maceration in water are used in Canada to stitch together the birch-bark canoes. It is distinguished from the preceding by its less crowded leaves, and their pale green color, and the longer and more cylindrical form of its cones. It is much esteemed in Europe as an ornamental tree, and is frequently cultivated in parks and gardens.-The American silver fir (A. balsamea) is still less than the white spruce, and rarely exceeds forty feet in height. It is a beautiful tree, having the leaves longer than those of the black spruce, and silvery beneath. The cones are four or five inches in length, cylindrical, obtuse and violaceous. The wood is light, but slightly resinous, and is little used. A few bottles of the turpentine are collected and sold under the improper name of balm of Gilead; and this remedy has acquired some celebrity, in England, in certain stages of the pulmonary consumption. This is a favorite ornamental tree in many parts of the U. States.-The hemlock spruce (A. Canadensis) is readily distinguished by having the leaves distichous, or disposed in two ranks, and the cones terminal. It is one of our most beautiful trees, and is particularly valuable for the properties of the bark. (See Hemlock Spruce.) The European firs are more lofty than our own, but the properties of the timber are analogous: that of the Norway spruce (A. communis) is called white deal in England.

SPUNGE. (See Sponge, on page 597.) SQUILL. The officinal squill (scilla maritima of Linnæus) is now referred to now referred to the genus ornithogalum. This plant is allied to the onion, which it somewhat resembles: there are six stamens and a single style; the calyx is wanting, and the corolla is deeply divided into six segments: the root is a bulb almost as large as a man's head, and similar in form and structure to that of the onion; the stem upright, cylindrical, terminated by a long raceme of white flowers the leaves appear after the flowers, and are all radical, very large, oval-lanceolate and fleshy. It grows on the sandy coasts of the Mediterranean. The bulb has a nauseous, bitter and acrid taste, but is destitute of any perceptible odor. It is poisonous to several animals, and, if much handled, produces ulcers on the skin. In large doses, it occasions vomiting, strangury, inflammation of the stomach and bowels, &c.; but in small doses, acts simply as an expectorant and diuretic. It has been much esteemed from antiquity, and its various preparations are much used in medicine.

SQUIRREL (sciurus); a genus of quadrupeds, belonging to the rodentia, or gnawers, distinguished from most animals of the tribe by the compressed form of the lower incisors. The upper lip is cleft; the fur soft and silky; the molar teeth are four on each side of the lower jaw, and five in the upper, the first of which is only a small tubercle, often shed with age; the incisors are two in each jaw; the toes are armed with hooked nails, by means of which these animals are enabled to climb trees, among the branches of which they pass their lives, feeding on the fruit. Their light and graceful motions, their beauty, and extreme neatness, have made them general favorites. When on the ground, they move by successive leaps, with the tail extended and undulating; but the forest is their home, and they display wonderful activity in leaping from branch to branch, sometimes stopping to listen, sitting erect upon their hinder limbs, with the tail elevated like a plume. In the same posture they take their food, using their fore-feet like hands. The hardest nuts serve them for nutriment, and the facility with which they cut through the shell is remarkable. They build nests of sticks and leaves, in the tops of trees, or sometimes in hollow trunks. Previous to the approach of winter, they lay up large hoards of nuts and grain for future use. When in captivity, they permit themselves to be handled, without ever appearing to distinguish the person who takes care of them, or experiencing any real attachment for him. The species are numerous in the U. States, but at present are not very well understood. In some districts, they multiply so exceedingly as to become a pest to the farmers, literally laying waste the cornfields: the woods and fields seem then to be alive with them, and sometimes they make partial migrations, during which, vast numbers are drowned in crossing rivers.The fox squirrel (S. vulpinus) inhabits, exclusively, the pine forests of the Southern States, and is our largest species. The body is fourteen inches in length, and the tail sixteen. The color is gray and black, or mottled, &c.-S. capistratus is a variety having the nose white.-The cat squirrel (S. cinereus) is found in the Northern and Middle States, and is distinguished by its size and by the fur being less coarse in its texture. The length of the body is twelve inches, and of the tail fourteen; the color cinereous above, and white beneath; the tail is less distichous than in the others, and striped with black. There

are four molar teeth only on each side of the upper jaw.-The gray squirrel (S. Carolinensis) is still very common in most parts of the U. States, especially in oak, hickory and chestnut forests. Formerly, it was so abundant in many districts as to become a scourge to the inhabitants. It is remarkable for its beauty and activity, and, when kept in confinement, is exceedingly playful and mischievous. It is much smaller than the two preceding; the color is usually fine bluish-gray, mixed with a slight tinge of orange, and the tail is edged with white. These three species often occur entirely black, and in this state have been described as a distinct species.-The great-tailed squirrel (S. macrourus) is the most common species on the Missouri. It is a large species, of a ferruginous color, and has the tail larger than the others.-The red squirrel, chick-a-ree, or Hudson's bay squirrel (S. Hudsonius), is a beautiful species, very common in the Northern States. The ears are distinctly tufted; the color is reddish-brown above, pale beneath, with a pretty distinct black line on each flank. It is smaller than the gray squirrel.-S. quadrivittatus is a very small species, inhabiting the vicinity of the Rocky mountains, about the head waters of the Platte and Arkansas. The general color is reddish above, mixed with black, and whitish beneath, with four broad white lines on the back. It has not been observed to ascend trees, but nestles in holes, or on the edges of rocks; and the nest is composed of a most extraordinary quantity of different vegetable substances, sometimes sufficient to fill a cart. Its principal food seems to consist of the seeds of the pine.-The ground squirrel (tamias lysteri) has been separated from sciurus, on account of the presence of cheek-pouches; it differs also, somewhat, in its habits, as it makes a burrow, generally, about the roots of trees, or along fences and walls, often of considerable extent, and having several branches, and always two openings. It is one of the most familiar animals in the U. States, and is usually seen running along fences and walls; but it occasionally ascends trees. On the back are five longitudinal black bands, separated on each side by two white ones. It is a very pretty and lively animal.-The common flying squirrel (pteromys volucella) differs from sciurus in having the skin on the sides very loose, and capable of being spread out when the limbs are extended, with the assistance of an additional bone articulated with the wrist. By means of this

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structure, the flying squirrels are enabled to make surprising leaps: taking advantage of the wind, they launch into the air, buoyed up as by a parachute, and sail swiftly and obliquely downwards. It is an exceedingly beautiful animal, very common in many parts of the U. States. Another and larger species is found in Canada and about the Rocky mountains. The squirrels of North America are fa from being well understood, and, probably, more will be discovered, especially about the Rocky mountains and in the region beyond. It is much to be regretted, that the author of the Fauna of British North America, while waiting at New York for a passage to England, did not avail himself of the opportunity to visit the Philadelphia museum; as much of the confusion respecting the animals brought by the expedition of Lewis and Clarke might then have been removed. Lewis's squirrel (sciurus Lewisii of Hamilton Smith) (see Griffith's Translation of Cuvier) is a marmot (spermophilus, probably the S. Franklinii); Clarke's squirrel of the same author, is also a spermophilus; the nails of these animals are too straight to permit them to ascend trees. There exists, however, in the. collection brought by those enterprising travellers, a specimen, apparently a true squirrel, which seems to have escaped the prying eyes of naturalists: it is about as large as the chick-a-ree, and has pretty much the same distribution of colors, except that there is less of the reddish tint, and a considerable portion of the tail is entirely black.

STALACTITES are formed by the filtration of water, containing calcareous particles, through pores or fissures in the roofs of those caverns which are frequent in limestone. The water, having percolated through the roofs, remains suspended in drops. Evaporation commences at the exterior of the drop, and the calcareous particles are deposited on the roof of the cavern in the form of a little ring, which extends by degrees till a small tube is produced. The bore of this tube is, in most cases, diminished by successive deposits, till it becomes entirely closed; and the stalactite then increases by concentric layers applied to the exterior. Thus cylinders or cones are produced, and sometimes so enlarged that they unite with each other. While the stalactite is forming, a part of the water drops from it on the floor of the cavern, or trickles down the sides, and thus produces those calcareous concretions called

stalagmites. When large, they are called alabaster. On the floor, they often form large masses, sometimes rising till they meet the stalactites pendent from the roof, and extending in all directions. A great variety of imitative forms are produced; hence a lively imagination will perceive, in these caverns, representations of the most diverse objects, especially by the light of a candle. The color of stalactites is seldom pure white; it more frequently presents shades of yellow, red, or brown. Among the more remarkable foreign localities of stalactites are the grotto of Antiparos, in the Archipelago; Baumann's cave, in the Hartz; Pool's hole, in Derbyshire; the caves of La Balme, in Savoy; and of Auxelle, in Franche Comté. Fine specimens of alabaster are found in Spain, near Grenada, &c., in Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. The most beautiful alabaster employed by the ancients, is supposed to have been found in Egypt, in mountains west of the Red sea. In the U. States are many caverns containing stalactites.

STAR OF BETHLEHEM (ornithogalum umbellatum). This plant is sometimes called eleven o'clock, from the circumstance of the flowers opening at about that time in the morning. It is allied to, and somewhat resembles, the onion. The root is a bulb; the leaves are linear, and all radical; the stem six or eight inches high, and terminated by a corymb of six or eight white and star-like flowers: these last are very evanescent, and close four or five hours after expansion. The plant grows wild in Europe, and is sometimes cultivated in our gardens for ornament; it is, besides, naturalized in some parts of the U. States.

STARLING (Sturnus). The common European starling, in size and in its habits, somewhat resembles the red-winged blackbird of the U. States. The color is blackish, with blue, purplish, or cupreous reflections, and each feather is marked at the extremity with a whitish speck. The beak is long, straight, entire, somewhat flattened and obtuse at the extremity; the tail shorter than in our blackbirds. It is found in almost all parts of the eastern continent, and, except in the breeding season, lives in numerous flocks, retiring in the evening to marshes, to pass the night among the reeds. The flight of these birds is peculiar: they form a sort of vortex while advancing. During the day time, they disperse throughout the fields, and seem particularly fond of the company of cattle. They are often

kept in cages, and learn to whistle some tunes, and even to pronounce words and sentences. The meadow-lark of the U. States is a species of sturnus, but it differs widely, in its habits and appearance, from the European starling; the bill however, is similar in form.

SPOTTED FEVER. An epidemic disease, now generally recognised by the name of spotted fever, prevailed extensively in many parts of New England, and in some parts of several of the other American states, at different times between the years 1806 and 1815. A few cases of the disease occurred in Medfield, Massachusetts, about thirty miles south-west of Boston, in March, 1806. The number was small, however, not exceeding twenty, and the disease did not extend itself so as to attract general attention until the following year. In March and April, 1807, it appeared in Hartford, Connecticut, and in several other places on the Connecticut river; and also in Williamstown, in the north-western part of Massachusetts, on the Green mountain range. It disappeared during the summer, but returned the following winter, visiting, in some instances, the same places, besides many others in the same neighborhoods and similar situations, and also attacking other and detached parts of New England.

The disease followed a similar course for several succeeding years. It disappeared during the summer, and recurred with the return of winter; and for several years, until 1813, it became, each year, more extensive and more destructive. In some of these years, it also prevailed extensively in the interior of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. In 1812, the troops of the U. States' army suffered by it severely at various places in New York and Vermont. After 1813, the disease rapidly diminished, although it still remained destructive, especially in some parts of Maine. It finally ceased in the spring of 1815. The last place visited by it, so far as our information extends, was Berwick, in Maine. There have, indeed, been occasional reports of the prevalence of a similar disease, at different times since that period; but it may well be doubted whether any of them actually refer to the true spotted fever as it prevailed from 1807 to 1815. This concise sketch of the progress of the epidemie shows that it prevailed much less in summer than in winter. In fact, it was only during a part of the colder season of the year that the disease raged the most severely. Unlike the ordinary typhus fever

of our climate, it was much less frequent through the autumn and the early part of winter than during the later months of winter and the first months of spring.

It is worthy of remark, that the disease, in a great measure, avoided the large towns on the sea-coast. Although it pervaded, at different times, almost the whole of the interior of New England, Boston and the other large towns were only slightly visited by it. In the interior also, the epidemic was not more prevalent, perhaps even less so, in the larger and more crowded villages, than among the more scattered population. This is the more remarkable since those persons whose modes of life render them peculiarly sus ceptible to disease of every kind are more frequently collected in the larger towns and villages. But this epidemic seemed scarcely to regard peculiar susceptibilities of any kind. The man whose constitution was exhausted by excesses, undoubtedly yielded more readily if at tacked, and fell a more certain victim, than the man of temperate and regular habits. But it does not appear that such were more frequently attacked than others. On the contrary, the disease seemed rather to select the healthy and vigorous. Although its range embraced persons in every period of life, from childhood to old age, yet the proportion of cases and of deaths was much greater among adults of mature age, of firm health, and of habits every way calculated to resist ordinary disease. In many an agricultural town in New England, the correct, virtuous, middle-aged heads of families were swept off in such numbers as to leave an impression on the general aspect of the community which is even now observable, after the space of twenty years, in the absence of old men from their congregations when assembled for their weekly public worship.

Of the extent of the mortality produced by the spotted fever, there are no means of obtaining accurate knowledge. Except in the larger towns, no returns are preserved of the number of deaths, or their causes. There are, therefore, no data upon which to found an estimate of the destruction of life caused by this epidemic. It was, however, very great, and, from the character and relative station of many of its victims, peculiarly afflicting. The visitation, too, was sudden, and, therefore, produced the greater alarm and disIn some instances, the disease visited a place twice, or even three times. But, in general, its work was accomplish51

tress.

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ed in a single visitation of a few weeks duration. Dr. Gallup remarks of the epidemic in Vermont, that "There are but few towns whose surviving inhabitants will not long, with grief, remember the winter of 1812-13, for the loss of twenty, forty or eighty of their most valuable citizens-most valuable to society on account of their being adult persons, and at the acme of human life."*

Of the causes of spotted fever, no satisfactory account can be given. There was nothing in the habits of the disease, or the manner in which it proceeded from place to place, to countenance the supposition of contagion; and such an opinion, we believe, has never been suggested. It is difficult to reconcile the phenomena of this disease to any of the other theories by which the progress of epidemics has been explained. If we attribute it to some secret atmospheric influence, it is not easy to account for the irregular and fitful manner in which it lighted upon detached and distant places almost at the same moment, while intermediate places were passed by for the time, only to be the subjects of a future visitation. It is still more improbable that exhalations from the surface of the earth could have been the cause, for the favorite season of the disease was when the whole surface of the earth was fast locked up by the frost. For a time, many physicians were inclined to suppose that ergot in the rye, which is much used in New England, might have contributed to produce the disease. But it has never been shown that ergot was more abundant in those years in which the epidemic prevailed, than in others; and what is still more conclusive, the disease was not confined to those districts in which rye was used for bread. We must, therefore, regard the peculiar causes of spotted fever as altogether unknown.

In the description of the disease, we must necessarily be very brief. There were two leading forms of it. One was a simple fever of a peculiar character. The other was complicated by local inflammation, but still retaining the same general character as the other. The more simple form began, like most other fevers, with coldness, not generally with distinct shivering; pain in the head and back, and especially in the limbs; prostration of strength, &c. In the milder cases, this was followed, as in other fevers, with some degree of reaction, manifested by heat, and afterwards by sweating; but, * Epidemics of Vermont,

unless aided by proper remedies, the reaction was very imperfect; the coldness soon returned, with a peculiar want of action over the whole system. The surface of the body lost its peculiar elasticity, and had, in its stead, a torpid, halfædematous, doughy feeling. Near the close of life, it was covered with a profuse perspiration. The stomach early became irritable, and rejected whatever was put into it, though without much vomiting of any thing else. The prostration increased, and was accompanied by violent pains in the back or limbs, which frequently changed from place to place, but without spasms of any kind. In many cases delirium came on very early. In most, as the strength of the patient failed, the mind became obscured, and he died comatose. In the more severe form of the disease, this comatose state followed the first attack, without any intervention of a stage of reaction: the patient became insensible, and died in a few hours. It was generally in this severe form that the spots, or petechia, appeared, which gave the name of spotted fever to the epidemic. They were not, however, confined to the more violent, or to the fatal cases, but were occasionally found in those which were comparatively mild. Neither, on the other hand, were they, by any means, general in the severer cases. In the earlier periods of the epidemic, they were much more common than towards the close of its progress. When they did appear, the spots were generally small blotches, caused by blood extravasated into the cellular membrane under the skin, of a dark purple color. In many other cases there was a slight eruption of a very different character, which seemed to be caused by the excited state of the skin, where the diaphoretic and stimulating mode of treatment was carried to a great extent.

About the beginning of the year 1812, the spotted fever first began to assume a new form, in many cases, by becoming complicated with some local inflammation. This inflammation was sometimes in the throat, producing a species of cynanche; but its more common seat was some one or more of the textures of the lungs. The fever, however, still retained the same general character as before; and in most of the places where this form of the disease prevailed, frequent cases of the more simple form were intermingled with it. The cases with inflammation were ushered in, rather more frequently than the others, with a distinct chill; and this was oftener, perhaps, followed by a

distinct reaction; but the general disease did not in these, any more than in the others, retain an inflammatory character. On the contrary, it ran speedily into a state of great depression; and when death ensued, it seemed to be less from the influence of the pulmonic symptoms, than from the violence of the general disease. There was pain in the chest, cough, and bloody expectoration; but these symptoms, although sometimes severe in the commencement of the disease, rarely retained their prominence so long as to appear to exert a very important influence upon the course of the disease, or to demand much consideration in the treatment, beyond what was necessary to give relief to the symptoms themselves. There were many other varieties in the modifications of the spotted fever, which the limits of this sketch will not permit us to notice; for it assumed a greater diversity of forms and appearances than most diseases. It was not always sudden and abrupt in its attack, as we have here described it, but sometimes crept on silently, slowly converting a slight indisposition into a severe and often fatal disorder. In whatever form it appeared, however, it preserved the same general character of great prostration and debility.

Little is known of its pathological character, except what is learned by inferences from its description and history. Only a few examinations after death were made. The state of the public feeling throughout the interior of New England was much less favorable to such examinations, twenty years ago, than it is now; and the medical profession were then much less accustomed to press the importance of this mode of investigation than at present. Such examinations as were made, have done little to enlighten us in regard to the essential character of the disease. And had they been much more numerous, the result would probably have been no more conclusive, than that of similar observations, in respect to the nature of fever in general. The blood was found to remain fluid for some hours after death. It consequently flowed to the depending parts, giving a dark color to the skin in those parts, which was often mistaken by careless observers for putrefaction. But putrefaction did not begin early after death. The vessels of the brain, as might be expected from the comatose state which preceded most of the deaths, were found to be turgid with blood, and there was more or less effusion of serum into the ventricles, and