Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/533

SALAMANCA. 477 SALANG. nowned of Europe from the fifteanth to the seventeenth eentiuy. Founiled liy Alfonso IX. of Leon (c.l230), and refounded Ijy ISaint Ferdi- nand of Castile in 1242, it came into prominence in the reign of Alfonso X. (q.v. ) (1252-82), sur- nanied the Astronomer. Its chief distinction was in the field of tlie canon and civil law. Owing to financial dilficulties, it led a somewhat checkered existence, but was in alliance with and favored by the Papacy, and in some measure supjiorted by it. Its rise to distinction began in the fif- teenth century, and in the two succeeding cen- turies, particularly' in the sixteenth, it was one of the dominating schools of Europe. Here Columbus explained his discoveries, and here the Copernican system was early accepted and taught. From the middle of the sixteenth century, when the number of students reached 0000, the univer- sity sank in size and prestige. It was reorgan- ized in 1709-77, but suffered much from the po- litical disturbances of the nineteenth century. Its present organization dates from 1857. It had in 1901 a budget of 150,000 pesetas, about 1200 students, and a library of some 80,000 volumes and 1000 manuscri])ts. SALAMANDER (Lat. salamandra, from Gk. <raX(i/:ia^5pa, salamandra; connected with Pers. samandiir, salamandar). A genus of European tailed Amphibia which inhabit water only in their tadpole state, and return to it only to de- posit their eggs, generally living in moist places, as luidcr stones, roots of trees, etc. The general form is very similar to that of newts (q.v.), but the tail is round, not fiat. Salamanders feed on worms, slugs, snails, and insects. They are in- ert, sluggish, and timid creatures and are per- fectly harmless. The spotted salamander (.S'o/a- mandra masciilosa) , si.x or eight inches long, black, with bright yellow stripes on its sides, and livid blue beneath, is widely spread through- out Europe. The black salamander {Sdlinnfin- dra (lira) is much smaller, black, the body and tail ringed, the tail almost as if formed of beads. It is abundant in the Alps and moun- tains of Southern Germany. Other species are found in Spain, Italy, etc., and in Asia. The genus is not represented in the United States. 'Salamander,' however, in the United States is the common name for all the Urodela. SALAMANDER. A German drinking term of uncertain significance. The custom to which the name is applied, called cxcrcilinm suJnmmi- dri, originated with the students of Heidelberg about 1830. At the command of the president, the drinking vessels are rubbed about in a circle on the table and emptied. The participants then rattle the glasses on the table and finally set them down with a simultaneous crash. The salamander is the most formal method of drink- ing a health. SAL'AMIS (Lat., from Gk. SaXaMis. modern name Kuluri). A mountainous island of Cireece, oflr the Coast of Attica, in the Gulf of .Egina. It resembles a horseshoe in shape, the opening being to the west. On the northeast it is separated from Attica by a strait about one mile in width, and on the north by the Bay of Aleusis, while at the northwest it approaches close to the IMe- garian coast. In the northeast of the island was the ancient town of Salamis. near the modern Anibelaki, on the bay opposite the Attic coast. The area is about 36 square miles, and the jiopulation about 4000. The island is rocky and mountainous, scantily wooded, and barren, though the coast districts and valleys yield a. little grain and wine. Salami.s was early an object of strife between the Athenians and Sle- garians, but after long wars the former secured it early in the sixth century B.C., and from that time it was a part of Attica. Its chief celebrity is due to the decisive naval battle fought be- tween the Persians and (irccks in the strait he- tween the long norlheast<rii promontory of the island and the coast of Attica (».c. 480). The Greek fleet, under the conunand of Themistoeles and Eurybiades, gathered at the island on the advance of Xerxes against Athens, and is said to have intended withdrawal to the Isthmus when Tlicmistocles persuaded Xer.xcs to blockade the straits during the night, and in the morning enter tlicni for battle. The result was- the comi)U'te defeat of the Persians, whose su- perior nmd>ers and iniwieldy vessels were un- availing in the narrow waters. SALAMIS. An ancient ruined city in the middle of the eastern coast of Cyprus, the most important place on the island (Maji: Turkey in Asia, E 5). It had a famous tem])le of Zeus. Its king, Euagoras (410-304), united Cyprus into one kingdom. The city fell to the Romans in 58 B.C. It w-as destroyed by an earthquake, and rebuilt by Constantine the Great, named Kon- stantia, and again made the capital of the island. It was laid waste by the Arabs. The village Hagios Scrgios is near its ruins. SALAMMBO' sa'lam'bo. A novel by Gustave Flaubert (1802). The scene is laid in Carthage in the time of Hannibal, whose sister is the title character. The story is brilliantly realistic, and contains descriptions of great jjower, dealing often with the weird and bizarre. SAL AMMONIAC (abbreviation of Lat. sal aiiinioiiiaci. salt of ammonium). The chloride of ammonium (XHjCl). It is of great value in medicine, cliemistry, and the arts. It is ob- tained from the ammoniacal water of gas works, by adding sulphuric acid and then sublimating the sulphate tluis formed with sodium cliloride. It may be obtained on a small scale by adding hydrochloric acid to a solution of ammonia. In nature it is found in volcanic regions, as an efllorescence on the surface of rocks or as a sub- limate in fissures, crystallized or forming crusts, or stalactites. It occurs as colorless, odorless, translucent fibrous masses, having a bitter saline taste, is freely soluble in water, and has a specific gravity of 1.45. In medicine it is used as an expectorant in bronchitis and pneumonia, being a favorite ingredient of cough mixtures; as a diaphoretic, diuretic, and alterative in rheu- matism; as a cholagogue in various derange- ments of the liver: and as an alterative in neuralgia. In catarrhal inflammations of the gastrointestinal tract it is used to some extent. See AMiroNl.. SALANG, su-liing', or JXTNKSEYLON, jfujk'sa-lun'. An island in the Hay of IJcngal. belonging to Lower Siam. situated at the north- ern entrance to the Straits of JIalaeea and .sepa- rated by a narrow strait from the Malay Penin- sula (ifap: Siam, C 5). It has an area of abtnit 290 square miles and has rich tin deposits which are inined by Chinese and exported to the adja- cent British settlements. Population, 12,000.