SINOPICA TERRA, in natural history, the name of a red earth of the ochre kind, called also rubrica sinopica, and by some authors sinopsis. It is a very close, compact, and weighty earth, of a fine glowing purple colour. It is of a pure texture, but not very hard, and of an even but dusty surface. It adheres firmly to the tongue, is perfectly fine and smooth to the touch, does not crumble easily between the fingers, and stains the hands. It melts very slowly in the mouth, is perfectly pure and fine, of an austere astringent taste, and ferments violently with aqua-fortis. It was dug in Cappadocia, and carried for sale to a city in the neighbourhood called Sinops, whence it had its name. It is now found in plenty in the New Jerseys in America, and is called by the people there blood-stone. Its fine texture and body, with its high florid colour, must make it very valuable to painters; and its astringency promises it to be a powerful medicine.