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SYBINGE 219 SYZYGIUM SYBINGE, a small portable hydraulic instrument of the pump kind, used to draw in a quantity of water or other liquid, and eject the same with force. In its simplest form it consists of a small cylindrical tube having an air-tight piston fitted with a rod and handle at the upper end. The lower end termi- nates in a small tapering tube. This be- ing immersed in the fluid, the piston is drawn back, and the liquid is forced into the cylinder by atmospheric pressure. On pushing the piston back again to the lower end of the cylinder the liquid is ejected in a jet. The syringe is used by surgeons, etc., for washing wounds, in- jecting liquids into animal bodies and similar purposes. Larger forms are used for watering plants, trees, etc. SYBINX, a nymph beloved by Pan, and, according to the legends, turned into reeds, when flying from him. The god is said to have constructed his pipe from those reeds. SYBPHID.ffl, in entomology, a family of Diptera, tribe Athericera (having the antennae of three joints, the apical one with a bristle). The Syrphidse has the antennal bristle finely feathered; the eyes are large, meeting in the males ; the ocelli three; proboscis generally short, the terminal lobes fleshy, inclosing three bristles; palpi small, with one joint; ab- domen flattened, with five segments; tarsi with two pulvilli. Smooth or hairy insects, often seen hovering almost without motion over the flowers of Com- posites or other plants. The species are numerous, and the larvae diverse in hab- its. Most of the latter feed on the roots or bulbs of plants, or live in decaying wood, mud, or sewers, or in the water, or as parasites in the nests of wasps and bumble bees. Genera more than 40 and among them Syrphus, Volucella, Eristal- is, Helophilus, etc. SYBPHUS, the typical genus of Syrphidse. The larvae feed on aphides. One of the most common is S. pyrastri, a blue-black fly, with whitish or yellowish transverse bands on the abdomen, black thighs, and yellowish legs. It is some- times mistaken for a wasp. The larvae is a footless grub, living on plants in- fested by aphides. SYBBHAPTES, in ornithology, a genus of Pteroclidie, with two species. Bill small, conical, nostrils concealed by feathers, tarsi hirsute; toes short, con- crete hirsute above, hallux absent; the two middle tail-feathers and first two quills of wings produced into pointed se- taceous filaments. They normally range from Tartary, Tibet, and Mongolia, to the country round Peking, and occasion- ally visit eastern Europe; but in 1863 great numbers of them appeared in Eu- rope and reached W. to the shore of the Atlantic. SYBTIS, the ancient name of two gulfs of the Mediterranean Sea, on the N. coast of Africa. The Syrtis Major, now called the Gulf of Sidra, lies between Tripoli and the table-land of Barca, and forms the most S. part of the Mediterranean. The Syrtis Minor now called the Gulf of Cabes, lies between Tunis and Tripoli. The shores of both are inhospitable, and abound in quicksands. SYBUP, in popular language, the un- crystallizable fluid finally separated from crystallized sugar in the process of refining. By sugar manufacturers the term syrup is applied to all strong sac- charine solutions which contain sugar in a condition capable of being crystallized out, the ultimate uncrystallizable fluid being distinguished as molasses or tre- acle. In chemistry, a saturated or nearly saturated solution of sugar in water. In pharmacy, syrups; a preparation in which sugar forms an important ingre- dient, and gives a peculiar consistence to the liquid. Its general use is to dis- guise the flavor of drugs; but in some cases, as in that of the iron iodide, the sugar preserves the active ingredient from undergoing chemical change. About 17 syrups are used in pharmacy. Among them are S. aurantii, S. Limonis, S. pap- averis, S. sennas, etc. BYBUS, PUBLIT7S, or PUBLILIUS, a Roman writer of mimes who flourished about 43 B. c, and was most probably a Syrian slave brought to Rome in early youth, educated, and freed by some indul- gent master. After Laberius he reigned supreme on the stage, and his mimes, be- ing as full of shrewd epigrammatic wit as broad humor, did not perish with him. About 200 apothegms are still extant, under the title "Witticisms of Publius Ssnrus." SYZBAN, a town of central Russia, a few miles from the right bank of the Volga, and 90 miles S. of Simbirsk. Laid out in 1685, it has tanneries and noted market gardens, and a large trade in grain, timber, salt, and manufactured goods. Pop. about 48,000. SYZYGIUM, or SIZYGITJM (named from the way in which the branches and leaves are united by pairs) ; a genus of