Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/634

* SAPHIR. 068 SAPOTACEiE. remiinps in mat litv iiijuvol iiiuoli poiiularity in tlieir time. His i>i"il)licatiuii8, such as the /'/ic- gcmlrs Album fiir fjnist, IScherz, Humor unci Ubiiiafrohe Ltiuiie (184ti), ami Koinersation»- hsikun fiir Gcist, Witz und Humor (2d ed. 18(iO). arc now little read. They display chielly a facility for clever plays upon words. SAFHIRE D'EAU, sik'f^r' do (Fr., water- sapphire), ur i)i< iiiioiTK. A gem variety of iolite. When cut it shows a very fine play of colors, presenting different shades of blue, bluish white, and yellowish gray, according to the di- rections in which the mineral is viewed. SAP'INDA'CEJE (Xeo-Lat. noni. pi., from Hii itiiidus. fniiii l.at. .so/)o, soap). The So.u'ISKUHV Kamilv. a nalural order of dicotyledonous trees, twining tendrillicaring slirubs, and a few herbaceous climbers, about lOOO known species, natives of warm climates, especially of South America and India, abntit 3t)0 species of lianas occurring in the tropics. None are natives of Eu- rope, and Sapindus and Serjania are the only in- digenous genera in the United States. The tim- ber of some species is valuable; Guarana bread is made from the seeds of a species of this order; the leaves of another (Cardiospernium Halicaca- bum) are used as a boiled vegetable in the Moluccas: and the fruits of some species, as Nephelium and I.itchi. are excellent. The chief genera of the order Sapindacefe are Serjania, Paullinia, Sa]>indus. Litchi. Xephelium, Lupania, Bligbia. Dodona'a, and Koelreuteria. SAPI-TJTAN. The JIalay name of the anoa (q.v.). For illustration, see Plate of Biffaloe.s. SAFO (Sp., large toad). A South American name for various toad-fisbes (q.v.) especially one of the genus Poricbthys, or 'midshipmen,' a species { l'orirlilh;/s iwtatus) very abundant along the (California coa.st. It lives under stones near the shore, and is locally known as the 'singing-fish,' on account of a peculiar liumming noise made with its air-bladder. It is about 15 inches long, olive brown with coppery reflections, the sides marked with broad bars, and the pores of the lateral line bead-like and shining. SAP'ODIL'LA (Sp. sapolilla, diminutive of sapota, zapotr, from Aztec sapotl, sapota tree). A tree of the natural order Sapotaceae (q.v.). The fruit has a sub-acid pulp which is highly es- teemed for dessert in the West Indies, where the tree is native and whence it has been introduced into man}' other tropical countries. SAPONI, sa-po'ne. A Virginia tribe of Sionan stuck (q. v.) known in history as the confederates of the kindred Tutelo. both tribes be- ing now extinct. The Saponi are first mentioned in 1070 by the (lerman traveler .John Lederer (q.v.), who visited their town on what a:ppears to have been Otter Creek, southwest of Lynch- burg. Besides I^ederer's early notes we have some Taluable ethnologic information concerning the Saponi from William Byrd (q.v.), in charge of the Virginia boundary survey of 1728, who visited their town and had one of their men in his service as guide and hunter. They still made tire by Tubbing two dry sticks together, and new fire was always made for each ceremonial occasion. They made spoons from bulTalo horn, and their women wove baskets and dress fabrics from the fibre of 'silk grass' (yueea). They had horses, but were awkward riders. They had strict regard to religious taboos. Tlie men were do- scribeil as having something great and venerable in their countenances, beyonil what was conunon ai in >aai;cs. See also OoCANEECIII; TUTELO. SAPON IFICA'TION. See Esters; Fats; Oils ; Soap. SAP'ONIN (from Lat. sapo, soap), C^jH^O,,. A glucosidc contained in various plants, including the Supoiiuria o/ficinalis, or soapwort, the Poly- ijiila senega, the fruit of the horse-chestnut, etc. It is readily extracted from the root of soapwort by means of boiling alcohol, which, as it cools, deposits the saponin as an amorphous sediment. It derives it name from its behavior with water, with which it forms an opalescent fluid that fro?bs when shaken, like a solution of soap, if even xuVb P'^'* "^ saponin be present. By the action of dilute acids saponin breaks up into sapogenin, ChHjjOj, and sugar. tAPODiLi.A {Acbras SApota). SAPORTA, sa'por'ta', Gaston, Marquis de ( 1823-11,5). A French botanist and paleontologist, born at Saint Zacharie (Var). He served in the army, then devoted him.self to vegetable paleon- tology, and in 1876 became a corresponding mem- ber of the French Academy of Sciences. Besides man}' contributions to periodicals, of which part were on the climate of geological periods, he wrote: Le monde des plantes avantVapparilion de I'homme (1878); L'evolution du rdgne vegftal (with Marion, 1881-85) ; Origine paUontologique dcs nrhrcs cultives (1888); and a genealogical studv. La famille de Mme. de S^vigni en Pro- vence (1889). SAP'OTA'CE^ (Neo-Lat. nom. pi., from Hapola, from Sp. sapota, zapote, sapota tree), The Sapodilla Family. A natural order of dicotyledonous trees and shrubs, often abound- ing in milky juice, which in many species yields gutta-percha. There are nearly 400 known species, chiefly natives of the tropics, and the