REASON n.
t of; because of. "Spain is thin sown of people, partly by reason of the sterility of the soil." Bacon. In reason, In all reason, in justice; with rational ground; in a right view. When anything is proved by as good arguments as a thing of that kind is capable of, we ought not, in reason, to doubt of its existence. Til…
ROOT n.
b) Large roots growing from the stem, etc., which descend and establish themselves in the soil. See Illust. of Mangrove. -- Multiple primary root (Bot.), a name given to the numerous roots emitted from the radicle in many plants, as the squash. -- Primary root (Bot.), the central, first-formed, main root, from which…
SALTPETER; SALTPETRE n.
talline substance, KNO3, having a cooling saline taste, obtained by leaching from certain soils in which it is produced by the process of nitrification (see Nitrification, 2). It is a strong oxidizer, is the chief constituent of gunpowder, and is also used as an antiseptic in curing meat, and in medicine as a diuretic,…
SERF n.
A servant or slave employed in husbandry, and in some countries attached to the soil and transferred with it, as formerly in Russia. In England, at least from the reign of Henry II, one only, and that the inferior species [of villeins], existed . . . But by the customs of France and Germany, persons in this abject stat…
SHEEP n.
el. (Bot.), a prerennial herb (Rumex Acetosella) growing naturally on poor, dry, gravelly soil. Its leaves have a pleasant acid taste like sorrel. -- Sheep's-wool (Zoöl.), the highest grade of Florida commercial sponges (Spongia equina, variety gossypina). -- Sheep tick (Zoöl.), a wingless parasitic insect (Melophagu…