SEA 



SEA 



folved. The next evening, the whole furface of the arti- 

 liciil fea-water was luminous without being llirred, but 

 gave much more light when it was dilturbcd, and exhi- 

 bited the fame appearances with the real fea-water in the 

 preceding experimetit ; while the other water, which was 

 almolt as fait as it could be made, never gave any light. 

 The herring which was taken out of it the feventh night, and 

 walhed from its fait, was found firm and fweet ; but the 

 other herring wsi very foft and putrid, much more fo than 

 that which had been kept as long in frefli water. If a 

 herring, in warm weather, be put into ten gallons of arti- 

 ficial fea-water, inftead of one, the water, Mr. Canton fays, 

 will fliU become luminous, but its light will not be fo 

 (trong. 



Thefe experiments confirm an obfcrvation of fir John 

 Pringle, that the quantity of fait contained in fea-water 

 liaftens putrefadlion ; but fince that precife quantity of fait 

 which promotes putrefaftion the mod, is icfs than that 

 which IS found in fea-water, it is probable, Mr. Canton 

 obferves, that if the fea were lefs fait, it would be more 

 luminous. See Putrefaction. 



Mr. Canton obfervcd, as Mr. Ant. Martin Swed. Ab- 

 hand. vol. xxxiii. p. 225. had done, that feveral kinds of 

 river-fifh could not be made to give light, in the fame cir- 

 cunillances in which any fea-fi(h became luminous. He 

 fays, however, that a piece of carp made the water very 

 luminous, though the outfide, or fcaly part of it, did 

 not fliine at all. See this fubjeft farther difcuffed under 

 the article Exhibition 0/ L,]GHT/rom Living Animals. 



Sea, Perils of the, in Marine Infurance, denote, in a large 

 fenfe, all the accidents or misfortunes to which perfons 

 engaged in maritime adventures are expofed ; but it has 

 been found convenient to dilUnguifh the loiles to which 

 Ihips and goods at fea are liable, by the " immediate caufes" 

 to which they may be afcribed. Accordingly the perils of 

 the fea mean only fuch accidents or misfortunes as proceed 

 from mere fea-damage, that is, fuch as arife from Itrefs of 

 weather, winds, and waves, from lightning and tempells, 

 from rocks and fands, &c. A lofs by the perils of the 

 fea may therefore happen, ift, by the fliip's foundernig at 

 fea, in which cafe it mull generally be total ; or, 2dly, by 

 ftranding, which is either accidental, in confequence of the 

 (hip's being driven on (hore by the winds and waves, or 

 voluntary, where flie is run adiore either to prevent a worfe 

 fate, or for fome fraudulent purpofe : this Itranding may be 

 followed by (hipwreck, which occafions a total lofs, and if 

 the fhip be got off in a condition to profecute her voyage, 

 the damage fuftained and the expences incurred will incur 

 only a partial lofs of the nature of a general average ; or, 

 gdly, by the fhip's ftriking againft a funken rock, or fome- 

 thing elfe under water, which may occafion tiie fpringing 

 of a leak, or abfolute (hipwreck. If a fliip be not heard 

 of within a rcafonable time, (he (hall be prefumed to have 

 foundered at fea. In fome countries there is a limitation 

 of time for this prefumption ; thus in Spain, if a fliip has 

 not been heard of for fix years from her departure on a 

 voyage to or from tlie Indies, (he is deemed loll ; but in 

 France, after a year from the fliip's failing, in common 

 voyages, and two years in ilijlant voyages, the infured may 

 abandon and demand payment, without other proof of lofs. 

 In England there is no fuch limitation of time. When an 

 interval, thought to be rcafonable by thofe who are con- 

 verfant in maritime aftairs, has elapfod, a liberal under- 

 writer will pay his lofs ; and if there be any ground for 

 doubt, he may either demand fccurily from the infured to 

 refund the money, in cafe the (liip (hould afterwards arrive 

 fafe, or he may trull to his remedy by aftion, f )r recovering 



Vol. XXXII. 



it back. If a (hip be driven by ftrefs of weather on an 

 enemy's coaft, and be there captured, this is a lofs by 

 capture and not by perils of the fea, for which the infured 

 may recover upon a policy againll capture only ; and yet 

 it has been holden, that capture is a lofs by the perils of 

 the fea, as much as if it were occafioned by (hipwreck or 

 tempeft. If (laves be thrown overboard, on account of a 

 fcarcity of water, occafioned by the captain's miftaking hie 

 courfc ; this is not a lois by the perils of the fea. The 

 cafe is the fame, if the (laves die for want of food, occafioned 

 by the extraordinary length of the voyage. And if a (hip 

 be deftroyed by worms, the lofs is not attributable to perils 

 of the fea. As to the cafe of throwing (laves overboard in 

 order to h'ghtcn a (liip and preferve it in a dorm, the prac- 

 tice h.is been judly reprobated by ferjeant Mardiall. Every 

 thing on board, hovvever precious, as he humanely and 

 rationally obferves, (hould be thrown into the fea fooner 

 than the mcaneft flave. PuffendorflF alfo maintains, that 

 whoever, under pretence of faving the (hip, Iball throw men 

 into the fea, wliether they be freemen or (laves, and whether 

 it be done by or without lot, is guilty of homicide ; for no 

 man, in order to fave his own life, has a right to take auay 

 the life of any other human being, who does not attack 

 him. 



If, by fome extraordinary accident, as the violence of the 

 winds or waves, it becomes necelTary to flip a cable, or a 

 cable be broke, and an anchor loft, or a fail or ykrd be 

 carried away, this is a lofs by the perils of the fea within 

 the policy. Alio, if animals be infured, their death, oc- 

 cafioned by tempefts, by the (liot of an enemy, by jettifon 

 in a ftorm, or by any other extraordinary accident, is a lofs 

 within the policy ; but it is otherwife if their death be 

 owing to difeafe. The injury occafioned by one (hip's run- 

 ning foul of anotlier at fea, is a lofs within the policy, unlefs 

 it be imputable to the mifconducl of the mailer or marineri 

 of the (hip infured. In fuch cafe, however, this mifconduA 

 would, as ferjeant Marfiiall conceives, amount to barratry, 

 and the infurer would be liable for the lofs ; but an aftion 

 would lie againft the mafter of either (hip, to whom the 

 mifconduft is imputable, for the lofs which he has occafioned. 

 A lofs occafioned by .Tn accidental fire, not imputable to 

 the fault of the mafter or mariners, is a lofs within the 

 policy ; and in many places the infurer is held to be liable, 

 even when the fire happens by the fault of the mailer or 

 mariners ; but in France the infurer ifi not lield anfwerablc 

 in fuch cafe, unlefs, by the policy, he be liable for barratry. 

 For every lofs occafioned by capture, whether lawful or un- 

 lawful, and whether by friends or enemies, the infurer ii 

 liable. Mar{hall on Infurance, vol. ii. See Recai'TURe, 

 Ri.sk, and SALVA(iK. 



SiiA-Atirlcr, in Ichthyology, an Engli(h name for a fea-fi(h 

 of the acus kind, called by Willugliby the acut lumbr'uiformit. 

 See AcL's and Syngnatihs. 



It is a fiiiall fifti of a cylindnc (liapc, without fcales, and 

 of a greeni(h-brown colour, with fome admixture of > 

 reddifli-yellow. 



Their fnout is long and hollow, and the mouth openi 

 upwards at its end ; the eyes are fmall, and their irii red 5 

 the gills are four on each fide, but are covered by a mem- 

 brane, and the whole body divided into rings like the 

 common earth-worm : it is ulu.iUy about three or four inches 

 long, and of the thicknefa of a goofe-quill ; it has but one 

 fin, whicii is fituated on the back. The anus is much nearer 

 the liead than the tail, and under the fnout there ii alwayf 

 a fle(hy tubercle. 



The fifli 18 common on the coall of Cornwall. Willughby. 



Sz\'Army. See Naval AuM V . 



R Sra- 



