wafte; to wear out; to exhaust of forec.-Their violence being pent by degrees, they fettled at Jaf. Burnet. Heaps of pent arrows fall, and strew the ground. Dryden. Direct it right, 'Till it has /pent itself on Cato's head. Addion. 8. To fatigue; to harafs.-Having fearce clothes to cover their nakedness, and their bodies pent with long labour and thirst. Knolles. Spent and difabled in fo long a way. Dryden. Leap'd headlong from the heights. Dryden. Spent, overpower'd, defpairing of fucce's. rate. Addifon. (2.) To SPEND. v. 7. 1. To make expence. Henceforth your tongue must jpend at lefler Dryden. -He fpends as a person who knows that he must come to a reckoning. South. 2. To prove in the ife.-Butter fpent as if it came from the richer foil. Temple. 3. To be loft or wafted.-The found pendeth, and is diffipated in the open air. Baron-On mountains many dews fall, that spend before they come to the valleys. Bacon. 4. To be employed to any ufe.-The vines that they ufe for wine are fo often cut, that their fap pendeth into the grapes. Bacon. SPERIDER. n. /. [from spend] 1. One who fpends. Let not your recreations be lavish penders of your time. Taylor. 2. A prodigal; a la visher.They were penders, they muft needs have, because it was feen in their port and manner of living. Bacap. SPENDIUS, a Campanian deferter, who rebelled against the Romans, raifed tumults, and joined the Carthaginians; and afterwards defert ing from the Carthaginians, carried on war for fome time against Hamilcar, in that defperate warfare, called from its horrors, the inexpiable quar. He was at last crucified by Hamilcar, with 9 of the other ringleaders. See CARTHAGE, 5. * SPEND THRIFT. 2. f. [fpend and thrift. A prodigal a laviffer.-Bitter cold weather harved both the bird and the pendthrift. L'Etrange. Some fawning ufurer does feed With prefent fums th' unwary spendthrift need. Dryden. -Moft men, like fendthrift heirs, judge a little in hand better than a great deal to come. Locke. -The fon, bred in floth, becomes a spendthrift. Swift. SPENE, or SPENHAM, a town of England in Berkshire, a confiderable thoroughfare on the road from London to Bath, adjacent to Newburgh. SPENER, Philip James, a celebrated Luthe. ran divine, born in Alface, about 1635. Withing to revive vital religion, in oppofition to formality on the one hand and infidelity on the other, he be tame the founder of a new feat called Pietifls. (See PIETISTS.) Buttho' his intentions feem to have been upright, at d his fentiment, pure heard his followers hit with much effofition, and were both calum niated and perfecuted. He published several tracts on practical theology, and died at Berlin, in 1705, SPENHAM. See SPENE. (1.) SPENSER, Edmund, the poet, was born in London in 1553, and defcended from an ancient family of the Spenfers in Northamptonshire. He was admitted a fizer of Pembroke-hail in Cambridge, and matriculated in 1569. At this time began his intimacy with Mr Gabriel Harvey, a man of genius and a poet. In 1576, having completed his degrees in arts, he left the univerfity, as it is faid, for want of fubliftence, and retired to the north of England. Here he had the misfortune to become enamoured of his Rofalind, who, after flattering his passion for a time, af length preferred his happier rival. Spenfer continued in the country till 1578, when at the perfuafion of his friend Mr Harvey he removed to London, where that gentleman introduced him to Mr Sidney, afterwards Sir Philip. Concerning his first introduction to Sir Philip, there is indeed a different flory, which was firft told by the writer of his life, prefixed to his works in 1679, and tranfcribed by Hughes, Cibber, and several others; which, neverthlefs, is doubted. It is, that Spenfer, being unknown to this Mecænas of the age, went to Leicefter-house, and fent in the 9th canto of the firft book of the Fairy Queen; that, on reading part of it, Sir Philip ordered his fteward to give the bearer 501.; on reading a little farther 501. more; then 200 1. bidding him to make hafte and pay the money, left he should give the pot his whole eflate. The ftory tells prettily enough; but the Fairy Queen was begun long after his acquaintance with Sir Philip. By this univerfal patron of genius, however, he was prefented to queen Elizabeth, who honoured him with the place of poet-laureat. About this time he finished his Shepherd's Calendar, which was first printed in 15793 and in 1580, being recommended by his pation to the ear! of Leicefter, he went to Ireland as fecretary to the lord Grey of Wilton, then appointed lord-lieutenant of that kingdom. Lord Grey was recalled in 1582, and with him Spenfer returned to London, where he continued till after the death of Sir Philip Sidney in 1586; a loss which he bewailed to the end of his life. In 1587, having obtained a royal grant of 3000 acres of forfeited lands in the county of Cork in Ireland, he fet out for that kingdom, took poffeffion of his eftate, and fixed his refidence in the castle of Kilcolman, which had belonged to the earl of Defmond. In this retirement he refumed his great work of the Fairy Queen; and continued in Ireland till, being visited by his old friend Sir Walter Raleigh in 1589, he came over with him to England, but returned to Ireland in 1590 where he fell in love with a country girl, and married her. Soon after his marriage, he paid another vifit to his native country, where we alfo find him in 1596. In 1597, he returned once more to Kilcolman; put on the rebellion of Lord Tyrene, who ravaged the whole county of Cork, he was obliged to fly for fafety with his family to England, where, in 1599, he died in extreme poverty, according to Camden, but Mr Malone bas difcovered from the Latent roll, 33. Eliz. p. 3 that ) SPE is cultivated as food for cattle, and has the advantage of growing on the very pooreft foils; but does not afford a great deal of food. Poultry are fond of the feeds; and the inhabitants of Finland and Norway make bead of them when their crops of corn fail. Horfes, sheep, goats, and fwine, eat it. Cows refufe it. 277 that in February 1590-1, Spenfer obtained from Elizabeth an annuity of 50l. during life, which was then equal to the value of 200 l. at prefent. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, according to his request, near Chaucer. A monument was erected to his memory by Ann countefs of Doriet. We know but little of his character as a man; as a poet, confidering the age in which he lived, he deferves our utmoft veneration. He wrote various pieces belides thofe above-mentioned. His whole works, with his life by Hughes, were publifhed in fix volumes 12mo, in 1715 and 1750. Lord Gardenftone was a great admirer of Spenfer. See GARDEN, N° 1. 2. SPERGULA LARICINA, larch-leaved Spurrey. Several stalks arife from one root, from an inch to an inch and a half high; the leaves are linear, fubulate, and accuminated, fomewhat hairy on the edges, and their points turned to one fide of the ftalk. The petals are white and about the length of the calyx. Lightfoot found this fpecies on a hill in the ifle of Bure. He is doubtful whether the jagina procumbens, var. & of Linnæus, be not the fame plant with this. It flowers in July. 3. SPERGULA NODOSA, knotted fpurrey. Several ftalks arife from one root, fometimes reclining and fometimes erect, and from 3 to 5 inches high. The leaves are fmooth, of a fine green, narrow, pointed, and oppofite. The flowers are white, terminal, with yellow antheræ. (2.) SPENSER, or SPENCER, n. f. in drefs, a kind of half big coat, that covers the body and arms, but reaches no farther down than the middle: fo named from Earl Spenfer, who firft introduced the fathion, in corfequence of a wager, that he thould start the most ridiculous piece of dreis, that had yet been invented, and that in 3 months it fhould be generally followed by people of rank. He did fo and gained his bet. The Spenfer, though but an awkward habit for men, except fuch as have a perfon peculiarly genteel, is a drefs highly graceful for young ladies; and in our cold climate must be peculiarly beneficial It flowers in July. to them in winter, when their drefs is otherwife generally too thin. (3) SPENSER, MARINE, a recent invention for preferving lives at fea, in cafes of fhip-wreck, fo named from the above piece of drefs. It confifts of 800 bottle corks, ftrung together upon a strong wire, and covered with a piece of canvas 6 inches broad, and oiled to exclude the water. It is made to fit the body, round the back and breaft; and when used is brought up over the feet and 1-gs, up to the arm-pits, and faftened over the fhoulders with ftraps or bandages. A perfon thus equipped cannot poffibly link; and by the motion of his arms and legs may eafily make his way to the nearest thore. SPERA, a town of European Turkey, in Bul. garia: 4 miles S. of Ifmail. SPERABLE. ad. [fperabilis, Latin.] Such as may be hoped. Not in ufe.-We may difcharge it of fo much as is vain and not sperable. Becon. SPERCHIA, an ancient town of Theffaly, on the banks of the SPERCHIUS. Ptol. SPERCHIUS, a river of Theffaly, rifing in Mount Oeta, and falling into the fea in the bay of Malea, near Anticyra. Herod. SPERDILLEN, a lake of Norway in Christiania: 32 miles long, and 12 broad: 4 miles N. of Chriftiania. *SPERGULA, SPURREY, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the clafs of decandria, and the order of pentagynia; and in the natural iyftem arranged under the 22d order, caryophyllee. The calyx is pentaphyllous; the petals five, and undivided; the capfule oval, unilocular, and containing five valves. There are five fpecies, all of which are British: viz. 1. SPERGULA ARVENSIS, corn-fpurrey, has linear furrowed leaves, from eight to twenty in a whirl. The flowers are fmall, white, and termimal. It is frequent in corn-fields. In Holland it 4. SPERGULA PENTANDRA, small spurrey. The leaves are very narrow, and grow in whirls at the joints. The feeds are black with a white circle. 5. SPERGULA SAGINOIDES, pearlwort spurrey, has fmooth, linear, oppofite leaves: the peduncles are folitary and very long. Aiton fays it is a native of England, and flowers from June to Aug. SPERILEN, a lake of Norway, in Aggerhuus; 35 miles N. of Chriftiania. SPERLING, Otto, a German phyfician, born at Hamburg, in 16c2. He ftudied phyfic in Italy, and afterwards fettled at Bergen in Norway. In 1638, he was appointed phyfician to Chriftian IV. K. of Denmark; but being afterwards concerned in Count Ulfeld's confpiracy, he was put in prifor, where he died in 1681, aged 79. He publifhed A Gatalogue of the Plants in Denmark, and fome works on Medals and Antiquities. SPERLINGEN, a town of Sicily, in the valley of Demona: 10 miles S. of Mistretta. SPERLONGA, a town of Naples, in Lavora; 7 miles S. of Fundi. (1.) * SPERM. n. f. fperme, Fr. Sperma, Lat.] Seed; that by which the species is continued.—This may be caufed by the quantity of ferm required, or by the partitions of the womb which may fever the perm. Bacon.-There is required to the preparation of the sperm of animals a great apparatus of veffels. Ray. (2) RREAM, the feed whereof an animal is formed. See PHYSIOLOGY, XII. (1.) * SPERMACETI. n. (Lat.] Corruptedly pronounced parmafitty.-A particular fort of whale affords the oil when this is made; and that is very improperly called Sperma, because it is only the oil which comes from the head of which it can be made. Quincy. (2.) SPERMACETI, a whitish, unctuous, flaky fubftance, prepared from oil, but chiefly from the brains of a species of whale called phyjete macrocephalus. The method of preparing fpermaceti is kept a fecret; but the procefs is faid to be this: The brains being taken out of the animal, are then, as fome fay, melted over a gentle fire, poured black. (3.) SPERMACETI CANDLES are of modern manufacture: they are made smooth, with a fine glofs, free from rings and fears, fuperior to the fineft wax-candles in colour and lustre; and, when genuine, leave no fpot or ftain on the finest filk, cloth, or linen. SPERMACOCE, BUTTON-WOOD, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the clafs of tetrandria, and order of monogynia; and in the natural fyftem arranged under the 47th order, fellate. The corolla is monopetalous and funnel-thaped, and there are two bidentate feeds. The ipecies are 8, viz. 1. SPERMOCOCE ARTICULARIS; 2. HIRTA; 3. HISPIDA; 4. PROCUMBENS; 5. SPINOSA; 6. STRICTA; 7. TENUIOR; and 8. VERTICILLATA. 1. Sc * SPERMATICAL. adj. [permatique, Fr. (1.) SPERMATICK. § from /perm.] minal; confifting of feed. The primordials of the world are not mechanical, but spermatical or vital. Mare.-Metals and fundry meteors rude fhapes have no need of any particular principle of life, or permutical form. More. 2. Belonging to the fperm, containing fperm.-The moisture of the body is drawn down to the permatic velfels. Bacon.-There is in both a great apparatus of permatick veffels: Ray. (2) Index. SPERMATICK ARTERIES. See ANATOMY, poured into moulds, and when cold melted again; altered; the vitriolic acid had turned the ether and this procefs is continued till they are purified. Others fay, that after being prefled and drained they are more thoroughly purified by steeping them in a ley of alkaline falt and quicktime. The brains are then washed, and cut into thin flakes or flices with wooden knives. One fifh is faid to afford fome tons of brains. Good fpermaceti is gloffy and femitransparent, in fine white flakes; foft and unctuous to the touch, yet dry and friable; in tafe, fomewhat like butter, and of a faint fmell like that of tallow. Some adulterate it with wax; but the deceit is difcovered, either by the fmell of the wax or by the dulnefs of the colour. Some alfo fell a preparation of oil taken from the tail of the whale inftead of that from the brain; but this kid turns yellow as foon as cxpoted to the air. Indeed it is apt in general to grow yellowifh, and to contract a rancid fiihy innell if not carefully fecured from the air. The more perfectly it has been purified at firft, the leis fulceptible it is of thefe alterations; and after it has been changed, it may be rendered white and fweet again by fleeping it afresh in ley of alkaline falt and congeals again as it cools. Sper maceti is of ufe in medicine. Quincy fays it is a noble remedy in the afthma, &c. though chief. ty ufed in bruifes, inward hurts, and after delivery. For internal ufe, it may be diffolved in aqueous liquors into the form of an emulfior, by trituration with almonds, the yolk or white of an egg, and more elegantly by mucilages; or made into a lohoch, by mixing two drams of it with a fuitable quantity of yolk of egg, then adding half an ounce of fresh drawn oil of almends, and an ounce of balfamic iyrup. Spermaceti is not capabie of being diffolved by caustic alkalis, and of forming foaps, like other oily matters: but it is altogether foluble in oils, and unites by liquefac. tion with wax and refins; and in thefe forms is applied externally. But it is certam, its greateft property, and that which makes it fo much in Vogue in many places, is its foftening the fkin. Whence it comes to be used by the ladies in paftes, washes, &c. A method has been lately invented by Mr Smith Cibbes of Magdalen college, Ox. ford, to convert animal mufcle into a fubftance much refembling Spermaceti. (See SAPONACE. OUS, § 2.) The procefs is fimple: Nothing more is neceffary than to take a dead carcafe and expole it to a stream of running water; it will in a thort time be changed to a mafs of fatty matTo remove the offensive fmell, a quantity of nitrous acid may then be poured upon it, which uniting with the fetid matter, the fat is feparated in a pure ftate. This acid indeed turns it yellow, but it may be rendered white and pure by the action of the oxygenated muriatic acid. Mr Gibbes brought about the fame change in a much shorter time. He took three lean pieces of mutton and poured on them the three mineral acids, and be perceived that at the end of three days each was much altered; that in the nitrous acid was much foftened, and on feparating the acid from it, he found it to be exactly the fame with that which he had before got from the water; that in the muriatic acid was not in that time fo much ter * To SPERMATIZE. v. n. [from sperm.] To yield feed.-Ariftotle affirming that women do not permatize, and confer a receptacle rather than effential principles of generation, deducti vely includes both fexes in mankind. Brown. (1.)* SKERMATOCELE. n. /. [amique and enλn.] A rupture caufed by the contraction of the feminal veffels, and the femen falling into the ferotum. Bailey. (2.) SPERMATOCELE. See SURGERY, 632. SPERMATOPHAGI. See EгHIOPIA 3. SPERMOLOGIST. n. f. {rwiquesdoy&.] One who gathers or treats of feeds. Dia. (1.) SPERONE, Speron, an ingenious Italian writer, born of a noble family at Padua, in 1500. He made fo rapid a progrefs in his ftudies, that at 20, he was chofen first profeffor of logic in the univerfity of Padua, and in 1528 was raised to that of Philofophy. He was knighted by Pope Pius IV. He was one of the greatest orators of his age; was well skilled in law, theology, hifto ry, &c. and was much employed in public affairs at France, Spain, Rome and Venice. His works are all in Italian, and confift of orations, diferta tions, dialogues, letters, and a tragedy. He died at Padua, in 1588, aged 88. (2.) SPERONE, a cape of the French empire on the SE. extremity of Corfica: 4 miles E. of Bonifacio. *To SPERSE. v. a. [fperfus, Lat.] To difperfe; to fcatter. A word not now in ufe.— The wrathful wind, Which blows cold ftorms, burft out of Scyth.. an mew That per thofe clouds. Spenter. He, making fpeedy way through fperfed air To Morpheus' houfe doth haftily repair. Fairy Queen. SPESUTIE, an island of the United States, at the head of Chesapeak Bay. SPET, n. f. in the Scottifh dialect, a fmall flood, occafioned by a river overflowing its banks, and coming down with the moft violent impetuolity. See next article. To SPET. v. a. To bring or pour abundantly. [Spet in Scotland is a fuperabundance of water: as, that tide or freth was a high pet.When the dragon womb Of Stygian darknefs fpets her thickeft gloom. SPETIA. See SPEZZIA. SPETKER, a town of the Helvetic republic, in the Upper Thurgau; 4 miles E. of St Gall. SPEUSIPPUS, an Athenian philofopher, the fon of Eurymedon and Potone, the nephew and fucceffor of Plato. Contrary to the practice of Plato, Speufippus required from his pupils a ftated gratuity. He placed ftatues of the Graces in the Ichool which Plato had built. On account of his infirm ftate of health, he was commonly carried to and from the academy in a vehicle. On his way thither he one day met Diogenes, and falut ed him; the furly philofopher refufed to return the falute, and told him that fuch a feeble wretch ought to be ashamed to live; to which Speufippus replied, that he lived not in his limbs, but in bis mind. At length, being wholly incapacitated, by a paralytic ftroke, for the duties of the chair, he refigned it to Xenocrates. He is faid to have been of a violent temper, fond of pleasure, and exceedingly avaricious. Speufippus wrote many philofophical works, which are now loft, but which Ariftotle thought fufficiently valuable to purchase at the expence of three talents. From the few fragments which remain of his philofophy, it appears that he adhered very strictly to the doc trine of his master. (1.) * To SPEW. v. a. [fpewan, Sax.fpeuaven, Dutch.] 1. To vomit; to eject from the ftomach. Afword fith small him from the rest did funder, That in his throat him pricking foftly under, His wide abyfs, him forced forth to pew. Spenf. 2. To eject; to caft forth. Hollow places /pes their watʼry store. Dryd. When the fouler bottom peaus the black, The Stygian dye the tainted waters take. Dryd. 3. To eject with loathing.-Commit not any of thefe abominations, that the land fer not you out. Lev. xviii. 28.-Contentious fuits ought to be spewed out. Bacon's Effays. (2.) To SPEW. v. 1. To vomit; to eafe the ftomach. But better 'twas that they should sleep or Than in the fcene to offend or him or you. Ben Jonjon. *SPEWY. adj. [from pew.] Wet; foggy. A provincial word.-The lower vallies in wet winters are fo fpey, that they know not how to feed them. Mortimer. courfe of 70 Scots, or 100 English, miles, paffes by Rothes caftle, and falls into the German sea at Garmouth, near Elgin. Upon this river great floats of fir and birch wood are carried down to the Frith; the float is guided by a man fitting on a courach. This veffel is of an oval fhape, about 4 feet long and 3 broad'; a fmall keel from head to ftern; a few ribs cross the keel, and a ring of pliable wood round the lip of it; the whole covered with the rough hide of an ox or horfe. The rower fits on a tranfverfe feat in the middle, and holds in his hand a rope, the end of which is tied to the float, and with the other hand he manages a paddle, keeps the float in deep water, and brings to fhore when he pleafes. The Spey (fays Mr Pennant,) is a dangerous neighbour to Caftle Gordon, overflowing frequently in a dreadful manner, as appears by its ravages far beyond its banks. The bed is wide and full of gravel, and the channel very fhifting. In 1746 the duke of Cumber land pafled this river at Belly church, near Caftle Gordon, when the channel was fo deep as to take an officer, from whom Mr Pennant had the ac count, and who was fix feet four inches high, up to the breaft. The banks are very high and steep; fo that had not the rebels been infatuated in fuch a manner as to neglect oppofition, the paffage muft have been attended with confiderable lois. On this river there is a great falmon-fishery; about 1700 barrels full are caught in the feason, and the fhore is rented for about 12001. per annum. "The total length of the Spey, reckoning its windings, is 120 miles. (2.) SPEY, LOCH, a large lake of Invernessfhire, in the diftrict of Badenoch, which is, properly speaking, only a part of the above river, fweiled out to the fize of a large lake, a few miles below its fource. It is therefore abfurd to reprefent the river, (as moft geographers do,) as arifing out of this lake, for the river rifes feveral miles above it, fwells and fills it, and then runs on its courfe, as above defcribed: (N° 1.) See INVERNESS, N° 1. SPEYMOUTH, a parish of Scotland, in Morayshire, fo named from its fituation, on the banks of the æftuary of the SPEY. It is 6 miles long, and from 1 to 2 broad. The furface is level on the couft, but about half a mile from the fea, the ground rifes fuddenly to another plain of greater extent, 40 feet above the level of the former, and terminated by a confiderable hill. The foil is light and fertile, but hufbandry is in a backward ftate. About 300 acres are covered with good old trees. The population in 1664, was 1347, the increase 353, fince 1755. The thriving village of Garmouth or Garmach is feated in it. SPEZZA, SPEZZIA, SPECIA, or SPETIA, a town of Italy, in the late Ligurian republic, now antiexed to the French empire, with a good harbour at the foot of a hill, and bottom of a Gulf fo named; 46 miles SE. of Genoa, and 65 NW. of Florence. Lon. 9. 37. E. Lat. 44. 10. N. (1.) SPEZZANO, a town of the new Italian kingdom, in the department of Panaro, diftrict and late duchy of Modena; 5 miles S. of Modena. (2.) SPEZZANO, a town of Naples, in Calabria Citra: 4 miles ENE. of Cofenza. SPEZZIA. See SPEZZA. (1.) * To (1.) To SPHACELATE. v. a. (from Sphacelus, medical Latin.] To affect with a gangrene.-The long retention of matter phacelates the brain. Sharp. (2.) To SPHACELATE. v. n. To mortify; to fuffer the gangrene.-The fkin, by the great diftenfion, having been rendered very thin, will, if not taken away, phacelate. Sharp. (1.) * SPHÁCELUS. n.S. [opaxi?& ; Sphacele, Fr.) A gangrene; a mortification.-It is the ground of inflammation, gangrene, fphacelus. Wifeman. (2.) SPHACELUS, in furgery and medicine, is an abfolute and perfect corruption, or death of the parts. SPHACTERIÆ, SPHAGIE, OF SPHAGÆ, in ancient geography, 3 islands and a cape of the Mediterranean, on the coaft of Meflenia, oppofite Pylos, now called Sapienza. (See SAPIENZA, N° 1-4.) The largeft was famous for a victory obtained by the Athenians over the Spartans. They are now all included in the new republic of the Seven Iflands; in which by the treaty of Amiens, in 1802, all the 3 rank but as one. See SEVEN ISLANDS, N° 10. SPHÆRANTHUS, in botany, the GLOBE FLOWER, OF GLOBE DAISY, a genus of plants belonging to the clafs of fyngenefia, and to the order of polygamia fegregata; and in the natural fyftem arranged under the 49th order, Compofite. Each partial calyx contains 8 florets; the florets are tu bulated, the female being scarcely diftinguishable. The receptacle is fcaly; and there is no pappus. The fpecies are 3, viz. which, as their trivial names im I. SPHÆRANTHUS AFRICANUS, 2. SPHÆRANTHUS CHINENSIS, and 3. SPHÆRANTHUS INDICUS; port, are refpectively natives of Africa, China, and the Eaft Indies. SPHAGÆ, or See SAPIENZA, N° 1-4; and SPHAGIE, SPHACTERIÆ. SPHAGNUM, BOG-MOSS, in botany; a genus of plants belonging to the clafs of cryptogamia and order of mufti. The antheræ are globofe; the mouth entire and clofed by an operculum; the calyptra is wanting. There are three fpecies; viz. 1. SPHAGNUM ALPINUM, green bog-mofs. Its branches are fubulate and erect; the antheræ are oval. It grows in mountain bogs in South Britain. 2. SPHAGNUM ARBOREUM, creeping bog-mofs, is branched; the antheræ are numerous, feffile, hairy, and grow along the branches chiefly on one fide. It is found on the trunks of trees. 3. SPHAGNUM PALUSTRE, Common bog mofs, grows on our begs in wide patches, fo as often to cover a large portion of their furface. The fla!ks are from 2 inches to 2 feet long, irregularly furrounded with numerous, conical, pendant branches, and terminated with a rofaceous cluster of erect short ones. The roots and decayed falks of this mofs conftitute a principal part of that useful bituminous fubitance called teat, which is the chief fuel of the northern regions. (See PEAT, § 3.) The Lapland matrons are well acquainted with this mofs. They dry and lay it in their cradle, to fupply the place of bed, bolfter, and every covering; and, being changed night and morning, it keeps the infant remarkably clean, dry, and warm. It is fufficiently foft of itfell; but the tender mother, not fatisfied with this, frequently covers the mofs with the downy hairs of the reindeer; and thus makes a moft delicate neft for the young babe. SPHENOIDES Os, the feventh_bone of the cranium or fkull. See ANATOMY, Index. (1.) * SPHERE. n. f. [sphere, Fr. fphæra, Lat. 1. A globe; an orbicular body; a body of which the center is at the fame diftance from every point of the circumference. Firft the fun, a mighty sphere, he fram'd. Milt. 2. Any globe of the mundane fyftem.Within the moon's fair fhining Sphere. F. Q. And then mortal ears 3. 4. Had heard the mufic of the spheres. Dryden. A globe reprefenting the earth or sky.Conon, and what's his name who made the Sphere, And thew'd the feafons of the fliding year? Dryd. Orb; circuit of motion. Within the vifible diurnal here. Milton. 5. Province; compafs of knowledge or action; employment. [From the fabere of activity ascribed to the power emanating from bodies.]-To be call'd into a huge fphere, and not to be feen to move in't. Shak.-Moving in fo high a sphere, and with fo vigorous a luftre. K. Charles.-Every man finds fault with thefe authors, fo far as they treat matters within his sphere. Addison.— Ye know the spheres. Soon in an higher sphere Eulogius mov❜d. Pope. Harte. (2.) SPHERE, is a folid contained under one uniform round fu face, every point of which is equally diftant from a certain point in the middle, called its centre; and is formed by the revolution of a femicircle about its diameter. See GEOMETRY. (3.) SPHERE, in aftronomy, that concave orb or expanfe which invefts our globe, and in which the heavenly bodies appear to be fixed, and at an equal diftance from the eye. The better to deter mine the places of the heavenly bodies in the fphere, feveral circles are supposed to be described on the surface thereof, hence called the circles of the fphere of thefe fome are called great circles, as the equinoctial, ecliptic, meridian, &c. and others fmall circles, as the tropics, parallels, &c. See ASTRONOMY, Index, and GEOGRAPHY. (4.) SPHERE, ARMILLARY. See GEOGRAPHY. (5.) SPHERE OF ACTIVITY OF A BODY, is that determinate fpace or extent to which, and no farther, the effluvia continually emitted from that body reach; and where they operate according to their nature. (6.) SPHERE, PROJECTION OF THE. See PRÓJECTION. (7.) SPHERES, in optics, the fame with metalline mirrors, for telescopes or other purposes. See MIRROR. * To SPHERE. v. a. [from the noun.] 1. To place in a fphere. The glorious planet Sol, In noble eminence enthron'd and spher3d. Shak. 2. To form into roundnefs. |