SHE 



SHI 



the blades is fixed and the other move- 

 able, used in cutting iron plate, &e. 2. 



An instrument for raising weights. See 

 SHEERS. 



SHEAR'WATER. A name of two birds. 

 1. The Procellaria ptiffinitt, Lin., found on 

 the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. 

 2. The Larus niger, Lin., or black gull. 



SHEATH. In botany, a name applied to 

 a petiole, embracing the branch from 

 which it springs, or to a rudimentary leaf 

 which wraps roand the stem. 



SHEATH'ING. In ship-building, a sort of 

 covering nailed all over the outside of a 

 ship's bottom, to protect the planks from 

 the ravages of worms. Formerly, this 

 sheathing consisted only of boards, tarred 

 and payed over, but now copper is re- 

 sorted to, not merely as a substitute, but 

 as an additional covering. 



SHEAVE. 1. The wheel contained in 



pulley-blocks. 2. A name given on 



railways worked by fixed engines to the 

 friction-rollers or pulleys on which the 

 rope is borne up. 



SHEER. 1. In nautical language, the lon- 

 gitudinal curve or bend of a ship's deck 



or sides. 2. The position in which a 



ship is sometimes kept at single anchor, to 

 keep her clear of it. To break sheer is to 

 deviate from that position and risk foul- 

 ing the anchor. 



SHEER-DRAUGHT. In naval architecture, 

 the side view or projection on the plane 

 of the keel, on which are laid off the 

 heights and length of the parts of the 

 keel, the position and rake of the stem 

 and sternpost.the principal timbers of the 

 sides, the posts, decks, channels, place of 

 greatest breadth of midship frame, sta- 

 tions of masts, &c. 



SHEER HCLK. In the navy, an old 74 

 cut down to the lower deck, and fitted 

 up with a pair of sheers for the purpose 

 of taking out the lower masts of ships 

 preparing for sea. 



SHEERS. A contrivance consisting in the 

 erection of 

 two long spars 

 or pieces of 

 timber, fas- 

 tened toge- 

 ther near the 

 top, so as to 

 cross each 

 other at their ^_ 

 upper ends, 1 "" ' Tl 



and have their lower ends far apart : from 

 the upper end a tack depends for raising 

 weights. When sheers are employed on 

 land, three spars are usually set up. 



SHEET. In nautical language, a rope 

 fastened to one or both the lower corners 

 of a sail, to extend and retain it in its 

 proper situation. 



SHEET- AX'CHOK. The largest anchor of 

 ithip. 



SHEET'INQ. A description of linen fit 

 for making bed sheets of. 



SHEET-PI'LINO. Piles are sometimes 

 driven in close rows, to form the faces of 

 wharfs, banks of rivers, piers for the sea, 

 to protect foundation walls from the 

 effects of water ; also in the construction 

 of cotfer-dams, sluices, &c., this is called 

 sheet -piling, and when the piles consist of 

 planks, it is termed pile-planking. The 

 piles are sometimes mortised into each 

 other by dove-tail joints. 



SHEIK (Arab.) A title of dignity be- 

 longing to the chiefs of Arabian tribes. 



SHE'KEL. An ancient Jewish silver 

 coin, equal to four Attic drachms, in value 

 about 2*. Gd. A shekel of gold was worth 

 36s. 6d. 



SHEL'DRAKE. An aquatic fowl, the 

 Anas tadorna, Lin., originally from South 

 America, where it perches on trees. 



SHELL. l.The hard covering or external 

 skeleton of testaceous and crustaceous 

 animals, and of some insects. The shells 

 of the testaceous mollusca consist chiefly 

 of carbonate of lime and animal matter ; 

 those of the crustaceans of a mixture of 

 carbonate and phosphate of lime with 



animal matter. 2. In gunnery, a hollow 



cast-iron ball; it is filled with powder 

 and thrown out of mortars, &c. ; a fusee 

 fixed firmly into a hole in the shell be;ng 

 kindled by the discharge of the gun. 

 This fusee is made of such length, that it 

 will have burned to the powder by the 

 time the shell has reached its destination 

 and explode it, the fragments dealing 

 death and destruction around. 



SHELL-MARL. A deposit of calcareous 

 earth and clay containing shells. 



SHEL'TIE. Shetland Pony. A small 

 variety of the horse, produced in Shet- 

 land. 



SHEMIT'IC LAN'GUAGES. The Chaldee, 

 Syriac, Hebrew, Samaritan, Ethiopic, 

 and old Phoenician all sprung from the 

 same stock. 



SHERAR'DIA. The Field Madder: a 

 genus of annual plants. Tetrandria 

 Monogynia. The corn-field madder is 

 common in Britain ; the wall-field mad- 

 der is peculiar to the Italian Alps. 



SHERBET', Arab. shardba,to drink. A 

 cooling summer drink, prepared from the 

 juice of fruits and water, variously 

 sweetened and flavoured. Sherbets are 

 much used in India and other hot 

 countries. 



SHER'IFF, Sax. scir-gerefa, from scyre, 

 a shire, and gerefa, a reeve, count, stew- 

 ard, or bailiff, shire-reeve. An oflicer In 

 each county, to whom is entrusted the 

 execution of the laws. 



SHER'RT, \ A species of wine, so called 

 SHER'RIS. } from Xeres in Spain, where 

 it is made. 



SHIELD. In heraldry, the escutcheon, 



