SPIKE
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SPINOZA
f rm of a funnel in the grass. Some spiders f small size build no webs, but wander about and leap upon their prey like tiny tigers. The trap-door spiders inhabit tubular nests in the ground provided with a trap-door to close the entrance; several species are found in our southern and southwestern states. Some triangular spiders, with sharp spines projecting from their bodies, are among the most curious forms. Among the largest spiders of warm and tropical countries is the tarantula (q.v.), a large, hairy, fierce-looking spider whose bite is poisonous but rarely, if ever, fatal to man. All have poison-glands, but very few are harmful to man. There also are crab-spiders (mygale), measuring six or seven inches across, which prey upon birds and other small animals. Some of these inhabit our western plains and others are found in tropical regions of the Old World. The king-crab is usually regarded as belonging to the same group as the spiders. See McCook: American Spiders and Their Spinning Work and Emerton: The Common Spiders of the United States.
Spike, an inflorescence in which the flowers are sessile, or nearly so, and upon an elongated axis. See INFLORESCENCE.
Spike'let, small spikes which form a part of a. larger inflorescence, as in grasses. See INFLORESCENCE.
Spikenard (spik'nard} or Nard, a perfume obtained from a small plant, a native of India. It was much prized by the ancients and used in baths and at feasts. The odor is not generally liked by modern nations, and it is now used more in medicine than as a perfume. Some other plants of the same order, used in the place of spikenard, grow on the Alps and other mountains of southern Europe, where the peasants gather them from the rocks.
Spine, a rigid, sharp-pointed outgrowth from plants. Ordinary spines are modified branches and sometimes leaves, which have become stunted on account of deficient food-supply. They are most common in plants of arid regions. Sometimes, however, hairs become very rigid and sharp, in which case they are said to be spiny.
Spin'ner, Francis Elias, an American official, was born at Mohawk, N. Y., in 1802. He was in Congress from 1855 to 1861, but is best known as treasurer of the United States for 14 years. In this capacity his signature was placed on all the paper-money of the United States, and the very curious autograph, defying imitation, was known all over the world* He retired in 1875, and died on Dec. 31, 1890.
Spin'ning, an old-time household industry, performed by^ the hand, by 'means of the spindle and distaff, but now a process extensively performed by machinery, and consisting of drawing out and twisting into thread wool, cotton, flax, silk and other
fibrous substances, suitable for^ sewing purposes or weaving. The operation was first performed mechanically by the spinii ing-machine or jenny, invented in England about 1767 by James Hargreaves (q. v.), a Lancashire weaver, by the operation of which a number of threads were spun together. To this spinning-jenny was later on invented and attached a bobbin for winding the yarn by a motion separate from that of the spindle. Still later the jenny was followed by the spinning-frame and the spinning-mule, which ultimately superseded the jenny in cotton manufacture. In England Manchester is the chief seat of the spinning and cotton-making industry; while in America there are now not less than 25 million spindles in operation in the great textile factories spread over, chiefly, the eastern portion of the United States.
Spinola (spe'no-ld), Ambro'sio, Marquis of, a great Italian soldier, was born at Genoa in 1571. With his brother he raised a force of 9,000 men whom he kept at his own expense. He served first in the Netherlands. His reduction of Ostend, which had been besieged two years, gave him a great reputation, and he was placed at the head of the Spanish and Italian troops in the Netherlands. His great antagonist was Prince Maurice of Nassau, and in their long struggle neither could gain any advantage. After an armistice of 12 years, beginning in 1609, with the renewal of the war Spinola was once more opposed to Maurice, who died, however, before the walls of Breda. The taking of Breda in May, 1625, after a siege of ten months, was Spinola's last^ victory. He had spent his fortune in maintaining his troops, but his claims were not acknowledged by the Spanish government, and vexation from this shameful neglect is said to have hastened his death, which took place in Piedmont, Sept. 25, 1630.
Spinoza (spt-nofzd), Ben'edict, the great Dutch-Jewish philosopher, was born at Amsterdam, Nov. 24, 1632, of Hebrew parentage. His philosophical studies gradually drew him away from the faith of Israel, and he was formally excommunicated in 1656, when he changed his name, which was Baruch, to Benedict. In common with all Jewish youth he had been taught a trade, in his case that of polishing lenses, by which he now supported himself. At the death of his parents he contested with his sisters his right to the inheritance, but, when he had obtained it, took only one bed. He moved to Leyden and then to The Hague, where he was offered a professorship at Heidelberg, Germany, if he would teach nothing opposed to the received religion. He declined the position, the offer of money by a wealthy friend and a pension, conditioned on dedicating
