small boom or pole which crosses the sail of a boat diagonally, from the mast to the upper hindmost corner of the sail, which it is used to extend and elevate; the lower end of the sprit rests in a sort of wreath or collar called the smoter, which encircles the mast in that place.

Spritsail. See Sail and Ship.

Spritsail-Toprail. See Sail and Ship.

Spruce-tree. See Pinus, Botany Index.

Spruce-Beer, a cheap and wholesome liquor, which is thus made: Take of water 16 gallons, and boil the half of it. Put the water thus boiled, while in full heat, to the reserved cold part, which should be previously put into a barrel or other vessel; then add 16 pounds of treacle or molasses, with a few table spoonfuls of the essence of spruce, stirring the whole well together; add half a pint of yeast, and keep it in a temperate situation, with the bung hole open, for two days, till the fermentation be abated. Then close it up or bottle it off, and it will be fit for being drunk in a few days afterwards. In North America, and perhaps in other countries, where the black and white spruce firs abound, instead of adding the essence of the spruce at the same time with the molasses, they make a decoction of the leaves and small branches of these trees, and find the liquor equally good. It is a powerful antiscorbutic, and may prove very useful in long sea voyages.