Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/412

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overflowings of the high tides, and natural fait fprings, are found to have. Some farmers have tried the fcattering fait over their corn fields, as foon as fown, in the quantity of two bufhels to an acre, and it is faid with good fuccefs. Afortimer's Hufbandry. Salts rnicrofcopically examined. Mr. Lewenhock has opened a very extenfive field for microfcopic obfervations, in the evaporation of certain fluids, in which falts ot various plants, and other fubftances of a like kind, had been difiblved. The fixed falts, in general, are faid by chemifts to admit of no cry flail izations at all ; but this curious obferver found, that on being evaporated in fmall quantities before the mi- crofcope, they each would ihoot into extremely minute, but regular cryftals, and thofe often of various forms in the fame fait; but that thefe varieties were only of a certain number, and that no other fait, but that to which they belonged, had them all in the fame regular manner. The fopb indications of falts, too common among our chemifts, may be difcovered by this means, and many other advantages may be obtained from it, as well as great amufement, in the obfervation of the variety and beauty of the figures. The moft agreeable way of examining thefe falts is by the folar microfcope; but the moft accurate,- and fitteft for mak- ing deductions from, is that by the common double micro- fcope. The way is to diffotve a fmall quantity of fait, of any kind, in water, and add to this about one fourth part of fpirit of wine ; this renders the whole a much lefs fit menftruum for keeping the fait in folution, and conse- quently it much more readily concretes from among it. A large drop of this liquor is to be laid on the furface of a thin and clear piece of glafs, fuch as may conveniently be laid upon the ftand for receiving objects in this microfcope ; then this glafs is to be held till gently heated over a clear fire, and when it begins to evaporate, the glafs Is to be placed under the microfcope, and about a third magnifier ufed to examine it. The falts will foon be feen beginning to moot, and will form themfelves under the eye into very beautiful figures ; fome refembling branches of trees, others ruins and fortifications, and the like ; but what are moft to be depend- ed upon, as effential to the fait, are certain little fingle fhoots, refembling cryftals; thefe are determinate in their figure, the others more vague and uncertain. Thefe will always be produced the fame from the fame fait, the others fcarce twice from even the different drops of the fame folu- tion, alike in all refpects. Philof. Tranf". N° 172. p. 1075. Carduus Benedi£ius affords three different kinds of falts, or cryftals, fingle and perfect in their kinds ; the one is a thin fquare, another an oblong, and thicker body, terminated by a point at each end, and refembling in miniature the per- fect double pointed fhoots of rock cryftal ; and the third a quadrilateral pyramid, of the fhape of the cryftals of com- mon fait. The oblong double pointed fhoots are the moft numerous in this fait, and feem to be the perfect figure of the genuine and purer fait of the plant. They are fo nume- rous and minute, that Lewenhoek fays he faw as many of them in the quantity of a fingle grain of water, as the eye can count fiars in a clear night.

Thefe, as alfo the cryftals of many other falts, continue re- gular while the water is about them, but as that evaporates they join together, and become confufed. Wormwood affords a great variety of figures in its fait, When this begins to fhoot by the evaporation of the water, there are difcovered a number of very fmall double pointed fhoots, refembling the fhape of a weaver's fhuttle; after thefe there are found fome fquare ones, then fome which have fix angles, yet arc flat and thin ; fome others refemble triangles with the corners cut off, and fome are large and oblong; others large and fquare, and bordered round with the refemblancc of the cut edges of a looking glafs. Blue vitriol, befide its own rhomboidal cryftals which fhoot firft, affords afterwards many oblong ones. The firft rhom- boidal ones have no fenfible thicknefs, but they grow larger and thicker every inftant, while the eye looks at them. They are pellucid and colourlefs at firft, but afterwards they by degrees become blue, as they encreafe in thicknefs. Oil of tartar, made by difiblving the fait into a liquor by the humidity of the air,' firft ftioots into oblong and cyliu- dric,but very thin bodies, refembling fmall cuttings of hairs ; after thefe there appear certain flat bodies, having^either two oblique ends, or one end ftrait, and the other oblique. Ruffia pot-afh firft concretes into figures like a weaver's fhut- tle, but thefe foon after enlarge, and lofe their form : after this there appear hexangular figures with broad bafes, re- fembling fome of the native diamonds and cryftals ; among thefe there are others oblong and flat, but truncated at each end, and fome roundifh ; others approaching to that figure, but with feveral angles, irregular both in number and fize.

Camphor forms regular cryftallizations, approaching to a rhomboidal figure, having fix perfect fides, though generally , irregular in bignefs, and their thicknefs is generally equal to their breadth. Among thefe are many irregular ones 5 form- fhaped like the flint of a gun, and fome broad at the bafe,

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and tunning to a taper and fine point. Philof. Tfanfact. N ° '73 1 P' l0 %9- &e Tab. of microfcopical Objects, Clafs 3. SALTARELLA, or Saltarello, in the Italian mu- iic, is applied to triple time, the firft note of which is pointed thus :

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Airs in this kind of movement are faid to be in faliarella. Such are the Venetian forlanos, ficilianas, fume jigs and other gay dances. SALTATIO mimicorum, in antiquity. See Dance, Cycl. SALTO, in the Italian mufic. See Leap. SALVIA, fage, in the Linnasan fyftem of botany, makes a diftindt genus of plants, comprehending the horminmn, and fclarea of Tournefort and other authors, as plants of the fame characters, and properly of the fame genus : the cha- racters of which are, that the calyx is a one leaved perian- thium hollow, ftriated, larger and compreffed above, with an erect bilabiated edge ; the upper lip being divided into three fegments, the lower into two. The flower is a fingle petal in form of a tube, large, and comprefied above, and labiateel at the mouth ; the upper lip is concave, com- preffed, bent, and rimmed round its edge ; the lower is broad and trifid ; the middle fegment being large, roundifh, and rimmed round the edge. The ftamina are two fila- ments bifid from their middle ; the two branches remote, and having an obtufe finus, one branch being the longer, and hid under the upper lip of the flower, ana on this the anthera is placed ; the other is terminated by an obtufe body, probably a nectarium. The piftil has a qua- drifid germen, a thread-like, and very long ftyle, placed in the fame direction with the ftamina, and a bifid ftigma. There is properly no fruit, the calyx or cup of the flower doling (lightly, and containing in its bottom four roundifh feeds. Linnm Gen. Plant, p. 6. See Tab. 1 . of Butany, Clafs 4. The characters of this genus, according to Tournefort, are thefe. The flower confifts of one leaf, and is of the labiated kind ; the upper lip is fometimes only arched, fometimes very much hooked, the lower is divided into three fegments j the middle one being protuberant, not hollowed like a fpoon, as in the claries. The piftil arifes from the cup, and is fixed in the manner of a nail into the hinder part of the flower, and is furrounded with four embryos, which afterwards become as many feeds of a roundifh figure, which ripen in a tubular cafe, that was originally the cup of the flower. To thefe marks it may be added, that the ftamina refemble the os hyoides in animals. Tourn. Inft. p. 1 80. The fpecies of fage enumerated by Mr. Tournefort are thefe. 1. The greateft yellow flowered mountain fage with clary leaves. 2. The large broad leaved fage. 3. The greater fage with purple flower cups. 4. The greater fage with changeable coloured leaves. 5. The great fage with leaves variegated with green and yellow. 6. The three co- loured {Avery fage. 7. The tetter fage with finuated leaves edged with yellow. 8. The roundifh leaved fage. 9. The broad leaved ferrated fage. 10. The wormwood fage. 11. The berry-bearing^^, or apple/^£ of Candy. 12. The Candy fage without apples. 13. The white flowered Candy fage without apples. 14. The narrow leaved ferrated fage. 15. The leffer auriculatcd, and not auriculated _/#§■<?. t6. The fmall white flowered not auriculatcd fage. 17. The lefler fage with variegated leaves. 18. The thin leaved Spanifhy^. 19. The lavender leaved Spanim^^. The common broad leaved fage ; or, as we ufually call it, from the colour of fome of the leaves, red fage, is a fudo- rific and diuretic ; it promotes the menfes, and is good in palfies, vertigoes, tremors and catarrhs ; and mixed with ho- ney, it is faid to beone of the beft known cures for the aphthae and erofions of the mouths of children.

The fmaller leaved fage generally fold among us under the name of fage of virtue, has the fame qualities in a greater degree. SALUSANDRIA, in botany, a name given by fome authors to the nigella, called in Englifh gitb, or fennel flower. Ger. Emac. Ind. 2. SALUTATION, fahtatio, among the Romans, was a daily homage paid by clients and inferiors to their fuperiors. Among the great the atrium was the place appointed for this purpofe, but among people of middling condition the veftibulum only. See the articles Atrium and Vesti- bulum.

this practice of falutation was not confined to the city, but took place in the army likewifc, it being ufual for the pri- vate foldiers to go very early in the morning to faltrfe their centurion, who at their head proceeded to falute the tri- bune, and then the tribune, with the reft, went and fainted the imperator, or commander in chief. The women too had their crowds of fahiters attending them every morning. Pitifc. in voc. fahiiatio. The manner of receiving thofe who came to pay their re- fpects,