SKY 



fowl, as teal, &e. and it is alfo faid to prey on ducks, poul- 

 try, and even young lambs ; it has all the fiercenefs of the 

 eagle in defending its young ; when the inhabitants of the 

 Ferro iflands vifit the nell, it attacks them with great 

 force, fo that they hold a knife ereft over their heads, on 

 which the flcua will transfix itfelf in its fall on the invaders. 

 In Foula it is a privileged bird, becaufe it defends the 

 flocks from the eagle, which it beats and pierces with great 

 fury ; and the natives impofe a fine on any perfon who de- 

 ftroys one of thefe bird*!. Pennant. 



SKUFE, in Agriculture, provincially a precipice or de- 

 clivity. 



SKULA, in Geography, a mountain of Sweden, in An- 

 germanland j lo miles N. of Hernofand. 



SKULL, in Anatomy. See Cranium. 



Skull, Injuries of the, l^c. See Injuries of the Head. 



SKULL-Cap, in Botany. See Scutellaria. 



SKVLL-Cap, Blue, in Agriculture, the common name of 

 a weed which is often found troublefome on wet boggy 

 grounds, or near the fides of ponds. It is perennial in its 

 growth, and of courfe more difficult in its removal from 

 land. There is alfo a lefler fort, which has the fame nature 

 and habits of growth. They fhould both be eradicated from 

 out of the land as much as pofTible. 



SKUNK, in Zoology. See American PoLE-Cal. 



SKUOE, in Geography. See ScuOE. 



SKUPOPING, a lake of North Carolina. N. lat. 35°4c'. 

 W. long. 7 e'^ 42'. 



SKUPPERNONG, a river of North Carolina, which 

 communicates by means of a canal with the lake in Difmal 

 Swamp. 



SKURUP, a town of Sweden, in Schonen ; 16 miles 

 S.E. of Lund. 



SKUSCH, a town of Bohemia, in the circle of Chru- 

 dim ; 8 miles S.E. sf Chrudim. 



SKUTERAD, a town of Norway, in Aggerhuus ; 22 

 miles W. of Chriftiania. 



SKUTTOCK Hills, five eminences in Hancock 

 county, on the coaft of Maine, that ferve as landmarks for 

 failing into Gouldfborough harbour. 



SKWERNIOW, a town of Bohemia, in the circle of 

 Kaurzim ; 6 miles S. of Kanrzim. 



SKWORETZ, a town of Bohemia, in the circle of 

 Kaurzim ; 12 miles W.N.W. of Kaurzim. 



SKY, the blue cxpanfe of air or atmofphere. 



The azure colour of the (ky fir Ifaac Newton attributes 

 to vapours beginning to condenfe therein, which have got 

 confidence enough to refleft the moll rcflcxiblc rays, viz. 

 the violent ones ; but not enough to refleft any of the Icfs 

 reflexible ones. 



M. dc la Hire attributes it to our viewing a black object, 

 I'iz. tlie dark fpace beyond the regions of the atmofphere, 

 through a white or lucid one, viz. the air illumined by the 

 fun ; a mixture of black and white always appearing blue. 

 But this account is not originally his ; it is as old as Leo- 

 nardo da Vinci. See Blukness and Colour of the Clouds. 



SKY-Colour. To give this colour to glafs, fet in the fur- 

 nace a pot of pure metal of frit from rochetta, or barilla, 

 but the rochetta frit docs bed ; as foon as the metal is well 

 purified, take for a pot of twenty pounds of metal fix ounces 

 of brafs calcined by itfelf; put it by degrees, at two or tliree 

 times, into the metal, ftirring and mixing it well every time, 

 and diligently fcumming the metal with a ladle ; at the end 

 of two hours the whole will be well mixed, and a proof may 

 be taken ; if the colour be found right, let the whole Hand 

 twenty-four hours longer in the furnace, and it will then be fit 



SKY 



to work, and will prove of a moft beautiful Iky-colour. 

 Neri's Art of Glafs, p. 40. 



SKY-Flower, in Botany. See Cineraria. 

 SKY-Rcciet. See Rocket. 



SKYE, in Geography, one of the Hebrides, or Weilern 

 iflands of Scotland, is fituated off the coaft of Invernefsand 

 Rofs-ihires, from which it is feparated by the found of Skye, 

 and a branch of the fea called Lochalfh, while the Minch 

 channel divides it from Long ifland. From the Point of 

 Sleat in tlie fouth-eaft, to the Aird of Trotternilh in the 

 north-weft, it extends 45 miles in length, but its breadth 

 varies from 10 to 24 miles. The whole contents, mcafured 

 carefully from Arrowfmith's map, are ftated in the General 

 Report of Scotland to amount to 535 fquare miles, including 

 336,000 acres of land, and 10 fquare miles of frefh-vvater 

 lakes. From the numerous indentations of the fea, no part 

 of the land is farther diftant from falt-water than four miles 

 and a half. 



The general afpeft of this ifiand is extremely mountainous, 

 fo much fo indeed, that not above twelve parts in a hundred 

 of it are fufceptible of arable cultivation ; and even thefe 

 are difpofed in fmall patches or ftrips by the margin of the 

 different bays, except at its north-welterly extremity, where, 

 for four miles, the land is flat, the foil fertile and well culti- 

 vated, and the farms inclofed and divided. But notwith- 

 ftanding this great proportion of mountain, Skye is far from 

 being fterile or barren. On the contrary, its hills, fo widely 

 extended, and towering fo proudly to the (k'xes, are in general 

 ot confiderable value, from the excellent pafture with which 

 they abound. This is particularly the cafe in the central 

 and fouthcrn diftrifts, where the hills of Cullin, refting on a 

 bed of limeftone, produce very rich herbage, on which are 

 fed a remnant of the ancient herds of deer, for which this 

 ifland was formerly famed, and which continue ftill to roam 

 at large on thefe verdant heights. Moll of the hills, in re- 

 mote times, were clothed with wood ; but except on the 

 fouth coall of Sleat, fcarcely any foreft-timber now remains 

 in Skye. Here, however, are itill fome good ftools of na- 

 tural wood, confifting of oak, a(h, elm, and birch, befidcs 

 alder and willow. 



The crops cultivated in this ifland are beans, oats, pota- 

 toes, and fome flax. Artificial grafles and turnips are little 

 known ; but they are partially introduced, ?nd jt feems pro- 

 bable will foon become more cxtenlive, as they are fo very 

 efiential to the welfare of cattle, which are the itaple land 

 commodity of the ifland. In the gardens and " kail yards," 

 molt of the efculcnt vegetables cultivated on the Main- 

 land are raifcd with great fuccefs, as are alfo the fmaller 

 fruits. 



The live-ftock of Skye is eftimated at 4000 liorfes, of a 

 fmall but hardy race ; 18,000 head of cattle of an excellent 

 breed, of which about 3800 are exported annually, forming 

 the principal export of the ifland. Tiie flieep are computed 

 at about 40,000 in number ; but this computation is con- 

 fefied by the reporter to the Board of Agriculture to be 

 little more than conjetture. They coiifill partly of the na- 

 tive yellow-faced kind, partly of Cheviots, and partly of 

 the black-faced Lintons, winch are the moft citeemed. 

 Several thoufands of this ufeful animal are exported every 

 year. Hogs, goats, and rabbits abound here, but they arc 

 all of them fo wild, and fo little under coiitroul, as to aftbrj 

 no permanent fource of revenue. Game of all kinds is 

 abundant, but i8 thought to derliiie more and more, in pro- 

 portion as the country is progrefTively cultivated. There 

 are on the ifland two kinds ot ferpcnts or vipers, botli of 

 which are reckoned very venomous. 



In the furrounding feas, wliicli embrace 750 miles of coaft, 

 O 2 there 



