the kingdom of France, usually supposed to have been made by Pharamond, or at least by Clovis, in virtue whereof males are only to inherit.

SALICORNIA in botany, jointed glasswort, a genus of the Monandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Holoraceæ. Atriplices, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx, ventricose, entire; petals none; stamens one or two; seed one covered by the calyx. There are nine species, of which the most remarkable is the S. perennis, with a shrubby branching stalk, which grows naturally in Sheppey island. They are perennial, and produce their flowers in the same manner as the former. The inhabitants near the sea-coasts where these plants grow, cut them up toward the latter end of summer, when they are fully grown and after having dried them in the sun, they burn them for their ashes, which are used in making of glass and soap. These herbs are by the country people called kelp, and promiscuously gathered for use.

SALISBURIA, in botany, so named in honour of Richard Anthony Salisbury, a genus of the Monoecia Polyandria class and order. Essential character: male, amentaceous; anthers incumbent, deltoid: female, solitary; calyx four cleft; drupe with a triangular shell. There is only one species, viz. S. adiantifolia.

SALIVA. The saliva which is secreted by peculiar glands, and which flows into the mouth, is a clear viscid fluid, without taste or smell. It has generally a frothy appear ance, being mixed with a quantity of air. Saliva has a strong attraction for oxygen, which by trituration it communicates to some metallic substances, as mercury, gold, and silver. When saliva is boiled in water, albumen is precipitated, and when it is slowly evaporated, muriate of soda is obtained. A vegetable gluten remains behind, which burns with the odour of prussic acid. Saliva becomes thick by the action of acids. Oxalic acid precipitates lime. Saliva is also inspissated by alcohol. It is decomposed by the alkalies; and the nitrates of lead, of mercury, and the silver, precipitate muriatic and phosphoric acids. By distillation in a retort, it froths up, affords nearly

four-fifths of its quantity of water almost pure, a little carbonate of ammonia, some oil, and an acid. What remains behind consists of muriate of soda, phosphate of soda and of lime.

SALIX, in botany, willow, a genus of the Dioecia Diandria class and order. Natural order of Amentaceæ. Essential character: calyx ament, composed of scales; corolla none: male, nectary a melliferous gland: female, style bifid; capsule one celled, two valved; seeds downy. There are fiftythree species; of which we may notice the following: the S. caprea, or common sallowtree, grows to but a moderate height, having smooth, dark-green, brittle branches; oval, waved, rough leaves, indented at top, and woolly underneath. It grows abundantly in this country, but more frequently in dry than moist situations. It is of a brittle nature, and unfit for the basket-makers; but will serve for poles, stakes, and to lop for firewood; and its timber is good for many purposes. The S. alba, white, or silver-leaved willow, grows to a great height and considerable bulk, having smooth, pale-green shoots; long, spear-shaped, acuminated, sawed, silvery-white leaves, being downy on both sides, with glands below the serratus. This is the common white willow, which grows abundantly about towns and vil lages, and by the sides of rivers and brooks, &c. S. fragiles, fragile or crack willow, rises to a middling stature, with brownish, very fragile, or brittle branches; long, oval, lanceolate, sawed, smooth leaves of a shining green on both sides, having dentated glandular foot-stalks. This sort in particular being exceedingly fragile, so that it easily cracks and breaks, is unfit for culture in osier-grounds. S. Babylonica, Babylonian pendulous Salix, commonly called weeping willow, grows to a largish size, having numerous, long, slender, pendulous branches, hanging down loosely all round in a curious manuer, and long; narrow, spear-shaped, serrated, smooth leaves. This curious willow is a native of the East.

All the species of Salix are of the tree kind, very hardy, remarkably fast growers, and several of them attaining a considerable stature when permitted to run up to standards.

They are usually of the aquatic tribe, being generally the most abundant, and of most prosperous growth, in watery situations; they, however, will grow freely almost any where, in any common soil and exposure; but considerably the fastest and strongest in low moist land,