Sisyphus, a fabulous prince of antiquity, said to have been condemned to roll up a hill a large stone, which no sooner reached the summit, than it fell back into the plain, thus rendering his punishment eternal. The epithet is often applied to any very difficult and apparently interminable labor. Sith, since. Smalt, a powdered glass, of a blue color. Smeaton, (John,) an eminent English mechanic and engineer, who was born in Yorkshire, May 28, 1724, and died September 8, 1792. He was the builder of the Eddystone lighthouse. Smith, (Adam,) a celebrated Scottish writer on moral and political economy, who was born June 5, 1723, and died in 1790. Smithfield, a celebrated Square in London, in which is held the greatest cattle market in England. It is famous in history, as the place where the martyrs were burnt, in the religious persecutions of the sixteenth century. Smoke-jack, an instrument to turn a spit, and which is set in motion by the smoke or rarefied air ascending the chimney. Soda, or Natron, an alkali obtained from the ashes of marine plants. Spenser, (Edmund,) a celebrated English poet, who was born in London, about A. D. 1553, and died at the age of forty-six. His great poem, called the Faerie Queene,' is full of beautiful sentiment and imagery, and exquisite descriptions of character. Sphenoid, wedge shaped; the name of one of the bones of the skull. See cut on page 130. Spoke-shave, a shave or knife used by wheelwrights and carpenters, for the purpose of shaving smooth the spokes of wheels, &c. Stippling, a mode of engraving by making dots or punctures in the copper, instead of cutting lines. Stock, cattle, and other animals on a farm. Strikes, combinations of workmen to abstain from work till they have exacted higher wages, or effected some other object. Stultified, made foolish, deprived of understanding. Sub, a Latin prefix, signifying under or below. Sub-soil, the soil lying directly under the vegetable soil which is on the surface. Sulphates, Sulphats, Sulphites, salts formed by the combination of any base with sulphuric acid. See pp. 43, 44, note. Sulphate of copper, blue vitriol; blue stone. Sulphate of iron, copperas; green vitriol. Sulphate of lime, gypsum, or plaster of Paris. Sulphate of magnesia, Epsom salts. Sulphate of potash, a chemical salt, composed of sulphuric, do and potash. Sulphate of soda, Glauber's salts. Sulphate c, white vitriol. Sulphurets, combinations of alkaline earths or metals with sulphur. Sulphuret of notash, sulphur and potash fused together. Sulphurous acid gas, a gas formed by burning sulphur in oxygen or common air, under a bell glass. Swedish turnip, or ruta baga, a variety of turnip, large, and of a yellowish color. Swiche, or Swilke, such. Tamboured, ornamented with a kind of needle-work. Tannin, a substance found in the bark of the oak, and almost all other trees. It is used for tanning hides, and as a dye-stuff. Tarquins, a family who reigned in Rome, between five and six hundred years before Christ. Themistocles, a celebrated Athenian general, who was born about B. C. 514, and died about B. C. 449. He was several years at the head of the Athenian republic, and contributed much to its security and the improvement of the capital. Being once laughed at, for his ignorance of some genteel accomplishments, he replied, "It is true, I never learned how to tune a harp, or play upon a lute; but I know how to raise a small and inconsiderable city to glory and greatness." Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and moral writer, who was born at Lesbos, B. C. 371, and died about B. C. 286. He wrote numerous works, but few of which remain. Toggle-joint, an elbow or knee-joint, consisting of two bars, so connected by a joint, that they may be brought into a straight line. Tonics, medicines to strengthen the nerves, and give vigor to the system. Topical, limited, local. Traction, the act of drawing a load; draught. Treasury Department, the Department having the care of the revenues of a country. Treene, (from tree,) wooden, made of wood. Trigonometrical, pertaining to trigonometry, or the art of measuring triangles. Tubal Cain, see Genesis, iv. 22. Tull, Jethro, an English gentleman, inventor of the drill-plough, and the first writer who ever successfully attempted to reduce agriculture to certain and uniform principles. He was born about A. D.. 1680, and died January 3, 1740. Tyler, a tiler, one who lays tiles on houses. Ulloa, (Don Antonio de,) an able Spanish naval officer and mathematician, who was born at Seville, in 1716, and died in 1795. He resided ten years in South America, was Governor of Louisiana, and published an account of his travels. Ulmic acid, or humic acid, that peculiar substance or property in vegetable soil, which has been generally supposed to constitute the food or nourishment of plants. From recent researches by an agricultural chemist, (Professor Liebig, of Germany,) it would appear, that, instead of being directly the food of plants, it is the source of the carbonic acid which serves to nourish them. Ulysses, a celebrated ancient Grecian prince, of great valor, prudence, and sagacity. He was King of the Islands of Ithaca and Dulichium, in the Ionian Sea, and flourished about Ive hundred years before Christ. The United Kingdom, Great Britain, composed of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Ure, (Andrew,) a distinguished English physician and writer, Professor of Practical Science, author of A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines,' and several other works. Utopian, imaginary; from a work by Sir Thomas More, a celebrated English judge and chancellor, in which he describes the government, laws, &c., of an imaginary island, which he calls Utopia, (from the Greek ovтоros, outoрos, no place,) giving political views much in advance of those of his age, and satirizing many of the vices and absurdities of Europe. Vetches, a family of plants similar to the pea. Viaduct, a passage; a piece of masonry built across a stream or valley to support a road or railway. Vice versa, the side being changed, or the question reversed. Volta, (Alexander,) a celebrated experimental philosopher, who was born at Como, in Italy, in 1745, and died March 6, 1826. He contributed largely to the progress of science, and paid great attention to electricity. To his discovery or invention of the Voltaic pile or battery, we are indebted for many important philosophical and chemical discoveries. Walishmen, Welchmen. Watt, James, a man remarkable for his acquisitions in science and natural philosophy, and for his improvements in the steam-engine. He was born in 1736, and died in 1819. For a biographical sketch of his life, see Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties,' vol. ii., forming volume xv. of THE SCHOOL LIBRARY.' Wedgwood, (Josiah,) an eminent improver of the manufacture of pottery, who was born in July, 1730, and died January 3, 1795. He invented the ware which is known by his name, and rendered many other services to science. Weld, wold, yellow weed, or dyer's weed, a plant cultivated for its use in dyeing yellow. Whitney, Eli, an able and ingenious mechanician, who was born at Westborough, Massachusetts, in 1765, and died in 1825. He was buried at New Haven, and over his remains a beautiful monument has been erected to his memory. He was the inventor of the cotton-gin, a machine for separating the seeds from the downy fibre of the cotton, an operation previously performed slowly, and with great labor, by hand. For a description of this machine, see Bigelow's Useful Arts,' vol. i. page 111, being the eleventh volume of THE SCHOOL LIBRARY,' Larger Series. His Life will appear in a subsequent volume of this series. Whittemore, (Amos,) the inventor of a machine for sticking cards, who died at West Cambridge, in 1828, aged sixty-nine. Whoods, hoods, coverings for the head. Wicker, work made of twigs or small sticks. William III., Prince of Orange, born A. D. 1650, and became King of England, in consequence of the deposition of James II., in 1689. He died March 8, 1702. William IV., King of Great Britain, was born August 21, 1765, and became King on the death of his brother, George IV., June 26, 1830. He died June 20, 1837. Wipers, cams of a particular construction, intended to produce two or more alternate movements for each revolution of the wheel. Witles, senseless, inconsiderate, wanting understanding. Wollaston, (William Hyde,) a celebrated chemist and experimental philosopher, who was born A. D. 1766, and died December 22, 1828. He became one of the most eminent chemists and experimentalists of modern times; and invented the camera lucida, and several other valuable instruments. Yied, went, did go. Young, (Arthur,) a celebrated English agricultural writer, who was born September 7, 1741, and died February 20, 1820. INDEX. A. Abrasion of surfaces, 297. Action and reaction, principle 40. Operation of, seen in so- Application of the laws of chemical affinity, 40; action Agents, mechanical, mode of ac- Agriculture, chemical, 108-118. Alchymists, ignorant of the laws Americans, activity of, 379, 380. of, 55. || resistance to pressure, 129. 246. Archimedes, invented method of In 122, 129-131, 132-134; foun- 137. Arkwright, Richard, his obliga- 114. Arnott, Dr., on the relative resist- ance of friction, in sliding and Art, signification of the term, 11. |