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laa dissolved, or saturated itself with
metals.
Pyrops, a mineral found in Bohemia,
ot a deep red color, which passes to
orange, when exposed to the sun.
Pyrophorus, an artificial product, pre-
pared from alum by calcination, with
the addition of various inflammable sub-
stances.
Pyrotechnics, the art of making fire-
works.
QUADRANT, a mathematical in-
strument, of great use in navigation,
or taking the altitudes of the sun, stars,
fee.
Quarantine, a detention which ships
undergo, when suspected of having on
board persons or goods infected with
contagion. The usual quarantine is 40
days.
Quartz, a mineral of the flint genus,
which is divided into five sub-species.
Quassia, a tree growing in S. Ameri-
ca and the W. Indies, the root, bark
and wood of which are used in medi-
cine, and by brewers to give a bitter
taste to their beer. It received its name
from Quassi, a negro of Surinam, who
discovered its virtues.
Quercitron Bark, the bark of a species
of oak growing in Mass. and other parts
of N. America. It is used for dying
yellow.
RAGWORT, a native perennial plant
growing by roadsides, and flowering
from July to August. It imparts a fine
green color to wool.
Raisins, grapes prepared by suffering
them to remain on the vine till they are
perfectly ripe, and then drying them in
the sun or by the heat' of an oven. The
names by which raisins are distinguish-
ed among traders, are the following,
and the order in which they are placed
denotes their relative value, the first
being the most esteemed; viz. Musca-
tels, sun or solis, bloom or jar, Belve-
dere, Denia or Malaga, Sultana, Lipari,
and Smyrna, black and red. The best
of these kinds are imported in boxes and
jars, and the inferior in mats. Spain
supplies great quantities of this article;
and Malaga is the port whence they are
chiefly exported. Calabria furnishes the
finest of any part of Italy.
_ Rape-Seed, the seed of the napus sta-
liva, from which a useful oil is extract-
ed.
Ratafia, a fine spirituous liquor, pre-
pared in France from the kernels of
cherries, apricots, fee.
Rateen, a thick woollen stuff, manu-
factured chiefly in France, Holland and
Italy.
Rattans, the small shoots or branches
of the sugar-cane, brought from the E.
and W. Indies.'
Reddle, an ore of iron in the state of
red oxide, commonly used as a pig-
ment.
Resin, a viscid juice oozing from sev-
eral vegetable productions, as the pine,
the fir, fee. That of fir is known by the
name of rosin.
Rhapontic, a medicinal root resembling
rhubarb. It comes from Smyrna.
Rhodium, or Rose Wood, a wood or
root brought from the Canary islands.
Rhubarb, a plant of which there are
seven species. The yellowish root
Which is used 7n medicine comes prin-
cipally from China.
Rice, a plant very much resembling
wheat in shape, color and leaves. It is
cultivated to great extent in Asia as
well as in the southern parts of the U.
States.
Rine-Hemp, the best sort of hemp,
cleaned from all impurities.
Rouge, a red color obtained from the
plant caiihamus, a native of Egypt and
the Levant.
Ruby, a genus of precious stcmes of
various colors, found in the E. Indies
and In Brazil.
Rum, a well known spirituous liquor,
made from the sugar-cane. |
Rye, a useful species of grain produc-
ed from a plant which is a native of the
island of Candia.
SABLE, an animal valued for its fur.
The. best skins come from Siberia, Hud-
son’s bay and Canada.
Sagalhee, a slight woollen stuff, some-
times mixed with a little silk.
Sago, the produce of an oriental tree,
whieh grows in great abundance in the
Moluccas and the coast of Malabar, lt
is also brought from the W. Indies. It
forms an agreeable jelly, and is a useful
article of diet.
Salt, a mineral body, readily soluble
in water, and tasting sharp or pungent
on the tongue. The salt obtained from
the waters of the sea is called bay salt:
so named from being first made in the
bay of St. Ubes, in Portugal. We ex-
port much salt from the West Indies.
Rock salt is obtained in great abundance
from the mines in Poland and Hungary.
Sanders, an odoriferous wood, brought
from the Indies.
Sapan, a species of wood, similar to
the Brazil wood, and used for the same
purposes. The tree which produces it
is found in S. America, Japan, and Co-
chin-China.
Sapphire, a genus of precious stones,
of a blue color, and the hardest of all
except the ruby and diamond.
Sarcenet, a kind of fine, thin woven,
plain silk.
Sardines, a species of fish of the her-
ring kind ; anchovies.
Sardonyx, a precious stone, consisting
of a mixture of the chalcedony and cor-
nelian.
Sarsaparilla, the root of a plant grow-
ing in most parts of America. The flower
is yeiiow, mixed with red.
Sassafras, the root of a tree, which is
a native of N. America, and grows plen-
tifully in Florida.
Satin, a soft, closely-woven silk, with
a glossy surface. The chief seats of
this manufacture are Lyons, Genoa and
Florence.
Saw-wort, a plant employed by dyers
to impart a yellow color.
Scammony, the produce of a species of
convolvulus, or creeper plant; which
grows wild in the vales between Naza-
reth and Mount Carmel. It is used in
medicine as a purgative.
Scapolite, a mineral of a pearl color,
found in Norway.
Scrivellos, the small elephants’ teeth,
or pieces of them, which are not sold
singly but in parcels.
Sena, or Senna, the leaf of a shrub-
by plant cultivated in Persia, Syria and
Arabia, and much used in medicine as
a useful cathartic.
Serge, a woollen stuff manufactured
in a loom.
Seron, of almonds, is the quantity of
200 weight ; of indigo, the same.
Shag, a woollen stuff smooth on one
side and velvety on the other.
Shagrin, a kind of grained leather,
prepared, as is supposed, of the skin of a
species of squalus, or horned fish, called
the shagree, or shagrain, and used in
covering books, fee. It is imported
from Constantinople and some parts of
Poland.
Shalloon, a slight woollen stuff, which
derives its name from the town of Cha-
lons, where it was first manufactured.
Shammy, a kind of leather, soft and
pliant. The real shammy is prepared
of the skin of the chamois-goat, whence
its name.
Shawls, a species of fine woollen hand-
kerchief, forming an article of female
dress. The finest shawls come from
the E. Indies. The province of Cache-
mire is the grand seat of the manufac-
ture of the beautiful shawls which bear
its name.
Shellac, a kind of lac, which has un-
dergone a purification in a particular
manner. |
Sherry, fe Spanish wine, made in the
vicinity of Xeres, whence its hkab*
The Sherry Wines are shipped mosCy
irom Cadiz.
Silk, a very soft, fine, bright thread
the work of an insect, called the bom-
byx, or the silk-worni. The silk im
ported into this country is chiefly the
produce of Italy, France, Turkey and
the E. Indies. Attention has recently
been directed to the culture of silk in
the U. States, and it will doubtless in
time become an important article of
manufacture in the country.
Silver, a metal of a fine white color,
without either taste or smell. The most
considerable silver mines are at Potosi
in S. America, Kunsberg in Norway,
Annaberg in Austria, the Hartz, &c.
Sloop, a sort of small ship or vessel,
usually with one mast.
Smack, a small vessel, usually cany
ing a single mast, and employed in fish-
ing.
Smalt, a species of glass, of a dark
blue color.
Snake-Root, a medicinal root growing
principally in Virginia and the southern
states.
Soda, an alkaline salt, principally ob-
tained from the ashes of marine plants.
Soy, an .extract from a sort of bean
growing in China. It is used as a stim-
ulant sauce.
Spermaceti, a fat substance obtained
from the brains of a species of whale.
Sponge, a plant of a porous texture;
common in the Mediterranean and other
seas, where it adheres in large masses
to rocks, stones, shells, fee. It comes
chiefly from Aleppo and Smyrna.
Squill, a plant with a large bulbous
root, growing spontaneously on the
sandy shores of Spain and the Levant,
lt is used in medicine.
Steel, iron refined in the fire with cer-
tain ingredients, that render it white
and impart to it a harder and finer grain
than that ofthe original metal.
Stozax, the most fragrant of the solid
resins. It is obtained from a tree, which
grows most plentifully in Cilicia, Syria,
and Pamphilia ; and is also met with in
America.
Stucco, a generic term, comprehend-
ing all the different kinds of coverings,
drawings, or coatings for walls.
Sugar, a solid, sweet substance, ob-
tained from the sugar-cane. It is ex-
tensively manufactured in the E. and
W. Indies, Louisiana and S. America.
Sulphur, or Brimstone, a hard, brittle,
inflammable substance, of an opaque
yellow color.
Sumach, a shrub which grows natural-
ly in the U. S., Syria, Spain and Portu-
gal ; in the two last it is cultivated with
great care ; and great quantities are also
exported from Sicily. Its shoots are re-
duced to powder, and prepared for the
purposes of dying, tanning, fee.
Swivel, a small cannon, much used on
board merchant-ships as a weapon of
defence.
TABBY, a kind of rich silk.
Tacamahaca, a solid resinous sub-
stance, used in pharmacy, brought from
New Spain and the island of Madagas-
car.
Taffety, a fine, smooth, silken stuff,
remarkable for its gloss.
Talc, a species of mineral, of which
there are three varieties. It abounds in
the mountains of Tyrol and Salsburg.
Tamarinds, the fruit of the tamarin-
dus indica. It is a pod resembling a
beancod, including several bard seeds,
with a dark colored viscid pulp, of a
pleasant acid taste : the E. India tama-
rinds are longer than the W. India; the
former containing six or seven seeds
each, the latter rarely above three or
four.
Tammy, a species of woollen stuff
manufactured in England.
Taonbac, or Tombaqua, a mixture of
gold and copper.
Tapioca, a name given to white sage
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