SEA 



648 



SEA 



axd with a lid to cover it ; also a like 

 hole in the side of a ship, and through the 



coverings of her hatchways, &c. 3. To 



tcuttle a ship is to sink it by cutting 

 scuttles or holes in the bottom to admit 

 the water. 



SCUT'TLE-BCTT, \ A butt or cask having 



SCUT'TLE-CASK. ] a square piece cut out 

 of its bilge, and lashed upon the deck of a 

 ship : its use is to hold fresh water. 



SCC'TCM SOBIES'KI. Sobieski's shield. 

 A constellation formed by Hevelius; 7 

 stars. 



SCYL'LA. A rock opposite to the whirl- 

 pool Charybdis. It was reckoned very 

 formidable among the ancient mariners, 

 but has few terrors for modern sailors. 



SCTPH'IFORM, Lat. scyphiformis, goblet- 

 shaped. Applied to the fructification of 

 some lichens. 



SCY'PHCS, g-xuQos, a cup. The cup of a 

 narcissus ; in lichens, a dilatation of the 

 podetium. 



SCYTHE. In agriculture, an instrument 

 for mowing. It consists of a thin bent 

 steel blade, of about 3i feet in length, 

 joined nearly at right angles to a sued, 6 

 or 8 feet long, on which are two handles 

 by which the mower wields the in- 

 strument. 



SCYTODEP'SIC, Gr. irxuroof^nxos , from 

 ffxvrobf^iv, to tan; fxuros, a hide, and 

 Si-^ui, to soften. Appertaining to the 

 business of a tanner. S. principle, tan- 

 nin ; S. acid, gallic acid. 



SEA, Sax. ste. 1. In geography, a large 

 body of water, nearly inclosed by land, 

 as the Mediterranean. Seas are properly 

 branches of the ocean, and upon the level 

 of the ocean ; lakes are large bodies of 

 water inland, situated above the level of 

 the ocean ; (2.) The term sea in the plural, 

 teas, is often used as a general name for 

 the ocean, as " on the high seas," mean- 

 ingin the open ocean, the highway of 

 nations ; (3.) Sea among seamen is often 

 employed to denote a billow, as, " the 

 vessel'shipped a sea," and also the swell 

 of the ocan in a tempest, or the direc- 

 tion of the waves, as, "the ship was 

 logged with a strong sea a-head." 



SEA-ADDER. A fish, the fifteen-spined 

 stickleback (Gasterosteus spinachia, Cuv.) 



SEA-ANZM'ONY. The animal flower. 



SEA-BELTS. The sweet fucus (Fucus 

 saccharinus), which grows upon stones 

 and rocks by the sea-shore, is so called 

 from the resemblance of its leaves to a 

 belt or girdle. 



SEA-BOAT. A term applied (with the 

 epithet good or bad] to a vessel, as respects 

 her qualities in bad weather. 



SEA-BREAM. Red Gilthead. A fish; the 

 Ragellus centrodontus, Cur. Yarr. Its 

 length about 15 inches. Found plentifully 

 in the Hediter 



SEA-CABBAGE, \ An indigenous peren- 



SEA-COLEWORT. ) nial plant, the Crambt 

 tnaritima. 



SEA-CALF. The common seal. ThePAocw 

 vitulina, Lin. 



SEA-CHART. A marine map, on which 

 the line of the shore, isles, shoals, har- 

 bours, &c., are delineated. The term is 

 unnecessary, as we mow use the word 

 chart for a representation of the sea-coast, 

 soundings, &c., and map for a represen- 

 tation of the land. 



SEA-COW. 1. A mammiferous animal, 

 the Trichecus rosmarus, Lin., which in- 

 habits the Arctic seas and attains a 

 length of 20 feet. It is sought after for 



its oil and tusks. 2. A name common 



to the dugong, called also siren, maid of 

 the sea, &c. , and the manati (the laman- 

 tins of the French), called also mermaids, 

 tritons, &c. See MANATUS and HALICORE. 



SEA-COR'MORANT. The great black- 

 backed gull: (Larus marinus, Lin.). The 

 name is also applied to the common gull 

 (L. cyanorhynchus, Meyer], and the sea- 

 crow (L. glaucus, Lin.). 



SEA-DEVIL. Devil-fish or fishing-frog. 

 The Lophius piscatorius, Lin. Cuv. Yarr., 

 called also toad fish, wide- gape, mirring, 

 and angler, by Pennant. This fish attains 

 a length of 5 feet, but it is rarely caught 

 of that size : average length 2j to 3 feet. 

 It bears a close resemblance to a frog in 

 the tadpole state ; and the long filaments 

 on the upper and anterior part of the 

 head, with which it seizes its prey, have 

 procured it some of the names which it 

 bears: while its ugliness and voracity 

 have procured it some others. It is found 

 in all the seas of Europe, and is particu- 

 larly common round the British coasts. 



Its flesh is reckoned good. 2 The name 



sea-devil is also given in the West Indies 

 to a colossal ray or skate, 15 feet in length 

 exclusive of the tail. 



SEA-EEL. The conger-eel. 



SEA-GRASS. An aquatic species of rup- 

 pia, which grows chiefly on the sea- 

 shores. 



SEA-GULL. A name common to several 

 species of the gull. See LARCS. 



SEA-HARE. A name common to tho 

 species of the gasteropods of the genus 

 Aptysia, Lin., but denotes particularly the 

 A.fasciata, Lin., and A. punctata, Cuv., 

 common in the European seas. See AP- 



LYS1A. 



SEA-HORSE. 1. A fish, the Syngnathus 

 hippocampus, Lin. 2. A name some- 

 times given to the Hippopotamus, or 

 River-horse, and the Walrus, or Morse. 



SEAL. 1. In zoology, the common name, 

 or the species of the genus Phoca, ; Lin., 

 all of wnich are amphibious animals. 

 The best known are the common Seal, or 

 Phoca vitulina, Lin., very common in 

 Europe ; the Monk, or PA. monachuf.Uw. 



