BID 



660 



BIG 



SHROUDS (of a ship). A range of large 

 ropes, extending from the head of a mast 

 to the right and left side of the ship, to 

 support the mast; as the main shroitds, 

 fore shrouds, mizen shrouds. There are 

 also futtock shrouds, bowsprit , shrouds, &c. 

 SHROVE-TIDE, ) Confession time ; 

 SHROVE-TUES'DAT. ] ConfessionTuesday: 

 the Tuesday after Quinquagesima Sunday, 

 or the day immediately preceding the 

 first of Lent or Ash-Wednesday, on which 

 day Roman Catholics make confession of 

 their sins; after which they dine on pan- 

 cakes and fritters, during the ringing of 

 the pancake-bell. Much of the latter part 

 of the duties are still kept up in England. 

 The term shrove is the preterite of shrive, 

 to confess. 



SHRUB. 1. In botany, a plant with a 

 permanent woody stem, hut of a more 

 humble and slender growth than a tree. 



2. A liquor consisting of acid fruits, 



sugar, and various substances to give 

 flavour, digested in rum or brandy. 



SH-WAN PAN. The calculating instru- 

 ment of the Chinese. 



SHCT'TLB. In weaving, the instrument 

 with which the woof or weft is thrown 

 through the open lease or shot of the 

 warp before the reed. There are many 

 varieties of shuttles as to size, but only 

 two marked by different kinds : the hand- 

 shuttle which has no wheels to run upon, 

 and is thrown directly by the hand, and 

 ihejly- shuttle, which has two cylindrical 



TLY-SHUTTLE. 



wheels to run upon, and is thrown by 

 means of an apparatus attached to the 

 ends of the lathe. The figure shows the 

 under side of the fly-shuttle. 



Si. In music, the seventh sound. 



SIB'BENS. Sivvens. A disease which is 

 endemic in some of the western counties 

 of Scotland. It strikingly resembles yaws 

 in many respects. 



SIB'ERITE. Rubellite or red tourmaline. 



SIB'TIXIN E BOOKS. Documents supposed 

 to contain the fate of the Roman Empire. 



SIB'YLS. In antiquity, certain women 

 supposed to be endowed with the gift of 

 prophecy. They resided in various parts 

 of Persia, Greece, and Italy. 



SIDE' LING GROUND. A line of country 

 whose cross-section is inclined or sloping. 



SIDE-POSTS. In carpentry, a kind of 

 truss-posts placed in pairs, each disposed 

 at the same distance from the middle of 

 the truvi for the purpose of supporting 



the principal rafters, braces, crown, and 

 camber-beams, as well as for hanging the 

 tie-beam below. 



SIDE'REAL DAT. The period in which 

 any fixed star apparently completes a re- 

 volution, and comes to the same point in 

 the heavens, which is 23 hours, 56 min., 

 4'6 sec. Sideralis, from sidus, a star. 



SID'ERITE, Lat. siderites, from tri$v,gos t 

 iron. An old name for the loadstone. 



SID'ERITES. Iron -wort. A genus of 

 plants. Didynamia Gymnosperniia. Name 

 from ffibr^ci;, iron, being supposed effica- 

 cious in healing wounds made by iron 

 weapons. Warm and temperate climates. 



SIDEROG'RAPHY, from triS-r^of, iron, and 

 y^afea, to write. The art or practice of 

 engraving on steel. 



SID'EROSCOPE, from trt^r^os, iron, and 

 ffzoxtu, to view. An apparatus proposed 

 by the French chemists, for detecting 

 iron in minute quantities in any substance. 



SIDE-TIM'BERS, i Among builders, other 



SIDE-WA'VERS. ) names for purlins. 



SI'DING. Passing place or Turn-out. A 

 short length of additional tractway on 

 railroads, laid by the side of a line of rails, 

 and connected therewith at each extre- 

 mity by suitable curves ; the rails being 

 constructed and disposed in such a man- 

 ner that the carriages can either proceed 

 along the main line or turn into the sid- 

 ing, as may be required. 



SI'ENITE, ) A granular aggregated com- 



SY'ENITE. } pound rock, named from 

 Siena or Syene, a town in Egypt, near 

 which it was extensively quarried by the 

 Romans for architectural purposes. It 

 consists essentially of felspar and horn- 

 blende, with sometimes quartz and mica 

 in small quantity. The colour of sienite 

 is usually gray., of different shades. 



SIER'RA. A word meaning a saw, intro- 

 duced into geography by the Spaniards to 

 designate a ridge of mountains or craggy 

 rocks. 



SIES'TA (Span.). In hot countries, the 

 practice of resting two or three hours in 

 the middle of the day. 



SIGHT. In the arts, an aperture, or 

 point, fixed to guide the eye in making 

 an observation ; as the sights of a qua- 

 drant, theodolite, circumferentor, &c. 



SIGILLA'RIA. The name given by Bron- 

 gniart to certain large and extinct forms 

 of vegetation discovered in the coal mea- 

 sures, from sigillum, on account of the pe- 

 culiar impressions on the stems, like seals. 

 About fifty species are already described. 



SIG'MOID, from the Greek letter 2, 

 sigma, and uSos, likeness. Resembling 

 the Greek letter sigma. Applied, in ana- 

 tomy, to several parts on account of their 

 forms. 



SIGN. In astronomy, a constellation con- 



