Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/413

 STONE CROP subfamily erythacince, or old world robins. The bill is short, with broad gape, furnished with bristles; wings long and rounded, with fourth and fifth quills equal and longest; tail short and broad; tarsi and toes slender, and STONINGTON 401 Stone Chat (Saxicola rubicola). iind toe long. There are several species. The stone chat, resident in England but migratory m the continent, is about 4| in. long ; the head, throat, and back black, on the latter edged with whitish red; sides of neck, upper part wings, and rump white; breast orange brown ; lower parts reddish white. A similar but migratory species is the whin chat (8. ibetra, JBechst.), so named for its partiality for furze or whin bushes. These two species belong to the subgenus pratincola (Koch). STONE CROP. See SEDUM. STONEHENGE, a collection of huge stones on Salisbury plain, Wiltshire, England, about 8 m. N. of Salisbury. Its name is old Saxon, and signifies "hanging stones." Seen from a dis- tance, they appear to be merely an irregular mass of stones, but a closer inspection shows them to have been originally arranged to form two ovals within two circles, surrounded by a bank of earth 15 ft. high and 1,010 ft. in cir- cumference. There are altogether about 140 stones, weighing from 10 to TO tons. They are much weather-worn, but in many of them the sharp angles and the tenons and mortices by which they were joined are well preserved. The outer circle has 17 stones remaining out of 30 ; the inner has but 8 stones entire, and fragments of 12 others. The inner oval con- sisted of about 20 smaller stones, of which 11 are still standing ; the other oval consisted of 10 stones, of which 8 are remaining. Scat- tered over the plain are about 300 tumuli, or barrows, some of which have been opened, and found to contain charred human bones, fragments of pottery, and British and Roman ornaments and weapons. In the centre is a flat slab 15 ft. long, which is supposed to have been the altar; it is a grained calcareous sandstone, which strikes fire with steel. On excavating at the foot of this altar, remains of oxen, deer, and other animals were found, intermixed with burnt wood and fragments of Roman and British pottery. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Stonehenge was erect- ed by order of Aurelianus Ambrosius, the last British king, in honor of 460 Britons slain by Hengist the Saxon; but Polydore Vergil argues that it was a monument to the mem- ory of that king. Some authorities believe it to have been a druidic temple, others assert that it was an astronomical observatory, and others that it was a place both of worship and of council, which was also used for assemblies of the people. Similar stone circles have been found in various parts of the world, and Sir John Lubbock refers them all to the bronze age, while other antiquaries and geologists maintain that some of them were erected 10,- 000 to 50,000 years ago. Nothing has as yet been brought forward to establish any of these theories beyond controversy and doubt. STONE RIVER, Battle of. See MURFEEESBOEO. STONINGTON, a town, borough, and port of entry of New London co., Conn., on Long Isl- and sound, at the S. E. extremity of the state ; pop. of the town in 1870, 6,313, of the borough, 1,561. The town is divided into five voting districts, Stonington borough, the villages of Mystic, Mystic Bridge, and Paucatuck, and the "Road." The borough is built on a narrow rocky point extending about half a mile into the sound, and has a good harbor protected by a breakwater. A second breakwater is now building and a third one is projected. Stonington is a favorite place for summer re- sort, and has a considerable coasting trade and several vessels employed in sealing. It is con- nected with Providence by the Stonington and Providence railway, with New London by a branch of the same, and with New York by the New York and Stonington steamboat line. Mystic Bridge is a thriving village, chiefly en- gaged in ship building. There are in the sev- eral villages four banks, a savings bank, 14 churches, 16 public schools, three woollen mills, one cotton mill, a large foundery and machine shop, and several other factories, and a weekly newspaper. On June 30, 1874, its