S K E 



S K E 



with black ; the lower part wliite, marked with many fmall 

 black fpots ; the jaws covered with fmall granulated but 

 Iharp-pointed teeth ; the tail is of a moderate length ; near 

 the end are two fins ; along the top of it is one row of 

 fpincR, and on the edges are irregularly difperfed a few 

 others. In the males of this fpecies the fins are full of 

 fpines. Skates generate in March and April, at which time 

 thev fwim near the furface of the water, feveral males pur- 

 fuing one female. The females begin to call their purfes, 

 as the fi(hermen call the bags in which the young are in- 

 cluded, in May, and continue to do it till September. In 

 Oftober they are very poor and thin, but begin to improve 

 in November, and grow gradually better till May, when 

 they are in the higheft perfeftion. The males go fooner 

 out of feafon than the females. Pennant. 

 SKAW, in Geography. See Skagen. 

 SKAWIN, a town of Poland; lo miles S. of Cracow. 

 SKEATTA, or Penny, in the Hijory of Coinage, one 

 of the Heptarchic coins ; the other being thejlyca, which 

 fee. Dr. Combe, by caufing two plates of the ikeattas, or 

 early pennies, to be engraved, brought them into notice. 

 At firlt they had only rude figures of ferpents, &c. but 

 latterly they have legends. Thefe fl^eattas were ftruck in 

 Kent, and the other Heptarchic itates, from the fixth to the 

 eighth century, or from about the year 500 till 700. In 

 598 Kent was converted to Chriftianity, and was followed 

 in half a century by the other kingdoms. Molt of the 

 fkeattai, as appears from their fymbols, were llrnck in the 

 Pagan times. See Modern MeD-ILs and Coins. 



SKEDE, in Geography, a town of Sweden, inSmaland; 

 4s miles S.E. of Jonkioping. 



SKEEL, in jfgrlcullure, provincially a large milking 

 pail, having two handles, formed by two oppoilte ftaves, 

 which rife above the reft. It alfo fignifies a broad flat 

 creaming or milk-diih, whether of lead or Itonc. 

 ' SKEEN, in Geography, a town of Norway, in the pro. 

 vince of Chriliiania ; 38 miles S.W. of Chriftiania. 



SKEETS, in the Sea Language, narrow oblong ladles, 

 or fcoops, for wetting the lails, decks, or fides of a fhip. 



SKEG, in Ship-Btiilding, the after-part of the keel, or 

 that part whereon the itcrn-poit is fixed. 



SKEG-Shores, one or two pieces of foui-inch plank, put 

 tip endways under the fl<eg of the fhip, lo fteaJy the after- 

 part a little, when in the aft of launching. They are con- 

 fined to the bottom of the flip by a hinge. The upper part 

 is rounded, and they flionld be fo carefully fixed as to fall 

 readily when the (hip Harts. Skeg-fhores are better avoided, 

 as they have been the means of preventing ihips from 

 launching. 



Skegs, in Agrieulliire, a fort of oat, fometinies culti- 

 vated as a crop in Nottinghamfliire : the avenaJUpifarmis of 

 Linnxus. It is panicled, the calyces two-flowered, awns 

 twice as long as the feed, culm branchy, and flipeform. 

 They arc a crop moftly cultivated, according to tlie agricul- 

 tural report of the above diilrift, on the worlt land, fome- 

 times on a lea, fometimes after turnips, often taken as 

 a lalt crop. On bad land they may produce about four 

 quarters /ifr acre, which are generally about two-thirds of 

 the price of oats. But they anfwcr to fow on good land, 

 producing fourteen and fifteen quarters /)fr acre. The ker- 

 nel is reckoned remarkably fweet and good food for horfes. 

 They are fometimes threflicd, fometimes cut and nfed in 

 the ftraw. And they are chiefly grown about C^irberton, 

 and will grow where nothing elfe will. In rcgiird to the 

 quantity of feed per acre, eight llrikes are faid to be fown, 

 and yield a crop double that of other oatf, in quantity ; 



but not more than equal in weight. They will grow in the 

 poorell land, and are reckoned very fweet food. They are 

 feldom brought to market ; but efteemed by farmers for 

 their own ufe, and are often given in the draw by them. 



It is Hated by Mr. Neville in the fame Report, in a letter 

 to fir R. Sutton, that flcegs are remarkably good for horfes, 

 in the ftraw, or threflied, and m the rtravv remarkably fo 

 for cows. Straw beafts are alfo very fond of the itraw. 

 He can get taking >ip weak land from the fwarth, from 

 four to fix quarters an acre. On the fame land he flioidd 

 not have been able to get, perhaps, above three facks of 

 black, red Fricfland, or what is called (hort fmall, or any 

 other kind of corn. If land is in the ftate in which all our 

 bad land will be, more or lefs, after the feeds are quite run 

 out, and as is frequently the cafe, when you cannot con- 

 veniently put it again into tillage fo foon as you could wifh, 

 from either the too great quantity you may have to improve, 

 or other circumltances ; if in this Hate it were to be taken 

 up with turnips, the molt eligible way, it would be often 

 impofTible to provide manure upon the J\irm for any quantity 

 of land fufficient for the purpoie ; which makes flcegs a very 

 deCrable crop, and which, for that reafon alone, he finds 

 a great acquifition, and feels a pleafure in having been the 

 firlt to introduce them into this country. 



How far this crop may be capable of being grown in 

 other diftrifts as the food of live-Hock, in the green Hate, 

 mult depend upon the trial. 



SKEILAY IsLK, in Geography, a fmall ifland of the 

 Hebrides, is fituated near the wellern entrance of the fouud 

 of Harris. It is comprehended in the parifh of Harris and 

 /hire of Invernefs. 



SKELBOO, a town of Norway, on the Glanmen ; 12 

 miles N.E. of Frederickftadt. 



SKELDNESS, a cape of Scotland, on the S.W. 

 coaH of the ifland of Shetland. N. lat. 60'^ 12'. W. long. 



SKELEFTEA, a town of Sweden, in WcH Bothnia, 

 on a river of the fame name ; 40 miles S. of Pitea. 



Skelefte.v, a river of Swedifh Lapland, which rifes on 

 the borders of Norway, and runs into the 'jfAi of Bothnia, 

 S.E. of Pitea. 



SKELETON, in Anatomy, from c^xtW.i', to dry, is tlie 

 ademblage and combination of all the bones in the body, ex- 

 cepting the OS hyoides ; it conilitutes the bafis or ground- 

 work of the animal frame, being the point of lupport and 

 union for all the other organs. Its component parts form a 

 ferics of levers, of which the mufcles are the moving 

 powers : thus the Ikeleton comprehends one divifion of the 

 moving organs. Its conflituent pieces in fome cafes form 

 cavities, as thole of the head, chelt, and pelvi.-;, which con- 

 tain the important internal organs, and prolcft them from 

 external force. 



The coiuieftions of the different pieces of the fl<eIeton are 

 called joints, and differ very confiderably from each other ; 

 fome of them admitting no motion, lonie an inconliderable 

 motion; and others allowing them to move freely, either in 

 certain directions, or in every way. The word Jhelettn, 

 denoting the bony fabric in its united Hate, of coiirfe in- 

 cludes the joints or media of luiion ; and in this rclpetl we 

 diltinguiftj two kinds ot (keletons. A natural Ikeleton is 

 that in which the bones are all joined by their natural con- 

 nections ; that is, thi- articular ends are covered by their 

 cartil.iginous Hrata, lied tugcther by ligaments, and enve- 

 loped by fynovi.ll membranes : in this fenic the flu-leton in- 

 cludes, befides the bony lyftem, the acccflbry flrufturcs of 

 cartilage, ligament, and fynovial membranes. When all 



the 



