Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/758

* SCIENCES. 688 SCIOPPITJS. In suivovii:- :ill tli.'^e <liissificntioiis, tho ques- ticiii arises" wlifllicr ;iiiv oiip classilkation is pos- bible which can claiiii validity to the exclusion of the others. As was observed at the outset, a classification depends, among other things, upon the principle employed. Is only one principle applicable in the classification of the sciences? To answer this question aHirmatively seems to be dogmatic. The various sciences are related in idiiuiis ways, and why any single one of these ways should be chosen" as the sole possible basis of "valid classification, it is ditlicult to see. The dogmatism of such an assumption can be illus- trated by referring to the classification of books in a library. A libraiy may be arranged alpha- betically, or chronologically, or topically, etc. No oneof these arrangements is the only proper one. Which shall be chosen depends upon the use to which the classification is to be put. Consult relierweg-Heinze. Gruiulriss dcr Ge- schichtc (Irr I'liiloxaphtr, for ancient classifica- tions; for several modern classifications, consult: Bacon, Advancanciit of Learning (1605) ; Hobbes, Leviathan (1651); Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690); d'Alembert, Melanges (1767); Bentham. Chrestoniathia (1810); Comte. Conrs de philosophic positive (1830); Ampere. Essai siir ta philosophie des sciences (1834) : Spencer, The Genesis of Science (1854) and The Clnssifieation of the Sciences (1864). both republished in vol. ii. of his Es.says (American ed. 18!11 ) : Erdmann. "Die Gliederung der Wissenschaften," in Viertetjahrschrift fiir wissensehaftliche Philosophie, vol. ii. ; Wundt, "Ueber die F.intheilung der Wissenschaften," in Philosophische Stndien, vol. v.; also his Logik .(2d ed., Leipzig. 1893-95) : La Grasserie, De la classification (Paris, 1893) ; Goblot, Essai snr la classification dcs sciences (ib., 1898) : Xaville. Kouvelle classification des sciences (ib., 1901). SCIENTIFIC ALLIANCE OF NEW YORK, 'I'liK. An association of scientific bodies with lieadijuarters at the New York Botanical Gardens and including the resident active mem- Torrey Botanical Club, the New York INIicroscopi- cal Society, the Linnean Society of New York, the New York Mineralogical Club, and the New Y'ork Entomological Society. The Council of the Scientific Alliance is composed of the president and two members from each of the allied so- cieties. In 1902 the Alliance had a total mem- bership of 691. See Extomologic.l Society, Amerrax; Microscopical Society, The Amer- ican; New York Academy of Science; Toerey Botanical Club. SCILLA. See Squill. SCILLY (sil'll) ISLANDS. A group of islands forming the southwesternmost part of Great Britain, 27 miles west-southwest of Land's End, Cornwall (Map: France, A 2). The group consists of about 140 islands and -rocks, com- prising a circuit of 30 miles, and the islands are the high points of the submerged and traditional land of Lyonesse which extended to the mainland. Navigation around the islands is dangerous. Only five of them are inhabited. Saint ISIary's, the largest, has 1528 acres: Tresco. 697; Saint Martin's. 515; Saint Agnes, 313; Sampson and Bryher. 269. The climate is mild. The soil is in general sandy, but in Tresco and Saint Agnes it is remarkably fertile. The cliflTs abound with se;ifowl, and are covered with samphire. The inliabitants are chielly engaged in agriculture, lluriculture, and fishing. Large (juantities of potatoes are produced ; narcissi and other llovv- ers are sent to London and Bristol. Hugh Town is the capital, and contains an odd mixture of old-fashioned and neat modern houses. By the ancients, these islands were named Cas- siterides, Hesperides, and Siluric Insula>. The term Cassiterides, or 'Tin Islands,' by which they were known to the Cireeks and Romans, was once applied to the peninsula of Cornwall. There are numerous remains of prehistoric monoliths, stone circles, kistvaens, rock-basins, and cromlechs. The Scilly Islands were in 936 granted by Athelstane to some monks who .set- tled at Tresco. They were afterwards granted to the Abbey of Tavistock by Henry I., and were conferred by Queen Elizabeth on the Godolphin familv. They are now Crown property. I'opu- lation. in 1901, 2100. SCINDE, sind. A region of British India. See Si.NDH. SCINDIA, or SIDHIA, sin'di-a. The name of a JIahratta dynasty, rulers of Gvvalior, in Central India. See Sindia. SCINTILLATION (Lat. scintillatio, from seintilliire, to sparkle, from scintilla, spark). The apparent twinkling or flickering of a star, including the changes of color that are seen when the stars are near the horizon. A perfectly satisfactory' explanation of this phenomenon has been given by E.xner of Vienna, who .shows that it is due entirely to the irregular refraction of ra.ys of light passing through the heterogeneous mixture of warm and cold air that ordinarily exists in the atmosphere. The minute streams of warm and cold air, oftentimes of a smaller di- ameter than that of the pupil of the eye, cause points on a large object to dance about while the object as a whole remains stationary. There- fore the edges of the sun or moon or planets ap- pear to scintillate, while these objects as a whole are quite steady owing to their large ap- parent angular diameter. The frequency and extent of the oscillations and changes of color may be observed by means of the scintillometer, by which the image of a star is drawn out into a circle, and the rapid changes of the light are seen distributed along the circumference. Regu- lar observations have shown that scintillation is more decided before the approach of a storm, and in various ways this phenomenon is so con- nected with atmospheric changes as to form a regular subject of observation by some meteorol- ogists. SCIO. An island of the .^gean Sea. See Chics. SCIOP'PITJS (Latinized form of Sehoppe) , Ka.spar (1576-1649). A classical scholar and controversialist, born at Neumarkt. in the Palat- inate. He studied at Heidelberg, Altdorf. and In- golstadt. In 1598 he became a Roman Catholic. Henceforth his career is a series of attacks both on Protestantism and on his personal enemies. He assailed first Joseph .Justus Scaliger (q.v.), against whom, in 1607. he wrote his fiealiger Bfipoholimwus. In 1611 he attacked King .James of England in libelous pamphlets. Some three years after, when staying at Madrid, he was in retalia- tion beaten by the servants of Lord Digby, the
 * bers of the New York Academy of Sciences, the