in the Materia Medica, a fine, astringent bale. It is very heavy, of a firm compact texture, and in colour of a brownish yellow. It breaks easily between the fingers, and does not stain the hands; is naturally of a smooth surface, is readily diffusible in water, and melts freely into a butter-like substance in the mouth. It leaves no grittiness between the teeth, and does not ferment with acids. It is found in the perpendicular fissures of rocks near the gold mines in Hungary.

SILICERNIUM, among the Romans, was a feast of a private nature, provided for the dead some time after the funeral. It consisted of beans, lettuces, bread, eggs, &c. These were laid upon the tomb, and they foolishly believed that the dead would come out for the repast. What was left was generally burnt on the flue. The word silicernium is derived from silice and cena, i.e. "a supper upon a stone." Eating what had thus been provided for the dead, was esteemed a mark of the most miserable poverty. A similar entertainment was made by the Greeks at the tombs of the deceased; but it was usual among them to treat the ghosts with the fragments from the feast of the living. See FUNERAL and INFERIE.