Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/399

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reddifh, and precipitated to the bottom a white and very heavy powder; which, on a feries of examinations, proved to be of the nature of that opake white {lone, ufually found among the ores of metals, and called by the Germans quartz. The feline liquor, from which this was feparated, became yet redder by long digeftion, but when cold, it turned to a fine green.

This liquor being concentrated, by evaporation, to the quantity of two or three ounces, was put into a glals vcflcl, with its pellicle, which foon precipitated itfelf to the bot- tom, in form of a thin cruft, covering the furface of the glafs in the manner of a wet paper. In five or fix weeks time there became formed in this veflel, both at the bottom and fides, a number of large cryftals, of a beautiful green colour, and as the liquor dried away, thefe mouldered into a brownifli red powder.

In fine, there appeared, in the remainder of this liquor, an- other fort of cryftals; thefe were white and tranfparent, and were formed in fquare columns, with their extremities cut in the manner of thofe of the pyramids of the columns of Glauber's fait ; they had alfo a bitter tafte, and left a re- markable lenfe of coldnefs on the tongue. Thefe appeared indifputably, by thefe and all other trials, to be true Glau- ber's fait. Mem. de l'Acad. Scicn.Par. 1738. Glauber's fal mirabile was long thought to be the produce of art only ; but of late years, a natural fait, perfectly fimi- lar to Glauber's, has been found in many places. We have a full account, by Mr. Boulduc, of a fubftance of this kind, which had been found near Grenoble in Dauphine. The fame gentleman alfo found a fal mirabile in the waters of Paffy. The true Epfom /<?//, defcrlbed by Dr. Grew in 1696, is alfo either the feme as Glauber's, or at Ieaft Glau- ber's is the principal part of it. Stahl afterwards found a true Glauber's fait in the aciduke, or ferrugineous waters, and did not fcruple placing this among the natural mineral falls. Hoffman alfo found a fpring of very bitter and purgative mineral water, a pound of which contained two drachms of this fait. The cathartic fait, found near Madrid, is alfo of the fame nature. See Hill, de l'Acad. Par. 1727. p. 29, 30, and the Memoircs of the fame year, p. 375, feq. 4to. It is to be obferved, that though Glauber made his fait known about the middle of the preceding century, yet Kunckel, in his Laborat. Chymic. allures us, it was known in the electoral houfe of Saxony an hundred years before. However this be, we owe the knowledge of it to Glauber, who called it admirable; and it foon acquired, and has ever fince maintained, the reputation of an excellent in- ternal medicine in many cafes.

Glauber's fait may be obtained from borax, by mixing oil of vitriol with it. Mix four ounces of borax with one ounce and one drachm of oil of vitriol ; upon fublimation : this gives the fal fedativum of Homberg, and the refiduum, expofed to a ftrong fire, affords Glauber's fait. This ope- ration may be fhortened very much, for inftead of fublima- tion, the fait may be obtained by cryftallization, in light foliated lamina?. This fait, whether prepared by fublima- tion, or by crystallization, has the property of diflblving in fpirit of wine j and if this fpirit of wine be fet on fire, the flame is green. Spirit of wine has no effect on borax, and the oil of vitriol digefted with it, does not make its flame green. Therefore it is neceiTary, in order to give thi: greennefs to the flame, that borax fhould be united to an acid. Philof. Tranf. N°436. p. 39.

Sal nitrium. See Nitrium fal.

Sal polycbre/l of Seignette, a foluble tartar made with fal kali} inftead of fait of tartar. Mr. Boulduc defcribes this fait in the Mem. Acad. Scienc. 1731. See Polychrest, Cycl.

Sal fedativum of Homberg, This ufed to be made by diflblv- ing borax in water, into which oil of vitriol was poured, and then diftilling this mixture, quieting fait was obtained. Mr. Geoffroy has lately taught us an eafier way of prepar- ing it: he evaporates the liquor to the proper confiftence, and then allows it to cryftallize. Mem. de l'Acad. Par. 1732. See -Sedativum fal.

SALACSAE, in natural hiftory, a name given by the inhabi- tants of the Philippine iflands to a kind of bird, by whofe flight they pretend to divine the event of things. All the account we have of the bird is, that it is of a fmall fize, and is varioufly coloured, and has a long and large beak.

SALAMANDRA, the falamander, in zoology, a name given by authors to feveral fpecies of the lizard kind, but the prin- cipal are two, the falamandra aquatica, and falamandra ter- re/Iris.

The falamandra aquatica, or water falamander, is oiir com- mon water newt, or eft, which is very common in fifh- ponds, and other ftanding waters, and is diffinguifhed from the reft by the flatnefs of its tail.

The manner of propagation in thefe animals is very Angular, and ferves to illuftrate the analogy between animal and ve- getable nature.

The falamandra terrejlris, or land falamander, is a fpecies of lizard very like the green Jdnd, except that its bead, and its belly, are thicker. Its tail is fhort, and its colour a fine black, marked with jed fpots, and of a bright, Alining, and Suppl. Vol. II,

SAL

glofly appearance. It is very common in many mountain^ ous places.

The difference between this and the water kind is not only in colour, but in the fhape alfo of the tail ; which in this is round, not flat as in that ; yet there are fome who affirm* there is no fpecific difference between the two, but that the water kind, when it deferts that element, and comes to live on fhoar, alters in colour, and becomes round at the tail. The opinion of this creature's being able to remain unhurt in the fire for a long fpace of time, is wholly falfe and fa- bulous.

The falamander is evidently a viviparous animal, yet it is fuppofed that the young are hatched from perfe£t eggs, while m the body of the parent animal. Ray's Synop. Quad, p. 274. SALAMANDRINO, in ichthyology, a name given by the Italians to that fpecies of falmon, which Salvian calls fal- marinus. It is diftinguifhed from all the other fpecies of this fifh, by its having a yellowifh back, with yellow foots, and a forked tail. The flefh of this fpecies is very delicate. It loves cold and clear rivers. TVillughby's Hift. Pifc. p. 199. SALAMGA, in natural hiftory, the name given by the peo- ple of the Philippine iflands to a fpecies of fea fwallow. This is the bird, whofe nefts are fo famous as an ingredient in foops. SALANDRA. See the article ChelanDium. SALANDRIA. See the article Chelandium. SALAR, in ichthyology, a name given by fome authors to the trout. See Trutta.

Others apply the name to a young falmon while very fmall. See Salmo. SALAYASIR, in natural hiftory, the name by which the peo- ple of the Philippine iflands call that fmall fpecies of duck, which is fo common thereabouts. This is an inhabitant of their lakes and marines, and is a perfect duck, and very beautifully coloured, but does not exceed the bignefs of a man's fift. SALEFUR, a name given by fome of the chemifts to garden

faffron. See Saffron. SALEP, in the materia medica, the root of a fpecies of orchis. See the article Orchis.

Salep fhould be chofen clean, firm, and hard ; it is very little liable either to decay, or fophiftication. The people of the Eaft are extremely fond of falep; they look upon it as one of the greateft reftoratives, and provoca- tives to venery in the whole vegetable world. That falep is the root of an orchis, no way differing from our common orchis's in virtue, but owing its appearance to the manner of preparing it, and confequently, that falep may be prepared from the roots of orchis of our own growth, Mr. Geoffroy has proved in the following manner. He confidered, that the method of curing one root in tbeeaftem parts of the world was probably the fame with that ufed in all j and obferving that Ksempfer had defcribed the manner in which the Chinefe prepare their ginfeng, to make it pel- lucid, which was by firft fteeping, or macerating it in water, and afterwards carefully drying it ; he determined to attempt the curing the roots of the common orchis, in a method not unlike that ufed to the ginfeng, in order to make falep of it. The falep, which we receive from Turkey, is a root of a white or reddifh colour, according to its dif- ferent age ; and as we receive it, is always tranfparent. As to our own orchis, if we attempt to dry the roots in the common way, they never will appear at all like the falep, but will become fhrivelled up and brown, and will always retain, or be ready to imbibe from a humid air, a great quantity of moifture. To prepare thefe, in imitation of the falep, Mr. Geoffroy chofe the largcft, plumpeft, and faireft roots he could find ; thefe he nicely fkinned, taking off the whole outer rind, then throwing them into cold water, he fuffered them to macerate there fome time ; after this he lightly boiled them j and after this taking them out of the water, and draining them, he had them ftrung upon threads^ to be dried in a warm and dry air. When the roots were thoroughly dried, they were very tranfparent, and refem- bled pieces of gum tragacanth, and continued dry and hard. The roots thus prepared, may be kept ever fo long in a dry place, and will never attract humidity, or become mouldy and rotten; as they will always do in wet weather^ if dried in the common way with their fkins on. The orchis roots thus prepared may_ be reduced to powder, this powder will diflblve away in boiling water, and a fcru- ple of it will make a bafon full of jelly, in the manner of the Turkiih falep. This jelly is an admirable medicine in all the cafes, in which falep is prefcribed, and may be ren- dered agreeable by the addition of wine, fugar, fpice, &a and the powder may be given with great fuccefs in afles milk, for difeafes of the bfeaft.

If the water, in which the roots have been boiled, be eva- porated over a gentle fire in an earthen veflel, there will remain an extract of a vifcous texture, and a very agree- able fmell, refembling that of a meadow of flowers when the wind blows over it. Mem. de l'Acad; Scienc. Par. 1740.

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