Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/439

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by confounding the two words. Dio/corides, lib. 18. Tlxo- phrajlus, p. 72. See Acanthe.

SCOMBER, the machrel, a well known fea fifh of the thyn- nus kind, and diftinguifhed from the other fifh of that ge- nus by its extremely fmall and thin feales; by its bluifh green colour on the back, variegated with undulated and crooked black lines ; by the forkednefs of its tail, and the very fubftance of the fin of it, being almoft entirely want- ing at the angle of it; and by the largenefs of its eye, in comparifon of the amia, and other fifh of this kind, which moft refemble it in other refpecls. WillughLfs Hift. Pifc. p. 181.

In the Linnaean fyftem of zoology, the [cornier is a diftincf genus of fifhcs, of the general order of the acanthopterygii. The characters of this are, that the membrane of the gills has feven bones, and that the tail has lateral eminences. Of this genus are the /comber, thymus, amia, and trachurus. Linntsi Syft. Nat. p. 54.

In the Artedian fyftem of ichthyology, the characters of this genus of fifb are thefe : the branchioftege membrane on each fide contains feven (lender bones, the upper one of which is nearly covered by the covering of the gills. The tail is very forked, fo as to refemble the form of a crefcent. There are one or more eminences on each fide toward the tail. The fins are either only two on the back, or elfe, befide thefe, there are feveral other fmall and fhort ones, running all the way to the tail, as well on the upper as the Under part of the body. The appendices to the pylorus are very numerous.

The fpecies of this genus are thefe. 1. The /comber with five pinnules at the end of the back, and a fnort fpine at the anus. This is the common mackrel. 2. The /comber with eight or nine pinnules at the end of the back, and a furrow at the belly fins. This is the tunny fifh. 3. The /comber with prickly lateral lines, and thirty bones in the pinna ani. This is the fifh we call the hor/e mackrel, and in fome places the /cad. 4. The /comber with two back fins, and with the laft ray of the fecond very long. This is the amia .of Salvian, and the glaucus of Aldrovand. It grows to three feet long. 4. The /comber with the fecond ray of the fe- cond back fin very high. This is the glaucus primus of Willughby and Rondeletius. Artedi, Gen, Pifc. p. 25. See the articles Gi.aucus, &c.

SCOPELISMUS, i™*Akt/*<h, an audacious crime pradifed by fome villains among the Arabians,

It confifted in placing a certain number of ftones upon the farm or field of perfons thefe mifcreants had a pique at ; which ftones ferved as a denunciation of utter deftru£lion to thofe, who for the future fhould attempt to till the ground on which they were laid. And fuch terror attended this malevolent and clandeftine threatening, that none ever ven- tured to till fuch fields. Piti/c. in voc.

SCOPS, in zoology, the name of a bird of the horn owl kind.

It is the fmalleft of all the owl kind, being fcarce fo large as a pigeon, and is grey on the head, and of a whitifh brown, variegated with ftreaks and fpots of brown in other places. Its beak is fhort, black, and crooked, and it has two feries of feathers, like the reft of the horn owls, re- fembling horns, which ftand over its ears. It is very com- mon in Italy. Aldrovand. de Avib. lib. 8. cap. 4. Ray's Ormthol. p. 65.

SCORAX, a word ufed by fome authors to exprefs the gum of the olive tree.

SCORDIUM {Cycl.) — This plant is propagated in our gardens for medicinal ufe, by parting the roots, or planting flips or cuttings in March, in beds of moift earth, at four or five inches diftance, in July they will be in flower, and fit to cut for ufe. But every other year the bed fhould be re- newed, and that always on a frefli fpot of ground, for they do not fucceed well on the fame. Miller's Gardner's Dictionary.

Scordium, or water germander, is efteemed a great fudorific and alexipharmic. It is prefcribed in malignant and pefti- lent'ial fevers, and even the plague itfelf. It is an attenu- ant and diflblvent, and is ufed to deftroy worms. Exter- nally it cleanfes foul ulcers, and, applied by way of cata- plafm, mitigates pain. It is never ufed alone, but merely kept in the fhops as an ingredient in the confei'tio Fracajloru, which, though it contains feveral medicines of more virtue, yet takes its name dia/cordium from it.

SCORIA, {Cycl.) in metallurgy, the recrements of metals in fufion, or more determinately fpeaking, the mafs, or part of the mafs of a melted metal, converted by the action of the fire into a body, which when cold is brittle, fixed, not diffoluble in water, but melts again when expofed to the fire, and is properly a kind of glafs.

Some authors call by this name that faline mafs, which is produced by melting ores and metals together with faline, and reducing fluxes. But the word /aria is not properly to be underftood of all this mafs, but only of the vitrified particles which are lodged between, and adhere to the fmall maffes of the falts, and which may be feparated from them by water. Cramer's Art of Affaying, p. 185. Suppl. Vol. II.

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SCORIFICATION, in metallurgy, is the ar/ of reducing a body either entirely, or in part, into /coria. It is ufed by metallurgifb, in order that any metal, impri- foned in a folid body, may, on account of its weight, de- fcend and feparate itfelf therefrom, and finally if that be re- quired, be itfelf either wholly or in part converted into /coria. All fixed bodies are fubjett to this alteration, net totally excepting even gold and filver. There are alfo, among the volatile bodies, fome that may be fixed, and which afiumc the form of /cora:, by adding fixed bodies to them. h is often proper to make this /corification in a vefTel that may abforb the /coria, and retain only the metallic part of the mafs under trial. In this cafe the oreration is called com- piling, and vefi'els made of afhes, called tejls and csppels, ferve for this purpofe. It is evident in thefe procefTes, that a great attenuation of the /coria is neceffaiy, that they may- be able to pafs through the veflel ; nor is there any fitter body to promote tin's operation than lead, which, by its un- dergoing itfelf a like attenuation in the fire, difpofes other bodies to be reduced into a fubtle /coria for the fame atte- nuation.

SCORITH, a word ufed by the chemical writers to exprefs fulphur.

SCORP^NA, in the Artedian fyftem of ichthyology, the name of a genus of fifties, of the acanthopterygious kind, the characters of which are thefe. The branchioftege mem- brane on each fide contains feven bones. The head is large, and very prickly. There is only one back fin, and that is lower in the middle than elfewhere. The body grows fmall toward the tail. The eyes are placed near one an- other, and are covered with the common (kin. There are teeth in the jaws, palate, and fauces ; and the appendices to the pylorus are eight or nine.

The fpecies of this genus are thefe. 1. The /cerfana with pinnules at the eyes and noftrils. This is the /orpins minor, or fiorpana of authors. 2. The red /corpana with many cirri about the mouth. This is the /corpius major of au- thors, and is three or four times larger than the other. Artedi, Gen. Pifc. 33.

According to Mr. "Willughby, the /corf ana is a fifh of the anguilliform kind, called by the people of Cornwall /other lajher.

It is of about fix inches in length, and in fhape much re- fembles the frefli water bullhead. Its head, and the fore- part of its body, are very large, the hinder part fmaller, the belly is flat and broad, and the whole body is without feales. It has a rough line running along both fides. It is variegated with black and ycllowifh marks, and the belly is white. The mouth is large, and is furnifhed with feve- ral rows of fmall teeth. It has large fins at the gills, and two on its back, which are fomewhat prickly, and one ftrait one on the belly. It keeps about the fhores, and feeds on fhrimps and fmall fifh. It is common in the Dutch and Englifh feas.

Scorpama is alfo the name of a fifh caught in many parts of the Mediterranean. It fcldom grows to more than a pound weight. Its body is of a long, not flatted form, and is moderately thick. Its head is extremely large, and is armed with prickles, and it grows gradually lefs from thence to the tail. Its belly is not fiat, but tumid, and its back rifes in the middle. It fomething refembles the river pearch in fhape, and is of a yellowifh colour, variegated with fpors of brown. Its feales are fmall and rigid. The coverings of the gills are armed with fpines, and there are others about the eyes and about the mouth. The fpace between the eyes is hollowed, and over each eye there is a fort of fmall fin. The eyes are large and prominent, and are placed near one an- other. Its mouth is extremely large, but its teeth fmall. It has only one back fin, but that being very low in the mid- dle, gives an appearance of two. The anterior fpines of this are rigid and prickly, the hinder ones foft and flexile. The prickles about the head are accounted venomous, and the fifhermen ufually cut them off as foon as the fifh is caught. Its tail is not forked, but rounded at the end. The belly and bcllyfins are reddifh, Ge/ner, de Pifc. p. 1018. Aldrovand. de Pifc. lib. 2. cap. 24.

SCORPIACA, the name of an antidote recommendeJ by Galen againft the flinging of fcorpions.

SCORPIO, the /corpion, in zoology. See Scorpion.

Scorpio, in botany, a name by which fome of the old au- thors have called the genijia fpino/a, or common furze bufh. Ger. Emac. Ind, 2.

SCORPIOIDES, in zoology, the name of a fifh of the got- torugine kind, but differing in colour, being of a faint green, variegated with black fpots; and in either wanting- the eyefins, or elfe having them extremely minute. Rondekt. dePifc. See Gottorugine.

Scorpioides, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe. The flower is of the papilio- naceous kind ; the piftil arifes from the cup, and finally becomes a jointed pod of an oddly convoluted fhape, re- fembling a fnail or caterpillar, and ufually containing in each of its joints a fingle oval feed. See Tab. I. of Botany, CJaf. 10.

2 B b b The