was p.sinted with a composition in
which 1(1 per cent of yellow clay was
added to soluble glass.
Dobereiner"s formula givesasoluble
glass suitable for coating woodwork :
Carbonate of potash 70
Carbonate of soda 54
Ground Hints or quartzose sand 152
276
Another formula given is : —
Carbonate of soda (or carbonate of potash, 10) 8 parts.
Pure sand 15 parts,
CharcoaL 1 part.
24 parts.
The product dissolves in boiling wat«r.
The addition of hydrochloric acid causes the silica to separate
as a transparent, tremulous jelly. This is hydrate of silica, is
not soluble in water or acids, may be preserved in a gelatinoufl
condition, but crumbles when dried.
Som'er-set (SadfUcrff.) A saddle padded be-
fore thf kuee and behind the thigh ; originally made
for Lord Fitzroy Somerset, who had lost his leg be-
low the knee at the battle of Waterloo, aud from
whom it takes its name.
Son'i-fer. An acoustic instrument for collect-
ing sound and conveying it to the ear of a partially
deaf person. It is an instniment of metal, of a l>ell
shape, and is placed upon a tablt with it^ mouth in
the direction whence the sound ])roceeds ; the volume
of sound is collected in the bottom of the instru-
ment, and conducted by a flexible pipe to the ear.
Son-nette'. {Music.) A cfnpiycr or castanet hav-
ing a movable tongue, â– which strikes the stick and
forms a clinking accompaniment to music or the
dance.
A bell used in a band as a tinkling accompani-
ment.
So-nom'e-ter. An instrument devised by Mar-
loye for determining the number of \'ibi-ations made
by a stiing emitting any musical sound. It is pro-
Fig. 5312.
vided with a series of weights, to vary the tension
of the central string, the others being tuned by ])egs,
and has three divided scales, one corresponding to
the modihed chromatic giunut, another to the true
cliromatic gamut, and the third the French meter
divided to thousandths.
The following table gives the notes, the number of their vi-
brations, and the duration of their residual sensations. (The
French notation, used by Kdnig, is adopted.)
Duration of
Note. No. of Vibrations Residual Sensation
cl..
r Second.
of the Sound
&t
*, ,fi second.
128
\« "
256
V.7 "
381
•/« "
612
'/to "
610
V» "
768
V,M "
1,021
'1;,= "
Fig. 5313.
2. A device for
testing the hearing
capacity of a pa-
tient. It consists
of a small bell on a
table, and caused to
make a detinite
number of vibra-
tions in a given
time.
Armngement of Sugar Fillers and Pans.
SOOCEY.
2246
SORTING-MACHINE.
Soo'cey. {Faliric.) An Indian mixed striped
fabric of cotton and silk.
Sor'diue. {Music.) A little implement placed
on the bridye of a stringed instrument, in order to
deaden the sonorousness and give it a mournful
sound. A miUc. See Plate LXL, Bonanni's "Istro-
mcnti Aniionici," Koma, 1776.
Sor'ghum - e-vap'o-ra-tor. A furnace with
pans for boiling the expressed juice of the sorghum
or iniphee.
Fig. 5313 shows an apparatus consisting of a series of filters
and pans. The juice is first purified in the filters A C, passes to
settling-troughs, is conducted by pipes to the pan G, where it is
brought to a boil, passed through a hot filter, and thence to
pans I K L M iu succession, bv wiiich it is condensed.
Figs. 1888, 188S). 189(1, pages 812, 813, show evaporators with
pans in succession and in steps ; also a rockiug-pan with a
sinuous track for the juice.
Fig. 6314.
Fig. 631T.
wmmmm/mmmmmmmm
Sorghum-Evaporator.
Tig. 5314 shows an arranjrement of pans on carriages by
vhicb they may be bmuj^lit into the required position or suc-
cession over tlie furnaces. Each evaporating-pan
Pig. 5315^
Fig. 5316.
Pan and Self- Skimming Arrangement.
\\ is pivoted to a truck, by which it may be moved
along tracks from one furnace to another, or from
the place nffiilinE to that of (k'posit. The support-
ing casters may be turned 90*^ to allow of running
over all portions of the rectangular track. The
pans may tie tilted to discharge their contents.
In Fig. 531f»,an outside filtering pocket is fiUed
with wool; as the juice boils over, it cools and
sinks in this pocket, and reaches the pjin again,
parting with the scum and feculencjes wliich are
retained by the wool. This keeps uj) a continued
Knife for circulation and straining process.
tes*s»"-' Sor'ghum-knife. 1. A sword or
shim. machete for cutting sorghum-stalks.
Sorghum-Mill.
2. An instrument for stripping leaves from the
stalk, previous to crushing.
Fig. 5315 combines the two.
The movable jaw is opened and
the stalk grijijicd ; a motion
downward strijis oil' the leaves,
and a draw motion cuts the
stalk at the grnunil.
Sor'ghum-inill. Amachine
for giiiiiliiig t)ie stiilks of the sor-
ghum (Molcus or liorffhum sac-
c/jre)'«iMm)orimpliee. One varie-
ty is also known as the Chinese
sugar-cane. The imphee is prob-
ably African. Tliere arc many
varieties. It is closely allied to
^ the dourra and the broom-corn.
The cane is pressed bi'tween
vertical rollers, and the juice is
collected in the bed-plate, which has a lidge around
it, and is thence discharged into tub, bucket, or cis-
tern. See also C.\NE-MILL ; SuoAU-MIi.L.
The use of the " Turkish 'â– and the " American corn " stalks
for yielding a saceh.arine juice was reconuueuded in an English
magazine of April 1, 1800. The former appears to have been a
snr^hitm or imphee, as the brushy top was farther recommended
for brooms. The author also reconnuends the American green
com, ^^ split into quarters anti fried in batter like young arti-
chokes.''^ Cob and all it should seem 1 !
The subject of the use of maize-stalks for yielding molasses ia
considered in the Agricultural Uepnrts of the Patent Ofltce,
about 1846 ; see also M'Culloch's Report on Sugar and Hy-
drometers, 1846.
Sor'ghum-strip'per. {Husbandry.) A knife
for stripjiiug tlic l>lailcs from cane-stalks. See Cane-
KNIFK, jiagi- 444 ; Soi:giu;m-KNIFE.
Sor-ren'to-^vork. Fret carving, done by a jig-
saw. As a lady's cin])loyment, it is rather a minia-
ture form of the usual productions of the scroll or
fret saw. Brackets, card-cases, and the more deli-
cate articles of household adornment are thus made,
the eti'ect being much enhanced by carving.
Sort. (Pn'iitinij.) Any letter, figure, point, space,
or i|uadrat bidonging to the compositor's case.
Out of sorts means that some are exhausted.
To run upon sorts is with work which requires an
unusual number of certain kinds ; as an hulrx, which
reipiires a disproportionate numlier of capitals, or a
tabular statement in figures, which makes a run upon
the figures, etc.
Sort'ing-ma-cliine'. Fig. 5318 is a machine
for gaging leather strips as they are cut from the
SOUGH.
2247
SOUNDING-APPARATUS.
hide to certain regulated sizes. The strips pass be-
tween two rollers c d, the lower one of wliich turns
in fixed bearings, and the upper is journaled in a
lever </, which operates a rack and a pinion carrying
rig. 5318.
Leather-Sortitig Machiiu.
an index, which indicates upon a dial the degree of
separation of the rollers corres])onding to the thick-
ness of the leather then passing between them, and
enabling the operator to a.ssort the strips.
Sough. 1. {Ch-il EiiijiiiccriiKj.) A small drain
at the foot of an embankment, to convey the surface
•wati-r from it into a side drain.
2. (Miiiiiuj.) a. An adit OT day levd {or carrying
off water.
ft. The entrance to a mine.
Sound. {Siirqical.) (Fr. .SWiirfr, a c.anula or di-
rector.) A long instrument {a b. Fig. 531!)), usually
of metal and partaking of the nature of a probe.
Used especially in nuiking explorations in the blad-
der in search of stone. It is inserted through the
rig. 5319.
=3^
<B=^
Sounds.
â– urethra, and a peculiar click is heard when it comes
in contact with stone.
c is Skene's uterine sound. The end of the probe
being in contact with the fundus, the section having
a button on the end is projected telescopically until
it comes in contact with the cervix, and the distance
from tlie button to the end of the sound is the length
of tlxe womb.
Leaden sounds are used to follow the curved path
of a glancing ball. See Probe.
Sonde (U Anel ; a silver stylet with awl-point, used in probing
the lachrymal pas.sages.
Sonde de Bailor ; an instrument for plugging the nasal fossaj
in cases of hemorrhage, A curved silver canula, open at both
ends, and furnished with a button, to which the epistaxis plug
is attached, and with which tlie posterior nostril is stopped.
Sonde Brisee; a probe in two sections, which screw to-
gether. It is blunt at one end, and ha.s an eye at tlie other, so
as to be used as a probe or seton needle.
Sonde a Condurteiir: a guide for a catheter- It is introduced
in company with a catheter of small size, open at tlie beak.
The catheter being withdmwn, leavinir the Sonde in position,
the latter acts as a director in introducing a larger catlietcr
Sonde d^ Snrnrest ; a small nasal probe, or crooked canal, for
throwing injections.
Sonde, or Pinrers of Hnnter ; a silver canula, containing a
wire, which is fenestrated, and has a pair of scoops which spring
apart as they emerge from the beak of the canula, aud by re-
traction clasp calculi in the urethra.
Sound-board. 1. (Music.) The upper surface
board of a v:iiid-diest in au organ.
It is pierced with channels, which communicate with the
ducts below the respective pipes of the organ. These channels
are guarded by spring valves, which arc (Jejiressed by their ap-
propriate keys on the manual, allowing air to escape from the
wind-chest to the particular pipe or pipes as the keysare moved.
The valves play between thin bars of wood, which divide the
under surface of the sound-hoard into a scries of parallel parti-
tioned spaces.
On the upper side of the sound-board are grooves pierced with
holes, which are commanded by the register shdes of the respec-
tive stops. As the slide is pulled to open the holes, the com-
munication is permitted to the pipes of a given stop, when the
valve is depressed by the key of the manual. When more than
one slide is opened, the opening of a given valve by the key
admits air to so many pipes, which sound the corresponding
notes according to their pitch aud quality. See Bounding-
BO.UID.
2. A canopy over a pulpit, to direct the sound
toward the audience.
3. (Carpentry.) Deadening. A partition or an
additional division between two apaitnients, to pre-
vent the propagation of sound from one to the other.
Sound-board'ing. (Building.) Short boards
disposed transversely lictween the joists, in order to
hold the pugging, wliich is designed to prevent the
transmission of sound.
Sound-bo-w. That jiart of the bell on which
the clapper strikes. The sound-bow is the point of
greatest thickness, and is considered as unity in
stating the proportions of the bell.
Sound-bow in thickness 1
Diameter at the mouth 15
Diameter at the shoulder 7.B
Sound'er. A device used in telegraphy in lieu
of a register, the communications being read by
sound alone. It consists of an electro-magnet with
an armature having a lever attached thereto. The
movement of the armature as it is attracted by the
electro-magnet or withdrawn by a spring being lim-
Fig 5320.
ited by two stops, between which the end of the
lever plays and by the striking of which the sound
is produced. In 'Fig. 5320, the posts which suiiport
the armature lever and the contact screws are mount-
ed upon a bridge-plate supported at its ends ujion an
insulator-board, so as to give greater resonance to
the blow of the arni.ature.
Sound'er-mag'net. (Trh-(jraphy.) The magnet
which operates tlie sounder in the receiving ajipara-
tus. In Fig. 5321, the coil £ is inclo.sed in a metal-
lic box, the ends of which are maintained in a state
of tension by means of a screw-rod (,', which carries
the anvil D on its end, the object being to increase
the sonorousness of the vibrations caused by the
pivoted sounder striking the anvil, and ivliich are
propagated through the box. S is the spring which
draws back the sounder after each, impulse of the
ma£;uet.
Sound'ing - ap'pa-ra'tus. (Nautical.) The
SOUNDING-APPAKATUS.
2248
SOUNDING-APPARATUS.
Fig. 6321.
Sounder-Magnet.
taekle or ap]);iratns employed by inariuers for ascer-
taining tlie ilepth of water and for bringing up speci-
mens of bottom. The depth and the character of
the ground, when on soundings, generally enables
the navigator to ascertain approximately the dis-
tance from la!id and the position of his ship.
The lead and line are still in universal use. The
former is elongated, has an eye at one end to receive
the line, and a cavity, which is partially filled with
an arming (tallow), at the other, to which the ground,
especially if it be sand, shells, or fine gravel, adheres
when the lead strikes the ground.
The common handlea/t for soundiug weighs from 7 to 11
pounds, Hiul is usi'd with 20 fathoms of line.
The letidsman stands in the channels and casts the lead for-
ward. The line is marked to fathoms below 5, and at 7, 10, 13,
17, 20 fathoms ; the numbers between are called deeps, being
estimated hv the dip of the line. Thus ; bij the mark, twain ; hi/
the deep, 6. When great aceuracy is required, the line is marked
to fathoms and feet, and the leadsman is reijnived to call out
the sounding to the nearest foot. See Marks and Deeps, page
1401.
The deep sea lead weighs 25 or 30 pounds, and has a much
longer line, marked every 10 fathoms. Tlie lead is dropped from
the forepart of the vcssfl ; the line being carried outside of tho
rigging from the after-p.irt, where it is held.
For the deejiest soumlings the ship is hove to, and carefully
constructed apparatus is used.
" A deeper sea than that of Sardinia hxs never been sounded,
measurin;^, as it does, according to Posidonius, about 1,000
fathoms." — SmAHO, Book I. Chap 3
The catnpiraterofDw ancients differed in no respect from our
sounding-lead and line. Its use is mentioned by Herodotus,
St. Paul, and others.
Previous to some 25 years ago few attempts had beea made to
obtain bottom at depths beyond 200 to 300 fathoms.
In ISl'J, the United States schooner *' Taney '' wjis fitted ovxt
for the purpose of looking up a number of the rocks, shoals, and
" vigias'" which had long disfigured the charts of the Atlantic
Ocean, and for ascertaining, if practicable, its depth ; for this
purpose she was provided with a large quantity of wire, to be
used in lieu of sounding line ; this was to be cut when bottom
had been reached, involving the loss of the wire and sinker. A
number of unsuccessful c;ists were made, the materials and
methods employed proving unreliable.
In 1851, the United States brig " Dolphin " was fitted out for
the same objects, under the conmiand of Lieutenant (now Ad-
miral) S. Phillips Lee, twine being furnished in lieu of wire;
after numerous experiments it was found that by sounding from
a boat and taking proper precautions, bottom could be obtained
â– with reasonable certainty at depths exceeding 3,000 fathoms ; a
line of soundings was run fromnearthemiddleof the Atlantic to
the Cape de Verde Islands, theuce to the coast of South Amer-
ica, an'! thence again to the United States, the greatest dejith
attained at which bottom was reached being 3,825 fathoms to tlio
southward and eastward of Bermuda. One, two, or sometimes
even three 32-pounder shot wore used as sinkers, and when bot-
tom had been reached, the boat, anchored thereby, was used for
testing currents at and below the surface.
A subsequent cruise in 1S52-53, when the vessel was pro-
vided with the sounding-apparatus then just invented bv passed
midsliipman J. M. Brooke, United States Navy, confirmed the
results previously obtained.
This consists of a rod a, having pivoted horns 6 6 at its upper
end, to which the souniUng-line c is secured. Two wires d d ex-
tend from the horns, around the shot or lead, which is perforated
for tho reception of the rod, and are secured to a washer e be-
neath it. On striking bottom, the rod is thrown up, releasing
the wires from the shot and enabling the rod to be drawn up
by itself A small Stcllw.igen cup may be attached for procur-
ing specimens of bottom. This \vas the first device by which
Bpecimens of bottom from great depths — 2,000 fathoms or more
— -were secured. The.se were found to consist principallv of
minute infusori.-il shells, which were then supposed to hi- deni-
zens of tlie upper regions of tho sea, and had sunk to the bottom
after death. The latest resc.-irches, however, prove the exist<mce
Brookt^
Sotinding-AppU'
ratus.
of low forms of animal life at the Fig. 5322.
greatest depths which have yet
been reached.
lU'ference has been made in va-
rious works to a sounding of
7, "no fatliouis, said to Iiave been
obtained by Captain Denham of
H- M S. " Herald," ofi" the river
Plate; there can be little doubt,
however, that when this amount
of line had been run out the ship
was miles to leeward of the sink- '
er (a 9-pound lead), and no sub-
sequent soundiug in any part of
the world leads us to infer that
the ocean anywhere attiiins near-
ly this enormous depth.
The latter cruise of the " Dol-
phin ^' and Soundings subse-
quently made by other vessels
established the existence of a pla-
teau extending from Newfound-
laud to the coast of Ireland,
having a nearly uniform depth of somewhat over 2,000 fathoms;
upon this the transatlantic cables have been laid.
A similar investigation is now being made of the bed of the
North I'acific. The United States steamer " Tuscarora,^' Com-
mander Belknap, has ascertained that the depth of water grad-
ually increases with a gentle slope from a point 115 nules west
of San Diego, California, in 1,915 fathoms, to a point 4tlO miles
east of IIouolulu, where it reaches 3,054 fathoms: at the shore
ends of this line the soundings are more irregular, indicating
the presence of submarine mountain -ranges.
The Pacific will also form the cruising-gi-ound of the " Chal-
lenger," which vessel, being provided with ample apparatus, not
only for sounding, but for obtaining specimens of bottom, and
having' fully demonstrated the practicability of procuring living
organisms at depths exceeding 2,500 fathoms, will no doubt
throw much light on the sea depths and their inhabitants.
The British admiralty now employs a cast-iron sinker, weigh-
ing 3 cwt. (for soundings of 2,000 fu thorns and upward), through
which is passed a valved tube for bringing up specimens ; tlie
weight is detached on reaching the bottom, but it is now pro-
posed to rsiise it; in either case steam is employed for hauling
in the line. In making a sounding of 2,000 fathoms, some 35
minutes is required for the descent, and 45 minutes iu hauling
in. The line employed is | inches in circumference, and will
bear A ton weight.
Sir William Thomson proposes the use of steel wire. With
this, using a 30-pound lead, he states that he obtained bottom
iu the Bay of Biscay at 2,700 fathoms.
In the sounding-apparatus of Professor Trowbridge, tho coil
of line is inclosed iu a hollow cylindrical case, which is con-
nected with the lead, and imwinds from the center as the latter
descends, avoiding the friction of the water and securing a uni-
form and rapid rate of dtfsceut. The time of descent proper to
any given depth may be ascertained by experiment and tabu-
lated, so that the time which elapses between heaving the lead
and its striking the bottom becomes a measure of the depth. In
order to a.'^certain the precise instant when the lead touches
bottom, a fine insulated wire is connected with the lead, and
al.so with an alarm or chronoscope, and a battery in the boat
from which the observation is made. The impact of the lead
on the bottom completes an electric current, and the time of
descent is thus a=certiuned.
Professor Trowbridge has also employed a pair of Saxton's
current meters in connection with the tube containing the line.
This instrument consists of a delicately pivoted helix, which is
turned by the action of the water, and registers the number of
revolutions made on a series of dials. Two of these helices are
employed, turning in opposite directions for the purpose of
eliminating any error which might occur from the twisting of
the lino or other similar cnuse. Arrangements are provided for
disconnecting the registering apparatus when the lead reaches
bottom.
The helix of Maiscy, such as that employed in his patent log,
bus also been used, but owing to its want of delicacy docs not
give as satisfactory results as those of Saxton's current meter.
In sounding at extreme depths, it is not expected to recover
the plummet, but arrangements are made for detaching the
rogistoring apparatus or the devices for obtaining specimens
of bottom, which may then be hauled up with comparative ease
and safety.
It has been proposed to dispense with the sounding-line alto-
gether, and employ a buoyant so If- registering apparatus, which
is detached from tlic plummet when the latter strikes bottom.
Hollow spheres of glass have been proposed for this purpose.
It is said that these have been made capable of resisting a crush-
ing force of seven tons to the square inch, corresponding to the
pressure at a depth of about six miles. In connection with
these it has been proposed to employ a pressure-gage, register-
ing the maximum hydrostatic pressure to which the apparatus
has been subjected.
It has also been proposed to ascertain depths by a method
founded on the compressibility of water. Tlie unreliability
of these latter modes of sounding, and the practical difficulties
SOTTN'DIN'G-APPAKATrS.
2249
SOUXDIKG-ROD.
Fig. 5323.
in canring them into execution, hare precluded their use, so '
that they may be looked upon as little more than ingenious
theoretical deviee-s.
An instrument invented by Messrs. S. E. and G. L. Morse, of
New York, and termed by them the bathometcT, is desired for
measuring the depth without the aid of a sounding-line. It
consists of a buoy attached to a linking weight, from which it
is disconnected on reaching bottom, and cont-iining a graduated
meter tube, into which mercury is forced by the compression
of water or other fluid consequent upon the pressure at a great
depth. The buoy is provided with a rod, to which reflectors
are attached, rendering it visible for a considerable distance on
arriving at the surface.
Other expe-lients have been proposed for dispensing with
the line required in making deep-sea -soundings by causing
a float to be detached from the sinker when
bottom is reached, the depth being registered
by an apparatus which ris«s with the float, or
inferred from the length of time occupied by
the float in descending and again ascending to
the surfer*.
A (Fig. 5323) is a device of the former kind,
proposed by a writer in the English " Nauti-
cal Magazine " in 1S32 It coufists of a set of
spiral vanes a, which, during the descent of j
the apparatus through the water, turn an end-
les.s screw b operating registering-wheels on ]
the plate c ; from this is suspended a hollow j
ball d. The sounding-lead e is placed on a rod i
_/", having pivoted or easily detachable arms â–
§ g, which rest on the flanged bottom of a
stem projecting from the lower part of the
k»ll d. Oq striking bottom, struts h h at top
of the rod y" throw the arms % s outward, de-
taching the float, which, %vith the
attarhed registering apparatus,
rises to the surfiice.
B is a device proposed in 1S33,
in which a registering apparatus '
is dispensed with. Two balls, one ,
(a) hollow, the other (h) solid, are
connected by links and by a flat-
tened arm c attached to one of the
links fastened to the lower ball,
and having a hook which catches
iu one of the upper links. During
the descent of the apparatus the
action of the water on the flat sur-
face of the arm c would cause it lo
project upwardly, tending to hold
the two balls together, but on
striking bottom the arm falls, the
float is detached and rises to the
surface The time elapsing be-
tween the mament of its l>eing cast overboard and its reappear-
ance, the exact rates of ascent and descent being of course pre-
viously determine"!, afl'ords a measure of the depth. Should it
not, howt;ver, be found for several weeks, or perhaps months,
having perhaps drifted many hundred miles in the mean time,
the candid mind must admit that the depth derived from calcu-