Infantry 7 8 3 411 12 1 102 577 5P 1 in 48 600 Engineers Royal Engineers' rifle carbine, Lan- Long Enfield rifle, pattern '53. 5577 3P 1 in 78 1000 1 102 577 8P 1 in 78 1100 110 577 5P 1 in 48 1250 Short do. do. '56 8 2 4 Do. short rifle, pattern '63. Naval rifle, pattern '58. For infantry generally. 9 131 4 3 0 131 1 51451 6 U1 in 20 1250 1,000 issued for experi ment. 9 14 4 0 1 113 1 102 451 6 U1 in 20 1350 8,000 issued to Rifle Brigade 8 8 4 012 6 2 23-577 5 P 1 in 48 1250 For all sailors, with a Colt's do. 84 gauge 2 9 1 12 Deane and Adams' do. 38 gauge. Naval smooth-bore pistol. а .. : 570 do. On comparing it with the Prussian needlegun, its advantages are at once apparent. It is much simpler in construction, and lighter, weighing only 9 lbs. 54 oz., while the needlegun weighs 10 lbs. 11 oz.; the latter arm also cannot be fired so rapidly. It is remarkably free from fouling, and is as follows: about two inches of the Enfield arm. barrel are cut away at the breech, and a solid little liable to deterioration by bad weather. breech-stopper, A, working sideways on hinge, is placed in the opening thus made. Through this stopper passes a piston, one end of which, B, when the breech is closed, receives the blow from the hammer, while the other communicates it to the centre of the cartridge, thus firing the latter. There is an arrangement for withdrawing the old cartridge case after each discharge, by means of sliding back the stopper on the bar on which it hinges, when a mere tilting action of the hand throws out the old case, and the new one can be inserted. With the cartridge described in SMALL-ARM AMMUNITION there is no escape of gas, and the accuracy of the arm is about 33 per cent. greater than that of the muzzle-loading Enfield As many with its ordinary service cartridge. as 15 rounds have been fired from it in a minute, showing a rapidity of fire more than five times as great as that of the unconverted 479 The success of the needle-gun in the campaign of Bohemia is not to be attributed to any peculiar advantages of that form of breechloader, but to the vast superiority of any safe breech-loading small arm with cartridges containing their own principle of ignition over any muzzle-loading arm requiring to be capped. be The construction is complicated, but may SMALL WARES in diameter, bluntly pointed, and is carried SMALL-ARM AMMUNITION bottom is closed with wax. in two ways, and called either rolled or bag The cartridges for the Enfield rifle are made cartridges; the former is made of four pieces of paper, the first two forming the powder cylinder; in the bag-cartridge the powder cylinder is made from the pulp; the third paper contains the bullet, and laps over the powder cylinder; the fourth paper joins bullet and powder cylinders together. These cartridges are white. Blank cartridges are made of purple paper, and contain powder only. Percussion caps have already been described. [PERCUSSION CAP.] In most breech-loading arms, the detonating composition which ignites the cartridges is contained in the cartridge itself. Side-fire cartridges are those in which this is ignited by a blow on the side of the cartridge. Centralfire cartridges are ignited by a blow on the centre, and to this class belong the Prussian needle-gun and Snider's converted Enfield, which latter is now adopted in the British army. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Closed. Prussian Needle-gun. with and by the tube D, forces back a spring, and becomes fixed by the trigger catch. The cartridge is now introduced into the chamber, and the tube B is pressed forward till its end is in contact with the rear of the barrel; the handle is turned round in the notch, and the breech is closed (as in fig. 4), the needle remaining fixed behind. When the trigger is pulled, the needle is released, and the spring drives it forward into the cartridge, igniting the detonating composition. The barrel is rifled with four grooves, having a uniform twist of one turn in fortytwo inches. The cartridge is described in SMALL-ARM AMMUNITION. Swords, lances, cutlasses, boarding pikes, and boarding axes, are sometimes called small arms. Small Wares. A commercial term applied to tape, bindings, braid, and other textile articles of that kind. C. Cavity containing com Cartridge for Snider's A. Cartridge-case (thin rolled brass sheeting). B. Bullet. D. Wooden plug. C. Cap. F. Papier G. Anvil. In the cartridge of the Prussian needle-gun, D. Charge of powder. the bullet B is separated from the powder D by a rolled and compressed paper cylinder A, Small-arm Ammunition. The most im- It has a cavity at C, in which is lodged in front which is hollowed at the end next the bullet. portant bullets used in our service are: 1. The of the powder the fulminating composition to general service Enfield rifle bullet. [BULLET.] be exploded by the thrust of the needle, which 2. The Whitworth bullet, used with the Whit-pierces through the powder. The bullet is worth rifle; its length is 1.292 inches, diameter ogival in form, weighs 487 grains, and is fired 442 inches, weight 480 grains; it has a hollow with a charge of 75 grains of powder; it has in the base without cap or plug. 3. The Westley no hollow at the base, and does not expand Richards bullet, made of lead with five per cent. of tin; it has no hollow in the base, but a belt round the hinder part. 4. Metford's percussion bullet; this is merely an ordinary Enfield bullet, having a chamber down its longer axis, to within one-fifth of an inch of the hollow; this chamber contains four and a half grains of detonating composition; and the 480 into the grooves of the piece when fired, but as designed by Colonel Boxer, appears to be SMALLPICA other end fitting into the metallic cap C, which SMALT the pustules have been large an indentation is Confluent smallpox is ushered in by a fever of These cartridges have been most severely tested; they resist damp to an extraordinary extent, far beyond any probable requirements the eruption, but about the ninth day it geneof a campaign; they are remarkably safe against premature or accidental explosion, while there were only three misfires out of several thousand trial rounds, and those from causes which can be guarded against, while the expense is not much greater than that of the old Enfield cartridge. [SMALL ARMS.] Smallpica. In Printing, the name of a kind of type three sizes larger than that used in this work. There are at the present day a greater number of books printed in this type than in any other. [TYPE.] rally becomes aggravated, the eruption livid and accompanied by the petechiae or purple spots; and about the eleventh day from the commencement of the disease it often terminates fatally. This disease is the effect of a specific contagion, and is produced either by inoculation, or by exposure to the effluvia from persons suffering under it: in the latter case it is usually called the natural smallpox. When the distinct smallpox goes regularly through the stages above described it is rarely dangerous, except from mismanagement; but it often leaves a tendency to inflammatory disorders, and in a scrofulous habit it excites that disorder into activity. Any of the symptoms which have just been described as characterising confluent smallpox are alarming; so is a sudden disappearance of the eruption, or change in its appearance, followed by depression or delirium. In treating the distinct smallpox, the febrile symptoms are to be moderated by cool air, saline and mild acid diluting drinks, and very gentle aperients. Bleeding and purging are in almost all cases to be decidedly avoided. Great irritability may occasionally be allayed by small doses of opium and camphor, or, what is preferable, by muriate of morphia: this will also check diarrhoea, should it supervene. The confluent form generally requires more or less of the treatment which is adopted in low or putrid fever. Obstinate vomiting, which is sometimes not only a troublesome but alarming symptom, is best encountered by the saline draught in the act of effervescence, with a few grains of aromatic confection, and a few drops of tincture of opium. Smallpox. Called also Variola, because it changes and disfigures the skin. There are two forms of this disease, generally called by medical men the distinct and the confluent; in the former the pustules are separate, in the latter they coalesce. Distinct smallpoxr begins with the usual symptoms of inflammatory fever; i.e. pains in the back and loins, sickness, drowsiness, headache, pain upon pressure about the region of the stomach, and in infants one or more epileptic fits. About the end of the third day little red spots, much resembling flea-bites, make their appearance upon the face and head, which spread during the fourth day over the breast, body, and limbs; about the fifth day a circular vesicle forms upon each little point, depressed in the centre, surrounded by an inflamed margin, and containing a colourless fluid, and at this time the eruptive fever disappears; about the sixth day the throat becomes sore, and the saliva viscid; and about the eighth day the face is swollen, and the pustules round, prominent, and prevalent; about the eleventh day the pustules attain their full size (about that of a pea), and the matter which they Smalt (Dutch smelten). A fine blue colour contain becomes opaque and yellow, and a dark central spot appears on each; the swelling of used in painting and printing upon earthenware, the face subsides, and is transferred to the and applied to several other purposes in the The finest smalt is made by fusing glass hands and feet, and more or less secondary arts. After this, the pustules with oxide of cobalt, by which a very deep fever now ensues. become rough, break, and scab over, and a blue compound is obtained, which when finely dark brown spot remains for some days; and if powdered acquires a beautiful azure colour. VOL. III. 481 I I SMALTINE Common smalts are prepared by fusing mixtures of zaffre, sand, and pearlash. Smaltine. One of the most important ores of cobalt, being (with Cobaltine) that from which most of the smalts of commerce is manufactured; whence the name. It is an arsenide of Cobalt, composed of 72 per cent. of arsenic, 95 cobalt, 9 iron, and 9.5 nickel. It is found in Cornwall and Cumberland; in Scotland, &c. The arsenides of cobalt only are, strictly speaking, included under the term Smaltine; those varieties which contain Nickel being called Chloanthite. [CHATHAMITE.] Smaragd (Gr. σuápaydos). In modern times this word is used as a synonym of emerald; but it was applied by the ancients to various other precious stones, such as fluor spar, green vitrified lava, green jasper, and green glass. The passage of Pliny (Nat. Hist. xxxvii. 5), in which Nero is said to have been in the habit of viewing the gladiatorial combats in a smaragd, is generally understood to signify a smooth polished mirror made of some of the above substances; but it has been main*tained that the emperor was short-sighted, and used a concave eyeglass formed of the smaragd. The smaragd is found in various parts of Europe, Asia, and America; but particularly in the Ural mountains, and in the mines of Chili and Mexico. [EMERALD.] Smaragdite (Gr. σudpaydos). A peculiar laminated form of Augite or Hornblende, of a bright emerald-green colour. It is found in Switzerland, at Monte Nova and near Geneva; also in Corsica, in Felspar. Smart Money. The Military term for the fine to be paid, in order to escape prosecution, by a recruit who has accepted enlisting money, but refuses to be attested. Smart Ticket. A certificate of a seaman's having received a wound or hurt. Smectite (Gr. unkтós, smeared). A greenish kind of Halloysite from Condé in France. Smectymnuus. A work against episcopacy, in reply to Bishop Hall, was published shortly after the assembling of the Long Parliament under this title, which was obtained by clubbing together the initials of the names of the five authors, Stephen Marshall, Edward Calamy, Thomas Young, Matthew Newcomen, and William Spurstow. This book was followed by a long and vehement controversy, in which Milton took part in reply to the rejoinders of Archbishop Usher. Smelite (Gr. ouhan, soap). A kind of Kaolin (China Clay), found near Telkebanya in Hungary. Smell. This sense resides in the mucous or pituitary membrane which lines the nostrils, and the surface of which is more or less convoluted or extended in various orders of animals. In the human subject this membrane is highly vascular, and largely supplied, especially in its upper parts, with nervous filaments, or ramifications of the olfactory trunk, which has its origin, by three distinct roots, from the posterior, inferior, and internal parts of the anterior SMILAX lobe of the brain, and proceeding towards the perforated plate of the ethmoid bone, divides into the small threads just mentioned. The physiology of odours is a curious and intricate subject, requiring much more experimental investigation than it has hitherto received. The air is the great vehicle by which their various influences are transmitted in the act of inspiring to the olfactory surfaces, and for the diffusion of most odours a certain degree of humidity in the air appears absolutely essential. There is scarcely any sense the degree of perfection of which varies so much in different individuals as that of smell, some being painfully alive to those odorous influences which are not even perceived by others. An obtuseness of this sense is also very frequent, and its almost entire absence by no means uncommon; this is especially the case in certain catarrhal complaints, and in some other affections of the lining membrane of the nose. Smelt (A.-Sax.). A delicate small fish, of the Salmonoid family (Salmo eperlanus, Linn.), separated as a genus ( Osmerus, Cuv.) by having a transverse row of vomerine teeth, and a row of conical teeth along the palatine and pterygoid bones. The tongue has strong teeth anteriorly and longitudinal rows of small teeth behind. Scales of moderate size; pseudo-branchiæ rudimental; pyloric appendages few and short. The Osmerus eperlanus frequents the coasts and numerous fresh waters of Northern and Central Europe. Smew. The name of the diver called Mergus albellus by Linnæus. [MERGUS.] Smilace (Smilax, one of the genera). A small natural order of Endogenous plants with weak or twining stems and reticulated leaves, not distinguishable from those of Exogens. Lindley refers them to a class which he calls Dictyogens, and distinguishes them by their bisexual or polygamous hexapetaloideous flowers, their several consolidated carpels, and their axile placenta. The drug called Sarsaparilla, or Sarza, is the root of various species inhabiting South America, and is held in high esteem for its diuretic, demulcent, alterative qualities. They are found especially in the temperate and tropical parts of Asia and America. Smilacine (Gr. ouîλat). A crystalline principle obtained from Sarsaparilla root. Smilax (Gr.). An extensive genus of Dictyogens, giving its name to the order Smilacea, and consisting of climbing shrubs, natives of the warmer, temperate, and tropical regions of both hemispheres. Some of the species furnish the drug known as Sarsaparilla, so called from the Spanish sarza, bramble, and parilla, a vine, in reference to the thorny stems of the plants. The Sarsaparilla of the shops consists of the roots, to which are attached portions of the rootstocks, of various species of this genus. It is by no means clearly ascertained what are the exact species yielding the varieties of this drug met with in commerce, but it is sup SMITHSONITE Posed to be the produce of S. officinalis, S. medica, and S. papyracea, while other species are mentioned as occasionally used. The species named S. Sarsaparilla, which is common in the United States, does not appear to be used medicinally, notwithstanding its name. In commerce, the various kinds of Sarsaparilla are divided into two principal groups, according to the quantity of starchy material which they contain. The mealy Sarsaparillas contain an abundance of farinaceous matter in the inner part of the rind. To this group belong Caraccas Sarsaparilla, the produce probably of S. officinalis or S. syphilitica; Brazilian Sarsaparilla, which is imported in cylindrical bundles, and is considered to consist of the roots of S. papyracea and S. officinalis; and Honduras Sarsaparilla, the botanical origin of which is quite unknown. The non-mealy Sarsaparillas are known as Jamaica or Red-bearded Sarsaparilla, which is imported into Jamaica from Columbia, and is probably the produce of S. officinalis; Lima Sarsaparilla, which consists of roots, imported not only from Lima but from Costa Rica, and of which S. officinalis is supposed likewise to be the source; and Vera Cruz Sarsaparilla, the produce of S. medica. Smithsonite. Hydrated silicate of zinc, composed of 67-4 per cent. of oxide of zinc, 251 silica, and 7.5 water. It occurs in colourless rhombic prisms; also stalactitic, botryoidal, granular, and compact; sometimes it is of grey, blue, yellow, green or brown shades, and varies from transparent to opaque. It has a vitreous lustre, is brittle, and becomes phosphorescent when rubbed, and electric by heat. It is found in Cumberland, Derbyshire, and in the Mendip Hills in Somersetshire. Named after the chemist Smithson, by whom it was analysed. The name Smithsonite has also been applied by some mineralogists to Calamine or Carbonate of Zinc. Smoke (A.-Sax. smoca, Ger. schmauch, akin to Gr. ouúxw, ouwxw). Smoke has been defined as the visible effluvium or sensible exhalation of anything burning. The term is commonly applied to those results of the combustion or ignition of pit-coal which escape from chimneys, and which constitute a serious and well-known evil and nuisance in large towns, manufacturing districts, and almost everywhere where large quantities of coal are consumed. Coal is often a very complex substance; but putting aside its occasional and adventitious ingredients, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen may be regarded as its ordinary and essential constituents; and the results of its perfect combustion would therefore be carbonic acid steam and nitrogen. These substances would constitute invisible and incombustible gases and vapour, and would therefore escape from the chimney top, and blend with the atmosphere, without being perceived. But it unfortunately happens that from the way in which coal is burnt its combustion is far from being perfect, and that besides the above-mentioned products inflammable gases and vapours, together with SMOKE large quantities of very finely divided carbon, constituting soot, and black and brown smoke, are vomited forth from the chimney shaft, not only contaminating the air, but also occasioning loss of fuel. There are many practical difficulties in the way of burning smoke, but experience has shown that none of these are of such a nature or magnitude that they may not be overcome by perseverance and skill. They all merge into one common principle, that of mixing air with the combustible vapours and gases generated by the action of heat on pit-coal, so that by virtue of a due supply of oxygen they may be made to burn with flame, and become entirely converted into incombustible and transparent invisible vapours and gases, instead of being, as they now are, only partially burned, their carbon being precipitated, and escaping, together with the other imperfectly consumed matters, into the air. But to carry out that object a high temperature must be maintained within the furnace; and it is consequently easier to burn the smoke in metallurgic furnaces where it comes into contact with red hot surfaces, than in the furnaces of steam boilers where it is rapidly cooled by the surrounding water. And not only is air and heat necessary to burn smoke, but an adequate time for the operation must be afforded. To this end, combustion chambers are now generally constructed behind the furnace, and fire tiles are interposed either at the bridge of the furnace or at some other suitable part, where they will be intensely heated so as to compel the mixture of smoke and air to encounter hot surfaces before it is cooled very much by entering the flues. The nuisance of smoke has been materially aggravated of late years by the use of coal instead of coke in locomotives, and most of the expedients employed in them to burn the smoke are quite ineffectual. In common land boilers, where slow combustion can be maintained, the smoke will be effectually burnt if the coal is first placed on a dead plate at the mouth of the furnace, where it will be coked, and the gases will be burned by passing over the fire. This, however, involves two operations in stoking, viz. that of pushing back the coked coal upon the fire and of refilling the dead plate with a fresh supply of raw coal.. By the use of the revolving grate, however, this labour may be saved, as in that arrangement the coal is constantly precipitated by suitable apparatus on the part of the grate near the door, and the smoke passing from it over the incandescent fuel on the bars is burnt, while by the time the gases have been all expelled, the revolution of the grate will have carried it to the part of the furnace farthest removed from the door, where it will in its turn promote the combustion of the gases proceding from the coal last introduced. These plans, however, are hardly applicable to marine, and not at all applicable to locomotive boilers. But in all furnaces in which there is a good draught (and in locomotive furnaces the draught is very great) the |