=Salamander=, _n._ A kind of lizard, formerly supposed to be able to
live in the fire.
=Salt=, _n._ One of the most important substances in the world. It is
necessary to the existence of animals and is one of the constituents
of many plants.
=Sap=, _n._ The juice of plants. It is to them what the blood is to
animals.
=Saturn=, _n._ In classical mythology, the father of Jupiter.
=Scales=, _n._ A.-S. _scealu_, a scale, husk; in botany, a small,
rudimentary leaf, scale-like in form. Scales cover the leaf buds and
sometimes the flower buds; they also constitute some bulbs.
=Scape=, _n._ L. _scapus_, shaft, stalk; the long, leafless peduncle
which starts from the ground and bears flowers at the top, as in the
hyacinth.
=Sceptre=, _n._ L. _sceptrum_, a staff to lean on; a sceptre; a staff
of office; the staff of kingship.
=Secrete=, _v._ L. _secernere_, to separate; to form from the
materials of the sap or the blood a new substance. The organ that
secretes is called a gland.
=Secundus=, _n._ L. _secundus_, second; the name given in this book to
a suppositional plant.
=Seed=, _n._ The fertilized and matured ovule of a flower.
=Seed-coat=, _n._ The outer covering to a seed.
=Seedlet=, _n._ A little seed.
=Sepal=, _n._ L. _separ_, separate; one of the separate leaves that
form the calyx.
=Septimus=, _n._ L. _septimus_, seventh; the name given in this book
to a suppositional plant.
=Sextus=, _n._ L. _sextus_, sixth; a name given in this book to a
suppositional plant.
=Shrub=, _n._ A woody, branching plant, smaller than a tree.
=Silica=, _n._ L. _silex_, flint; a substance found very abundantly in
the earth’s crust. It is very hard, and when melted forms glass; it
is found in solution in some springs and is taken up by certain
plants and deposited on or near the surface.
=Skin=, _n._ The outside covering of an animal or plant.
=Skin cells=, _n._ The cells of which the skin is made up.
=Snowdrop=, _n._ An early spring flower cultivated in gardens; it
sometimes blossoms under the snow.
=Soda=, _n._ A compound of sodium, carbon, and oxygen; found in the
composition of some plants.
=Sodium=, _n._ One of the elements of common salt, and also found in
the tissues of plants and animals.
=Sorrel=, _n._ A.-S. _sūr_, sour; a kind of plant with acid leaves.
=Sphinx=, _n._ In Greek mythology, a monster with the head of a woman,
the wings of an eagle, and the claws of a lion; she sat on a rock
and proposed a riddle to all who passed and killed those who could
not guess it. The Egyptian sphinx has no wings and is not the same
as the Greek monster; it is generally placed in rows in avenues
leading to temples, and the largest and most famous Egyptian sphinx
is the Great Sphinx near the great pyramids of Ghizeh; it held a
temple between its paws.
=Spring beauties=, _n._ Pretty, delicate, and early spring flowers.
=Spur=, _n._ A pointed instrument worn on the heel to goad a horse;
any sharp projection formed like a horseman’s spur.
=Stamen=, _n._ L. _stamen_, thread, string, fibre; the floral organ
containing the fertilizing pollen. The stamen, like the pistil, is
believed to be a modified leaf.
=Starch=, _n._ A substance composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen,
forming one of the principal elements in plants and necessary as
food to animals.
=Stiffening cells=, _n._ The woody cells and other tough-walled cells
that serve to keep the shape of a plant.
=Stigma=, _n._ The structure at the top of the style where the pollen
is received.
=Stipules=, _n._ L. _stipula_, a stalk, stem, blade; the small,
leaf-like appendages at the base of the petiole of leaves.
=Stoma=, _n._ From a Greek word meaning “mouth-opening”; a small
opening in the skin of leaves and young stems leading to the air
cavities within the plant; a breathing pore.
=Stomata=, _n._ The plural of “stoma.”
=Strengthening cells=, _n._ The cells with tough or hard walls that
serve to give firmness and support to plant tissues.
=Suction=, _n._ L. _sugere_, to suck; the process of sucking.
=Sulphur=, _n._ A solid substance found in the earth’s crust in
certain places; it is one of the constituents of protoplasm, and
although occurring in it in very small quantities, it is essential.
=Sulphuric acid=, _n._ Oil of vitriol, a combination of hydrogen,
sulphur, and oxygen. Sulphuric acid is found in the earth and in the
air in very small quantities, and is the source from which plants as
a rule derive their sulphur.