SEQUOYAH and the size of the trunk. It is now known that the trees grow with astonishing rapidity when young, but after they have reached their maturity (something over 1,000 years) they SERF 773 Group of Mammoth Trees. make but little growth. The bark, often 15 in. thick, is of a brown or cinnamon color, and the wood is similar to that of the redwood; when oiled and exposed to the light it be- comes of a very deep mahogany color. This species differs from the redwood in its shorter leaves of a light glaucous green, and its larger ovate cones, the scales of which have each a slender prickle. The cultivation of both spe- cies has been tried in the eastern states, but without encouraging success; specimens that gave great promise have one after another succumbed either to severe winters or to mil- dew, and they have both failed entirely, at least north of Virginia. In England they flourish remarkably well, and S. gigantea has made a growth remarkable for any tree, and especially rapid for a conifer, and it will prob- ably prove important for planting in forests. (See CALIFORNIA, vol. iii., p. 606.) SEQUOYAH, an unorganized S. W. county of Kansas, intersected by the Arkansas river; area, 720 sq. m. The surface is elevated, and consists chiefly of rolling prairies. SERAGLIO. See CONSTANTINOPLE. SERAING, a village of Belgium, in the province and 3 m. S. W. of the city of Li6ge, on the right bank of the Meuse; pop. in 1866, 19,414, against 2,000 in 1820. It has mines of iron and coal, and is the seat of the works estab- lished in 1816 by John Cockerill, and now managed by a company, producing locomotives steamboats, and all kinds of machinery SERAMPORE, a town of British India,' in the Hoogly district of Bengal, on the W. bank of the Hoogly 13 m. N. of Calcutta, with which
- is connected by rail; pop. about 15,000. It
extends about a mile along the river, and is well built and clean. Serampore was a colony of Denmark from 1676 to 1845, when it was purchased by the English. The first Baptist mission in Hindostan was established here and here also was published the first native news- paper, printed by the missionaries from 1818 to 1823. The principal industry of Serampore is the manufacture of paper. SERAPIS, or Sarapis, an Egyptian divinity, whose worship prevailed in the reign of the Ptolemies. The name is supposed to be a com- pound of Osiris and Apis, or a conversion of the name Osir Hapi given to the dead Apis. The worship of Apis, but little developed in the time of the Pharaohs, became in another form of primary importance under the Ptole- mies. According to Plutarch and Tacitus, Ptolemy I., warned by a dream, sent to Sinope for a colossal statue, which on its arrival at Alexandria was declared to represent the god Serapis. The temple Serapeum was built at Alexandria for the reception of the statue, and was the last hold of the pagans in that city after the introduction of Christianity. It was a magnificent structure, supported by arches, and divided within into spacious apartments. It was destroyed by the bishop Theophilus, by order of Theodosius, in 389; and "the colos- sal statue of Serapis was involved in the ruin of his temple and religion." Canopus was the seat of a shrine and oracle of Serapis. The worship of Serapis prevailed for a short time in Eome in A. D. 146, under Antoninus Pius, but was soon suppressed on account of its licentious character. At Puteoli (Pozzuoli) there was a Serapeum, the ruins of which were uncovered in 1750, and are regarded as among the most remarkable remains of ancient archi- tecture in Italy. In 1850 Mariette discovered the site of the Serapeum or Apis mausoleum at Memphis. It has now been completely un- earthed. It is divided into three distinct parts ; one served as the burial place of the sacred bulls from Amunoph III. of the 18th dynasty io the end of the 20th dynasty ; another corn- arises the tombs of the Apis until the end of
- he 25th dynasty ; and the third, which is the
jest preserved, those of the time till the later Ptolemies. Nearly 200 sphinxes have been aid bare, and the inscribed tablets which cov- ered the walls, numbering about 500, have been removed to the Louvre. SERAYEVO. See BOSNA-SERAI. SERBATI. See ROSMINT SERBATI. SERF (Lat. servus, a servant or slave), a term lescriptive of the condition of a large portion
