634 S H ft 
is intricate, with five or six seeds, three in- 
terior larger; corolla fivo-cleit; seed one, 
oblong. There is one species of New Zea- 
land. 
SHEATHING, in the sea language, is 
the casing that part of a ship which is to be 
under water, with fir-board of an inch thick ; 
first laying hair and tar, mixed together, under 
the boards, and then nailing them on, in 
order to prevent worms from eating the ship’s 
bottom. 
SHEAR'S, in a ship, are ropes bent to the 
clews of the sails; serving, in the lower sails, 
to haul aft the clews of the sail ; but, in top 
sails, they serve to haul home the clew of 
the sail close to the Yard-arm. 
SHEEP. See O'vis. 
Shf.ep. Any person who shall feloniously 
drive away, or feloniously steal, any sheep or 
lamb ; or wilfully kill any sheep or lamb, with 
a felonious intent to steal the carcase or any 
part thereof; or assist or aid in committing 
any of the said offences ; shall be guilty of fe- 
lony without benefit of clergy. 14 Geo. 11. 
c. 6. 
Any person who shall apprehend and pro- 
secute to conviction any such offender, shall 
have a reward of 10/. for which purpose he 
shall have a certificate signed by the judge, 
before the end of the assizes, certifying such 
conviction, and where the offence was com- 
mitted, and that the offender was appre- 
hended and prosecuted by the person claim- 
ing the reward ; and if more than one claim 
it, he shall therein appoint what share shall 
be paid to each claimant. And on tendering 
such certificate to the sheriff, he shall pay 
the same within a month, without deduction, 
or forfeit double, with treble costs; to be 
allowed in his accounts, or be repaid him out 
of the treasury. 
And any person who shall in the night 
time, maliciously and willfully maim, wound, 
or otherwise hurt any sheep, whereby the 
same is hot killed, shall forfeit to the party 
grieved treble damages, by action of trespass, 
or on the case. 
And by 28 Geo. TIT. c. 38, every person 
who shall export any live sheep or lambs, 
shall forfeit 31. for every sheep or lamb, and 
shall also suffer solitary imprisonment for 
three months, without bail, and until the for- 
feiture is paid ; but not to exceed twelve 
months for such non-payment; and for every 
subsequent offence 5/. a piece, and imprison- 
ment for six months, and until the forfeiture 
is paid; but not to exceed two years for the 
non-payment thereof. And all ships and 
vessels employed therein shall be forfeited. 
SHEERING, or Shearing, in woollen 
manufacture, is the cutting off with large 
sheers the too long nap, in order to make the 
cToth more smboth and even. See the ar- 
ticle Cloth. 
Sheering, in the sea language, When a 
ship is not steered steadily, they say she 
sheers, or goes sheering ; or, when at anchor, 
she goes in and out by means of the current 
of the tide, they also say she sheers. 
SHEERS, in a ship, are two masts set 
across at the upper end of each other ; a con- 
trivance generally used for setting or taking 
out the masts of a ship, where there is no 
hulk to do that office. 
SHEFFTELDIA. a genus of plants be- 
longing to the class of pentandria, and to the 
order of monogynia. The corolla is bell- 
S H ft 
shaped ; the filaments are ton, of which every 
second is barren; the capsule consists of one 
cell, which has four valves. 1 here is only 
one species, the repens, of New Zealand. 
SHEKEL, in Jewish antiquity, an antient 
coin, worth 2s. o^d. sterling. See the article 
Coin. 
Some are of opinion that the Jew's had two 
kinds of shekels, viz. the common one, already 
taken notice of, and the shekel of the sanctu- 
ary ; which last they made double the 
former, and consequently equal to 4a. Gffi'. 
But most authors make them the same ; so 
that the shekel of the sanctuary, according to 
them, is only worth 2s. 3-§i/. 
SHELF, among miners, the same with 
what they otherwise call fast ground, or fast 
country ; being that part of the internal 
structure of the earth, which they find lying 
even and in an orderly manner; and evident- 
ly having retained its primitive form and 
situation, unmoved by the waters of the ge- 
neral deluge, while the circumjacent and 
upper strata have plainly been removed and 
tossed about. 
SHELLS, chemically examined, are found 
like bones to consist of calcareous salts united 
to a soft animal matter ; but in them the 
lime is united chiefly to carbonic acid, where- 
as in bones it is united to phosphoric acid. 
In shells, the predominating ingredient is 
carbonat of lime ; but in bones it is phosphat 
of lime. Mr. Hatchett has divided shells into 
two classes. The first are usually of com- 
pact texture, resembling porcelain, and have 
an enamelled surface, otten finely variegated. 
These are denominated porcelaneous shells: 
to this class belong the various species ot 
veluta, cyprsca, &c. The second class con- 
sists of shells usually covered with a strong 
epidermis, below which lies the shell in 
layers, and composed entirely of the sub- 
stance well known by the name of mother of 
pearl. They have been distinguished by the 
name of mother of pearl shells. The shell of 
the fresh-water muscle, the heliotis iris, the 
turbo olearius, are examples of such shells. 
The shells of the first class contain a very 
small portion of soft animal matter: those of 
the second contain a very large proportion. 
Hence the difference of their component 
parts. 
Porcelaneous shells, when exposed to a red 
heat, crackle, and lose the colour of their ena- 
mailed surface. They emit no smoke nor 
smell ; their figure continues unaltered ; their 
colour becomes opaque white, tinged par- 
tially with pale grey. They dissolve when 
fresh with effervescence in acids, and without 
leaving any residue ; but if they have been 
burnt there remains always a little charcoal. 
The solution is transparent, gives no precipi- 
tate with ammonia or acetat ot lead ; ot course 
it contains no sensible portion of phosphat or 
sulphat of lime. Carbonat of ammonia throws 
down an abundant precipitate of carbonat of 
lime. Porcelaneous shells, then, consist of 
carbonat of lime cemented together with a 
small portion of animal matter, which is 
soluble in acids, and therefore resembles 
gelatine. 
2. Mother of pearl shells when exposed to 
a red heat, crackle, blacken, and emit a 
strong fetid odour. They exfoliate, and be- 
come partly dark grey, partly a fine white. 
When immersed in acids they effervesce at 
s n ft 
first strongly ; bint gradually more and more 
feebly, till at last the emission of air-bubbles 
is scarcely perceptible. The acids take up 
only lime, and leave a number of their mem- 
branaceous substances which still retain the 
form of the shell. 
'1 he genera of shells are extremely nume- 
rous, and the species under many of them 
are ajso very much so. However, they may 
be divided into three series or orders; the 
first comprehending all shells formed only of 
one piece, called by authors simple or uni- 
valve shells ; the second, .all those shells 
composed of two parts or valves, under the 
name of bivalves ; and the third, all shells 
composed of several parts or valves, under 
the name of mullivalves. 
This method takes in all the shells hitherto 
known; the land, as well as the sea-shells, 
being ail comprehended under one or other 
of these divisions; indeed, all the recent land- 
shells are univalves, but the fossil shells be- 
long to all the three series. 
Shells, fossil, those found buried at 
great depths in earth, and often immersed in 
the hardest stones. These fossil shells, as 
well as those found lying on the sea-shore, 
make an excellent manure, especially' for 
cold clayey lands. 
Shells, in the military art. See Gun- 
nery. 
SliERARDIA, a genus of the monogynia 
order, in the tetrandja class of plants, and in 
the natural method ranking under (he 47th 
order, stellatai. The calyx is small, quadri- 
dentate; the corolla monopetalous, long, and 
funnel-shaped. 'The two seeds are naked, 
and crowned with the calyx. There are 
three species, \iz. 1, arvensis; 2, muralis ; 
3, fruticosa. 
SHERIFF. As keeper of the king’s peace, 
the sheriff is the first man in the county, and 
superior in rank to any nobleman therein, 
during his ofiiee. He may apprehend and 
commit to prison all persons who break the 
peace, or attempt to break it, and may bind 
any one in a recognizance to keep the king’s 
peace, lie may, and is bound ex officio, to 
pursue and take all traitors, murderers, fe- 
lons, and other misdoers, and commit them 
to gaol for- safe custody. He is also to de- 
fend his county against any of the king’s 
enemies, when they come into the land ; and 
for this purpose, as well as for keeping the 
peace and pursuing felons, he may command 
all the people of his county to attend him ; 
which is cal'ed the posse comitatus, or power 
of the county; which summons, every per- 
son above fifteen years of age, and under the 
degree of a peer, is bound to attend upon 
warning, on pain of line and imprisonment. 
Yet he cannot exercise the office of a justice 
of the peace, for then this inconvenience 
would arise, that he should command himself 
to execute his own precepts. 1 Black. 343. 
The sheriff has a jurisdiction both in cri- 
minal and civil cases ; and therefore he has 
two courts: his torn for Criminal casts, which 
is the king’s court; the other is his county 
court, for civil causes, and this is the court of 
the sheriff himself. 3 Salk. 322. 
When the new sheriff is appointed and 
sworn, he ought at or before the next county 
court, to deliver a writ of discharge to the 
old sheriff; who is to set over all the prisoners 
in the gaol, severally by their names, (to- 
