Satin Wood

Satin Wood, a name for several woods of commerce, which when polished present a peculiar lustre; the principal kinds are the Indian and West Indian, or Bahaman. The Indian satin wood is produced by chloroxylon Swietenia, of the meliaceoe, and related to the mahogany tree; it is 50 or 60 ft. high, found along the Coromandel coast and other parts of India; the wood is hard and yellow, somewhat resembling box wood, but darker. The West Indian wood is superior to the other, being of a light canary yellow; though considerable quantities are exported from the Bahamas, the tree which furnishes it is still uncertain; it has been conjectured that it is the wood of a species of maba, one of the ebony family. In some cases the wood is handsomely curled and mottled, and such pieces are cut into veneers for choice cabinet work; the ordinary kinds are chiefly used for the backs of brushes.

Saturday

Saturday (Saturn's day), the seventh and last day of the week, and the Roman dies Saturni. It is the Jewish sabbath, and in the Catholic breviary is called dies sabbati.

Satyrs

Satyrs, in Greek mythology, a class of rustic divinities under the government of Bacchus, and forming part of his retinue. They are represented as robust and rough in appearance, with the heads and bodies of men, but with ears pointed like those of animals, and short horns and tails. They were frolicsome and addicted to various kinds of sensual enjoyment. Hesiod describes them as a good-for-nothing race. They were represented as the sons of Hermes and Iphthima. The older ones were called Sileni. The satyrs are sometimes confounded by the Latin poets with the Italian fauns, although originally distinct beings, and in ancient pictures and bass reliefs so represented. One of the most celebrated statues of antiquity was the satyr of Praxiteles at Athens. The word is used by Pliny to indicate a kind of ape.

Sauk

Sauk, a S. W. county of Wisconsin, drained by the Barraboo river, and traversed by the Chicago and Northwestern railroad; area, about 900 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 23,860. The Wisconsin river crosses the N. E. corner and borders the county S. E. and S. The surface is hilly and well timbered, and the soil fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 487,416 bushels of wheat, 410,710 of Indian corn, 510,-125 of oats, 210,518 of potatoes, 29,573 tons of hay, 61,081 lbs. of wool, 513,080 of butter, and 1,250,269 of hops. There were 6,030 horses, 7,250 milch cows, 8,601 other cattle, 18,766 sheep, and 13,3.74 swine; 7 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 3 of furniture, 2 of machinery, 2 of woollen goods, 1 blast furnace, 2 iron founderies, 5 flour mills, 10 saw mills, and 6 breweries. Capital, Barraboo.

Saul

Saul (Heb. Shaul), the first king of Israel, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin. He had four, or according to some six sons, three of whom, including Jonathan, the intimate friend of David, fell with their father in the battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa (about 1055 B. C), and one of whom, Ishbosheth, for two years maintained himself as king of all the tribes except Judah. He had also two daughters, Merab, the first born, and Michal, the wife of David. (For the history of his reign see Hebrews, vol. viii., p. 582).