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SWEET GUM 192 SWEYN SWEET GUM, the Liquidambar styra- ciflua, a North American tree about 60 feet high with apetalous flowers, in ap- pearance like Acer campestre. The wood is fine-grained, and well adapted for fur- niture; the fragrant gum exuding from it when incisions are made in its bark constitutes liquid-ambar. SWEET PEA (Lathyriis odoraius), a familiar garden annual plant belonging to the natural order Leguminosse. It is a native of Sicily and other parts of the S. of Europe, and has been cultivated for its beautiful and fragrant flowers in American gardens for about 100 years. The varieties are very numerous, distin- guished chiefly by the different shades of color of the flowers. It is so hardy that it may be sown in autumn and will not only withstand the cold of winter, but will bloom earlier and better than when sown in spring. Other species of Lathy- rus are of interest either as ornamental plants or for food for man or cattle which they yield. The everlasting pea (L. latifolius) is an old favorite in flower gardens on account of its handsome but scentless flowers. The roots of L. tube- rosus are eaten in Holland and other countries where it grows plentifully. The chickling vetch (L. sativvs) is much used in Switzerland as fodder for cattle. The seeds ground into meal make palata- ble bread. SWEET POTATO (Batatas), a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Convolvulacas. B. edulis, the true sweet potato, is a twining or climbing plant, with stems 5 or 6 feet long trailing on SWEET POTATO the ground or clambering over neighbor- ing shrubs. The leaves are 5 or 6 inches long, heart-shaped at the base; the flow- ers pale purple, closely resembling those of the common convolvulus. The na- tive country of the plant is a mat- ter of conjecture. An author of the 16th century found the root much used by the Indians as an article of food. It was introduced into Spain about 1519, and the roots were known in England some time before the introduction of the potato. English supplies in those times were obtained from Spain and the Canary Islands, and the roots, when steeped in wine or made into sweetmeats, were regarded as restorative of failing vigor. The plant is cultivated in India, China, Japan, the Malayan Archipelago, throughout tropical America, and in the southern United States, in southern Europe, the Canary Islands, Madeira, and North Africa. In favorable condi- tions in the United States the yield per acre is from 200 to 300 bushels. B. jal- apa, a species of Mexico, though purga- tive, is so called on account of its being very common in the vicinity of the Mexi- can town of Jalapa. B. paniculata, which has a very wide geographical dis- tribution, is commonly cultivated for food in W. tropical Africa. From the seeds of another species of Batatas the textile material named Natal cotton is obtained. SWEET SOP, the Anona squamosa, a large shrub or tree of stunted irregular growth with spreading branches, in- digenous in the West Indies and much cultivated in other tropical countries. It is completely domesticated over a great part of India. The fruit is about the size of an orange, of a glaucous yellow- ish-green color, covered with projecting scales ; pulp white with a tinge of yellow, very sweet. The acrid seeds and the leaves are insecticide. SWEET WILLIAM, in botany and horticulture, Dianthus barbatus. The leaves are lanceolate and nerved; the flowers are aggregated in bundles; petals bearded, whence the book name of bearded pink. It may be single or double; the petals dark purple, red, speckled, or white. Also the Silene armeria, common, or Lobel's campion, a very common garden plant, with viscid stems; panicles of pink flowers. It flow- ers in July and August. SWETT, SOPHIA MIRIAM, an American writer; born in Brewer, Me., in 186—. She published: "The Lolli- pops' Vacation"; "Captain Polly"; "Fly- ing Hill Farm"; "The Mate of the Mary Ann"; "Cap'n Thistletop"; "The Pon- karty Branch Road"; "The Boy from Beaver Hollow" (1900) ; etc. SWEYN, a king of Denmark, father of Canute the Great He died in 1014, after