SEALED ORDERS 



SEA-PIKE 



281 



males up to six or seven years of age, called 

 ' holluschickie,' are killed. Tliese young males 

 are not allowed by the older mule* to breed, 

 and they haul up on shore occasionally apart 

 from the breeding -grounds. The native servants 

 of the company drive them from the sea to 

 killing-grounds near their villages, and slaughter 

 them by blows on the head with clubs. The 

 pelagic ' sealers have of course a different method. 

 The Indian hunters leave the schooners in boats, 

 and paddle up to the seals as they sleep at tin- 

 surface of the sea, and spear them. The barb of 

 the spear is loose, and attached to a line, so that 

 the seal cannot escape or be lost : if the animal is 

 not killed by the spear, he is hauled in when 

 exhausted, and clubbed on the head. This mode 

 of hunting is, as liefore mentioned, carried on off 

 the coasts of Washington and British Columbia 

 and northward* to Behring Sea. 



Sealed Orders, in the Navy, are orders which 

 are delivered to the commanding officer of a ship or 

 squadron sealed up and only to be opened after 

 the ship or squadron has put to sea, and pro- 

 ceeded to a certain point previously designated. 

 When it is considered necessary to despatch a ship 

 or squadron on any secret service, in order to pre- 

 vent the destination and the object of the expe- 

 dition becoming known the commanding officer is 

 Bent to sea under sealed orders. These orders may 

 be sent direct from the Admiralty, or mav be given 

 by any senior officer. The officer who has to act 

 under them is generally directed to proceed a cer- 

 tain distance out to sea, or to a certain latitude 

 and longitude, before he breaks the seal and 

 acquaints himself with the orders in question ; he 

 himself equally with others under his commnnd thus 

 putting to sea in ignorance of his destination or the 

 nature of the service to be performed. 



Sea-lemon. See DORIS. 



Sealing-wax. Before the composition of 

 ordinary sealing-wax was known in Europe 

 coloured beeswax was used for scaling letters and 

 for attaching the impressions of seals to docu- 

 ments. Sealing-wax with LAC (q.v.) as the prin- 

 cipal ingredient was probably (irst made in India 

 or China, since it is only in these ami ni-ighlMiuriiig 

 countries that the lac insect is found. Bcckmann 

 states that the use of scaling wax made of lac was 

 apparently very common among the Portuguese 

 about the middle of the Kith century. The best 

 red sealing-wax consists of shellac from 5 to 6 

 parts, Venice turpentine 3 to 4 parts, vermilion 

 3 to 4 parts, to which is frequently added 

 1J part of magnesia, chalk, or gypsum, or a 

 mixture of some of these. Inferior but still 

 fairly good kinds have a considerably less amount 

 of shellac and vermilion in their composi- 

 tion. Parcel-wax is made of shellac 3 parts, 

 common resin 7 part-*, turpentine 5J parts, chalk 

 and gypsum together .'U parts, and either vermilion 

 3 parts, or red-lead 8 parts. Bottle-wax is often 

 made of pine resin, turpentine, chalk, and some 

 colouring matter ; but it is very brittle unless about 

 10 per cent, of shellac is added. 



In making sealing-wax the shellac and other 

 materials are carefully melted in metal pans, and 

 quickly stirred to prevent heavy colouring matter 

 such as vermilion from falling to the bottom. The 

 melted sealing-wax is then poured into metal 

 moulds to form it into sticks, which are removed 

 when cold. IJv one method the sticks are polished 

 by spreading them on a table and passing a red-hot 

 bar of iron over them. Another way is to hold 

 them into a stove, and in either case till the 

 surface just liegins to melt. Sealing-wax is 

 made in various colours, the finer qualities, 

 however, being most largely in red. White, 



>y 



of bismuth, but a special kind of white-lead 

 is now employed. Black is made by the addi- 

 tion of lampblack or vine-black to the other 

 materials. For brown, umber is added ; for blue, 

 artificial ultramarine or Berlin blue ; for green, 

 Berlin blue and chrome-yellow ; for yellow, either 

 chrome-yellow (which will not stand a high heat) 

 or ochre. For common wax some cheaper colouring 

 materials are used, such as baryta for a white. 

 Aniline colours have been tried for sealing-wax with 

 some promise of success. 



Sea-lion. See SEAL. 



Seal Islands, a name for Lobos Islands (q.v.). 



Sealkote. See SIALKOT. 



Sea-margins. See BEACHES. 



Sea-mat (Flustra), a very common genus of 

 Polyzoa (q.v.), various species of which are among 

 the commonest objects in the wrack of the sea- 

 shore. The colonies are somewhat seaweed-like, 

 but all over the flat leaf-like growth may be seen 

 the minute chambers in which the individuals 

 lived. The texture is horny, whence another com- 

 mon name hornwrack. Those found on shore are 

 usually dead, having been torn from their natural 

 moorings on rocks, seaweed, or marine animals. 

 Fresh sjiecimens have a characteristic musky odour. 



Seamen are technically those persons, below 

 the rank of officer, who are employed in navigating 

 decked vessels on the high seas. See CREW, 

 CRIMP, DESERTION, NAVY. 



Sea-mew. See GULL. 



Sea-IIIOUSe (Ajthrodite), a genus of Chwtopod 

 worms, well represented by A. aculeata, the com- 

 mon British species. This 

 worm has a compact oval 

 liody, 4 to 6 inches in 

 length by 1 to 2 in breadth, 

 and is thickly covered with 

 silky hairs, whose structure 

 is such as to produce bril- 

 liant iridescence. Along 

 the l>ack these hairs form 

 a matted feltwork, protect- 

 ing a double row of Hat 

 plates, in part respiratory. 

 The ventral appendages, by 

 means of which the sea- 

 mouse creeps along the 

 floor of the sea, bear 

 bundles of very strong 

 bristles. The head bears 

 tentacles and eyes. In- 

 ternallv the animal is re- 

 markable on account of 

 the very much branched 

 character of the gut. The 

 home of the sea-mouse is 



at the bottom of fairly deep water, but storms often 

 throw them ashore. 



Sea-nettle. See ACALEPH.E. 



Sea-owl, a name for the Lunipsncker (q.v.y, 



Sea-pen, a name sometimes applied to Penna- 

 tula (q.v.), sometimes to the chitinoiis, quill-like 

 structure which lies along the posterior surface of 

 the squid and some related cuttle-fish. 



Sea-pie. See OYSTER-CATCHER. 



Sea-pike ( Centroponm* itndecimalis), an edible 

 American fish, occurring on the Florida and 

 Texas coasts. The genus includes several some- 

 what pike-like fishes, at home in the warm 

 American seas, though often thriving in fresh 

 water. In reality they are allied to the perches, 

 not to the pikes. On 'British coasts the term sea- 

 pike is sometimes applied to the garfish or Belone. 



Sea-mouse 

 (Aphrodite aculeata). 



