S C Y
S C Y
though not Co fenfible, may yet be greater than that of fa- livation ; if it be true, that infenfible perforation is confi- derably more than all the reft of the fenfible fecretions to- gether. See TAK-water.
For the cure of the [curvy fome have propofed, that the pa- tient fhould be put into a warm or hot bath, till a fweat is moderately raifed, and then immediately taken out and im- merfed into cold water. Morgan, Mech. Praft. of Phyf. p. 354.. ap. Med. Efl~. Edinb. ScuRVY-£)a/f, cocblearia, in medicine, is a powerful attenu- aht and refolvent ; and on that principle is an excellent me- dicine in all difeafes arifing from a vifcid ftate of the fluids, and particularly in the fcurvy. The beft way of taking it, is to eat the whole herb by way of fallad. The fcurvy, however, is a difeafe fo various, that the fame medicine cannot be good for all the kinds. Accordingly jcttrvy-grafs proves hurtful, where the fcurvy is attended with a rednefs in the face, palpitations of the heart, frequent fe- verifh heats, hcad-achs, purgings, and the like ; in all which, acrid medicines of any kind do harm. See the article
CoCHLKARIA.
SCUTARIUS, among the Romans, befide its ordinary fig-
nification of a fhi eld- maker, was ufed to denote one of the
emperor's life-guards, becaufe their whole body was covered
with armour. Pitifc. in voc.
SCUTELLARIA, in botany, a name given to a fpecies of
cafftda. See Cassida. SCUTHINON, in botany, a name given by the antient Greeks to a yellow wood, called alfo thapfum, cbryfoxylon, and fcythkum lignum. It was of a beautiful yellow colour, and was ufed in dying and in colouring the hair yellow, which was the favourite colour of that time. The fame authors have fometimes alfo called it cythinon, or cutbinon : this is only the former word with the initial f taken away, as it was common with them to do in regard to many words ; thus they called the fmilax milax, the fma- ragdus maragdus, and fo of many more. SCUTTLE-/*?^/;, in a fhip, the little hatch that covers the
fcuttle. See Hatch. SCUTUM, in natural hiftory, the name of a genus of the echini marini, the characters of which are ; that it is a fhell of an irregular figure, which on the lower part reprefents, in fome meafure, a fhield ; on the fuperficies it has the Ihape of a five-leaved flower ; its mouth is in the middle of the bafe, and the aperture for the anus at the edge. See Tab. of Teftaceous Animals, N° 6 and 7.
Of this genus of the efchini there are two kinds, the an- gular and the oval. The angular kind has its circumference notched into corners ; on its back it has the cinquefoil leaf with very turgid marks, the lines being all crenated alfo at the edges, fo that it in fome meafure reprefents the flowers of the gourd kinds when open. The aperture of the anus is at the broader fide of the circumference. The oval kind is a fhell of a tolerably regular oval figure, with the cinquefoil mark upon its back, made up of leaves like thofe of the olive, but fplit as it were at the extremities. The mouth in this fpecies is in the middle, the anus in the edge, and the bafe is a little hollowed. Ofthefirft of thefe kinds, the angular fcuia, there are only two known fpecies : the firft a lower flattifh kind, and the fecond a more elevated one.
Of the fecond, or the oval fcuta, there are three known fpe- cies. 1. A kind made up of extremely fmall granulofe cir- cles. 2. A hollow bafed one fhiclded like the tortoife, and with a pentagonal aperture for the mouth. And 3. an echi- nated one with a very high top, and a flight fulcus, or furrow, on that part where the anus is. Klein's Echnod. p. 28.
Scutum, in pharmacy, a name given to a ("olid ftomachic topic, whether made in form of a bag, with medicinal in- gredients lowed in it, or of a plaifter. It is always fafhioned into the fhape of a fhield. The plaifters, for this purpofe, were ufed to be made of the warm ftomachic gums, and the bags were filled with the warm aromatic powders ; and they were worn to warm and ftrengthen the ftomach, correct a cold intemperature, and promote digeftions, and prevent vo- miting. The patella, or knee pan, is alfo fometimes called by anatomifts fcuium.
SCYBALA, a term ufed by the antient phyficians to exprefs the excrements of the inteftines, hardened into lumps while in the body.
SCYBELITES, a term ufed by the antients to exprefs a fort of muff, or juice of the grapes, which diftilled from them fpontaneoufly without preffing.
SCYLACION, a word by which the antients expreffed the flefli of puppies, which they recommended as of great fcr- vice in many chronic cafes.
SCYLDWIT, in our old writers, a mulct or fine for any fault. Leg. Hen. I. )
It comes from the Saxon fcilde, i. e. deliclum, and tuite, i. e. pcena. Blount.
SCYMNUS, in ichthyology, a name ufed by ^Elian, Appian,
and many other of the old Greek writers, for the fifti called
fcuhon by Ariftotle. This is a fpecies of the fqualus, called
by Artedi and others the fqualus with the pinna ani placed in
3
the midft, between the anus and tail ; the caiulus vulgaris and catulus major of authors. See the article Squalus.
SCYPHUS, among the Romans, a very large kind of drinking cup. The fcyphus was called the cup of Hercules, as that of Bacchus, liberi patris, was named cantbarus. Pitifc. in voc. See the article Cantharus.
SCYRA, in our old writers, a fine impofed upon fuch as neg- lected to attend the fcyregemot court, which all tenants were bound to do. Blount., Cetucl.
SCYRIUM marmor, a name given by the antients fometimes- to a white, and fometimes to a yellowifh marble, both ufed in the public buildings of the Romans, but feldom in ftatuary, not being capable of a high polifli.
SCYTALE, in zoology, the name given by the antients to a fpecies of ferpent, which was very long and thin, and equaily big all along the body, fo that the tail was not ea- fily diftinguifhed from the head.
SCYTHE, Exi/Sai, among the Athenians, a defignation fome- times given to the officers, more ufually called hxiarcbi. They had the name fythte, becaufe they were often natives of Scythia who were chofen lexiarchi, as being brawny and fturdy fellows. See Lexiarchi.
SCYTHARION, in botany, a name given by the antient Greek writers to a tree, whofe wood was of a fine yellow colour, and was ufed in thofe early times to dye things yel- low; it was called alfo Scytbiatm Ugnwn, from its country, and cbryfoxylon, or golden wood, from its fine yellow co- lour. It has been fuppofed that this was the fame with the cotinus coriaria of the Romans ; but this is an erroneous con- jecture, fince the wood of this tree dyed a yellow colour, and that a brownifh red, or a clear and pure red, accord- ing as the infufion was made more or lefs ftrono-. This fcytharion, therefore, could not be the fame with the cotinus x but it certainly is the fame with the tbapfum of the Greeks. See Chrysoxylon.
SCYTHIAN, a word ufed very often in the old Greek writ- ers on the materia medica, to diftinguifh the peculiar fort of gum, or other drug, brought from that place. The Scy- thian and Indian drugs have been by many fuppofed diffe- rent kinds of the fame medicine; but this is an error, for it appears very obvious, on comparing the writings of Galen, Aetius, >£gineta, and other of the later writers among the Greeks, with thofe of Diofcorides, Theophraftus, and the other old ones, that the words Scythian and Indian mean the fame thing, and that what the old writers have called In- dian, thefe have called Scythian,
The meaning of this is, that thofe things were called Scy- thian, which were brought from the country of Indofcythia, or that part of Scythia which lay at the oftia of the river Indus : but it is to be obferved, that though the later Greek writers mean this by their term Scythian, yet the word is ufed in a very different fenfe by the Arabians, Avifenna, Serapio, and others; and that wherever they mention a drug under the name of Scythian, they mean that it comes from the northern parts of Scythia, on the confines of Europe. Thefe authors having underftood of this Scythia, what the Greek writers have faid of the other, have made no fmall errors in regard to the hiftory of drugs, having given bdel- lium, and many other gums, the produce of only the Scythia of the Greek medical writers, to the frozen Scythia before- mentioned.
SCYTHICUM lignum, in botany, a name given by the anti- ents to a tree, called alfo fcytharium by the later writers of the Greeks. This is by fome fuppofed to be the fame with the cotinus of the antients ufed in dying. The Greeks called the clcaflcr, cotinus indeed, but that is not meant _ as the fhrub fuppofed to be the fame with the Scythicum lignum, but the cotinus Romanorum, or, as thofe people expreffed it, cotinus coriaria.
This however feems to be an error; for the cotinus co- riaria was ufed to dye yellow, whereas the Scythicum lig- num was ufed for a fine pale yellow, or citron colour, and was thence called chryfoxylon, the golden wood, or wood dy- ing a gold colour.
Pliny fays that the cotinus coriaria dyed things to the colour of the fine couchs, that is, to a fine bright flefh colour; and Anguillara tells us, that the fcotano of theltaliaiiSjwhich is the fame with the cotinus coriaria of the Romans, dves woollen things to a very agreeable red colour. The words of Pliny are, that it dyes things conchylii colore. Thefe have been underftood as expreffing the colour of the purple fifh, or murex, which is a kind of fhell fifh, and whofe colour is a true purple; in this fenfe the colour would not be the fame with that yielded by the modern fcotano : but this is not the fenfe of Pliny, for he often mentions the* conchylius color as a kind of red, and in many places carefully difiin- guifhes it from the purple colour yielded by the murex ; and. it feems, according to him, to be the fine pale red, which we fee fo beautiful in the mouths of the great con- chylia, which our collectors of fhells call combs. See the articles Scotako, and Conchylius. SEA (Cycl.) — -The/j^ differs in faltnefs in different parts ; it Is, in general, obferved, that in hotteft climates the water is falteft.
When
