Smollett Ysma-lotV, Tobias (George) (baptized March 19,
1721, Cardross, Dumbartonshire,
Scot.—d. Sept. 17, 1771, near Livorno, Tuscany) English satirical novelist. Throughout his life Smol¬ lett combined the roles of medical man and writer. He is best known for his novels, including the picaresque novels Roderick Random (1748), a graphic account of British naval life,
and Peregrine Pickle (1751), a comic, savage portrayal of 18th-century society. In an active publishing career, he translated, wrote a Complete History of England (1757-58), edited periodicals, including The Critical Review, and compiled a 58-volume Universal History. In the mid-1760s, seriously ill with tuberculosis, he retired to France. In 1766 he published the irascible Travels Through France and Italy, his one nonfiction work that is still read. His finest work, Humphry Clinker (1771), is a humor¬ ous EPISTOLARY NOVEL.
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930) U.S. legislation that raised import duties by as much as 50%, adding considerable strain to the worldwide economic climate of the Great Depression. Despite a petition from 1,000 economists urging Pres. Herbert Hoover to veto the act, it was passed as a protective measure for domestic industries. It contributed to the early loss of confidence on Wall Street and signaled U.S. isolationism. Other countries retaliated with similarly high protective tariffs, and overseas banks began to collapse. In 1934 Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Trade Agreements Act, which reduced such tariffs.
Smrti Vsmri-te, 'smor-teV Class of Hindu sacred literature that is based on human memory, as distinct from the Vedas, which are considered to be divinely revealed. Smrti serves to elaborate, interpret, and codify Vedic literature. It is considered less authoritative than Vedic literature but tends to be more widely known. The term has come to refer particularly to texts pertaining to law and social conduct, including the Kalpa-sutras, the Puranas, the Bhagavadgita, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata.
smuggling Act of importing and exporting secretly and illegally to avoid paying duties or to evade enforcement of laws (e.g., drug- or firearms-control laws). Smuggling is probably as old as the first tax or regulation on trade. Two main methods exist: the undetected running of cargoes across frontiers, and the concealment of goods in unlikely places on ships or cars, in baggage or cargo, or on the person.
smut Disease of cereals, corn, grasses, onion, and sorghum, caused by many species of fungi (see fungus). Spores accumulate in sootlike masses (sori) that form within blisters in seeds, leaves, stems, flower parts, and bulbs. The sori usually break up into a black powder that is readily dis¬ persed by wind. Many smut fungi enter embryos or seedling plants, develop throughout the plant, and appeal* externally only as the plants near maturity. Other smuts are localized, infecting actively growing tissues. Control includes growing resistant varieties in noninfested soil, treating seeds with fungicide, using disease-free transplants, and destroying infected plants or plant parts before the spores are released.
Smuts VsmuitsV Jan (Christian) (b. May 24, 1870, Bovenplaats, near Riebeeck West, Cape Colony—d. Sept. 11, 1950, Irene, near Pretoria, S.Af.) South African statesman, soldier, and prime minister (1919-24, 1939-48). An Afrikaner, Smuts studied law at Cambridge University. Returning to South Africa, he was appointed state attorney in Pretoria by Pres. Paul Kruger in 1897. He fought the British in the South African War and joined with Louis Botha to oppose Alfred Milner’s implementation of the peace terms. By 1905 Smuts was reconciled to British control and sought to keep South Africa within the Commonwealth. In World War I he joined again with Botha to suppress rebellion, conquer South West Africa, and launch a campaign in East Africa. He attended the Versailles peace conference and helped promote the League of Nations. When Botha died, Smuts became prime minister. He was defeated in 1924 by a National Party coalition. In 1933 he helped J.B.M. Hertzog force out the extreme nationalists, and in 1939 he replaced Hertzog as prime minister. Under his leadership South Africa helped prevent Germany and Italy from conquering North Africa. In 1948 he was defeated by Daniel F. Malan’s Nationalists. He ended his life as chancellor of Cambridge University.
Smyrna See izMiR
Smyth, Dame Ethel (Mary) (b. April 22, 1858, London, Eng.—d. May 9, 1944, Woking, Surrey) British composer. Bom into a military family, she studied at the Leipzig Conservatory and was encouraged by Johannes Brahms and Antonin Dvorak. She first gained notice with her sweeping Mass in D (1893). Her best-known work is The Wreckers (1906), the most admired English opera of its time. Her March of the Women (1911) reflected her strong involvement in the woman suffrage movement. Her comic opera The Boatswain’s Mate (1916) enjoyed con¬ siderable success. Her work is notably eclectic, ranging from conventional to experimental. She wrote a multi volume autobiography. Impressions That Remained (1919-40).
Smollett, detail of an oil painting by an unknown artist, about 1770; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Smythe ► Snead I 1773
Smythe \'smlth\, Conn in full Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe (b. Feb. 1, 1895, Toronto, Ont., Can.—d. Nov. 18, 1980, Cale¬ don, Ont.) Canadian ice-hockey player, coach, and executive. He founded the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1927 and made them into a leading hockey club. In 1928 he coached the Canadian hockey team to an Olympic gold medal. Since 1965 the Conn Smythe Trophy has been given annually to the best player in the Stanley Cup play-offs.
snail Any species of gastropod that glides along on a broad tapered foot and has a high coiled shell into which it can withdraw. Snails are found in the ocean, in fresh waters, and on land. Most marine snails have gills in the mantle cavity (see mollusk). Most land and freshwater snails have no gills; they use the mantle cavity itself as a lung. Snails may be either scavengers (of dead plant or animal matter) or predators. Some species are used as food, and the shells of some are used as ornaments. See also LIMPET, PERIWINKLE, SLUG, WHELK.
snail darter Rare species ( Percina tanasi) of darter that originally was found only in the Little Tennessee River in the southeastern U.S. It became the subject of a legal controversy in 1978, when its status as an endan¬ gered species delayed for two years the construction of Tellico Dam. The situation was resolved when the fish was successfully introduced into the Hiwassee River.
snake Any member of about 19 reptile families (suborder Serpentes, order Squamata) that has no limbs, voice, external ears, or eyelids, only one functional lung, and a long, slender body. About 2,900 snake species are known to exist, most living in the tropics. Their skin is covered with scales. They have good eyesight, and they continually taste the surround¬ ing air with their tongues. Though they lack any voice, they are capable of hissing. Most live on the ground, but some are arboreal or aquatic, and some are burrowers. They move by muscular contraction, aided by elon¬ gated scales on their abdomen. They focus 70% of their mostly solitary existence on tracking, capturing, and digesting their living prey. The con¬ struction of their jaws and bodies enables them to swallow large prey whole. Because they are ectotherms (cold-blooded), a single meal can often sustain them for weeks. Mating and laying eggs or bearing live young are brief seasonal activities. About one-tenth of snake species are venomous; some can kill humans with their bite. Others kill their prey by constriction or simply ingesting. Species range from less than 5 in. (12 cm) to over 30 ft (9 m) long. Snakes grow continuously throughout their lives, shedding their outgrown skin at each growth increment. They are found worldwide, but few species are found on islands or in regions with long winters.