Sewer Construction
Sewer Construction. The Underground Channels Provided By The Local Authority For Removing Liquid Wastes From Buildings Are Termed Sewers, And Are Usually Situated In The Public Thorough Fares. The Smaller Sizes Up To 24in. Diam Eter May Be Formed Of Glazed Stoneware, But Over This Size It Is More Convenient ...
Sewing Machines
Sewing Machines. The Basic Invention In Machine Sewing Was The Double-pointed Needle, With The Eye In The Centre, Patented By Charles F. Weisenthal In 1755, With The Object Of Avoiding The Necessity For Inverting The Needle In Sewing Or Em Broidering. Many Of The Features Of The Sewing Machine Are ...
Sex Linkage
Sex-linkage In Those Forms In Which The Male Is Digametic, Being Xo Or Xy In Sex-chromosome Constitution, A Son Receives His Single X From His Mother, Whereas A Daughter Gets One X From Each Parent. If On The X-chromosome Of The Father Is Borne The Hereditary Factor For A Recessive ...
Sex Ratio At Birth And
Sex-ratio At Birth And Death. The Fact That, So Far As Statistical Evidence Is Forthcoming, There Is A Preponder Ance Of Males At Birth Throughout The Human Race, Has Given Rise To Endless Theories As To Its Cause. The Further Fact That This Preponderance Is Not Equally Spread, There Being ...
Sex Reversal And Hereditary Constitution
Sex-reversal And Hereditary Constitution Sex-reversal Can Be The Result Of The Overriding Of The Heredi Tary Constitution By Agencies Which Sufficiently Disturb The General Physiological Conditions Of The Zygote At Some Stage Or Other Of Its Development. It Can Result From A Disturbance Of The Physio Logical Condition Within The ...
Sextant
Sextant, A Sixth Part Of A Circle. The Name Is Applied Especially To An Optical Instrument For Measuring Angular Dis Tances, Invented By John Hadley In 1731. Hadley's Original In Strument Was, Strictly, An Octant, Employing A Graduated Arc Of One-eighth Of A Circle. The Arc Was Enlarged To One-sixth, ...
Sexual Selection
Sexual Selection: See Selection : Sexual Selection. Seychelles (sa-shel), An Archipelago In The Indian Ocean, Islands And Islets—situated Between 3° 38' And 5° 45' S., And 52° 55' And 53° 5o' E. Together With The Amirantes, Cos Moledo, Aldabra And Other Islands They Form The British Colony Of Seychelles. The ...
Sfax
Sfax, A City Of Tunisia, 78 M. Due S. Of Susa, On The Gulf Of Qabes (syrtis Minor) Opposite The Kerkenna Islands, In 43' N., Io° 46' E. The Town Consists Of A European Quarter, With Streets Regularly Laid Out And Fine Houses, And The Arab Town, With Its Kasba ...
Shadow
Shadow. When An Opaque Body Is Placed Between A Screen And A Luminous Source, It Casts A "shadow" On The Screen. If The Source Be A Point, The Outline Of The Shadow Is To Be Found By Drawing Straight Lines From The Luminous Point So As To Envelop The Opaque ...
Shaft Sinking
Shaft-sinking Is An Important Mining Operation For Reaching And Working Mineral Deposits Situated At A Depth Below The Surface, Whenever The Topography Does Not Admit Of Driving Adits Or Tunnels (q.v.). Shafts Are Also Often Sunk In Con Nection With Certain Civil Engineering Works, E.g., At Intervals Along The Line ...
Shahabad
Shahabad, A District Of British India, In The Patna Division Of Bihar And Orissa; Area, 4,372 Sq.m.; Pop. (1931) 1,993,489. To The North Is An Alluvial Flat Constituting About Three-fourths Of The District, Closely Cultivated And Thickly Populated. The Southern Portion Is Occupied By The Kaimur Hills, A Branch Of ...
Shakers
Shakers, An American Celibate And Communistic Sect, Known As "the United Society Of Believers In Christ's Second Appearing" And As "the Millennial Church." Some Of The Leaders Prefer The Name "alethians," For They Consider Themselves Chil Dren Of The Truth. The Society Had Its Beginning In A Quaker Revival In ...
Shale Oil
Shale Oil. The Shale Oil Industry, Although Known In France In The Early Part Of The 19th Century, Owes Its Existence In Its Present Form To Dr. James Young, Who, In 185o, Obtained His Well-known Patent For Producing Paraffin Oil And Paraffin From Bituminous Coal By Slow Distillation. This Process ...
Shalmaneser Iii
Shalmaneser Iii. Succeeded His Father Assur-nazir-pal Ii. 858 B.c. His Long Reign Was A Constant Series Of Campaigns Against The Eastern Tribes, The Babylonians, The Nations Of Mesopo Tamia And Syria, As Well As Cilicia And Ararat. His Armies Pene Trated To Lake Van And Tarsus, The Hittites Of Carchemish ...
Shamash Or Camas
Shamash Or Camas, The Common Semitic Word For "sun." In Pre-islamic Times Samsu Was Regarded Throughout Arabia As A Goddess And Often Called Ita "goddess," Wife Of The Moon God Wadd, And Mother Of Athtar, The Planet Venus. Her Symbol In Arabia Was A Disk. Among The North Semitic Races ...
Shan
Shan, A Southern Mongoloid Race, One Of The Most Numerous And Important Of Asia, Constituting A Large Proportion Of The Pop Ulation Of Assam, Burma, Siam And Probably Southern China. Their Own Name For Themselves Is Tai (thai), "free." "shan" Is Probably A Chinese Term Meaning Mountaineer And The Same ...
Shan States
Shan States, A Collection Of Semi-independent States On The Eastern Frontier Of Burma Inhabited By The Shan Or Tai Race. The Shan States Had An Area Of 57,816 Sq.m. And A Pop. (1931) Of 1,506,337. On Oct. 1, 1922 A Scheme Came Into Effect For The Federation Of The Shan ...
Shanghai
Shanghai, The Commercial Metropolis Of China And One Of The World's Greatest Seaports (31° 15' N., 121° 27' E.). The Geographical Position Of Shanghai In Respect Both To The Natural Arteries Of Trade In China And To Its Wider Space Relations With The Chief Commercial Regions Of The World Is ...
Shannon
Shannon, The Principal River Of Ireland. It Flows With A Bow-shaped Course From North To South And South-west, From The North-west Part Of The Island To Its Mouth In The Atlantic On The South-west Coast, With A Length Of About 240 M. And A Drainage Area Of 4,544 Sq.m. Rising ...
Shantung
Shantung, A Northern Maritime Province Of China, Con Sisting Of A Mountainous Peninsula Of Much Indented Coastline Projecting Eastward Into The Yellow Sea, But Separated From The Other Highlands Of China By The Wet Alluvial Plain Of The Hoang-ho. That River Has Changed Its Course Many Times. Prior To 1851 ...
Shares
Shares. A Share Is Tangible Evidence Of The Fact That The Holder Has Invested Money In A Given Company, And Is Also The Means Of Defining The Extent Of His Holding As Against Those Of His Fellow-shareholders. In England, A Share Always Has A Definite Nominal Or Face Value, Such ...
Shari
Shari, A River Of North-central Africa, Carrying The Drain Age Of A Large Area Into Lake Chad. Its Headstreams Rise On The Watersheds Between The Chad Basin And Those Of The Nile And Congo. The Principal Headstream, Known Generally As The Wam, Rises, In About 6° 3o' N., 15° E., ...
Shark
Shark, The Name Generally Given To The Larger Kinds Of Selachians (q.v.) Of The Order Pleurotremi, The Smaller Kinds Being Known As Dog-fishes. Typical Sharks Are Active And Piscivorous, Swimming Near The Surface In Warm Seas, And Are Generally Bluish Or Greyish In Colour; The Body Is Of The Normal ...
Shasi
Shasi, A City In The Province Of Hupeh, Central China, In Latitude 3o° 26' N. And Longitude 112° 5' E., With An Estimated Chinese Pop. (1931) Of 113,526. It Is Situated On The Left Bank Of The Yangtze About 120 Miles Directly West Of Hankow, Though Much Farther Distant By ...
Shatt Al Arab
Shatt-al-arab, A River In Mesopotamia Formed By The Junction Of The Tigris And The Euphrates (qq.v.). There Is Reason To Believe That The Stream Is Not Of Great Antiquity. (see Meso Potamia : Ancient Geography.) The Shatt-al-arab May Be Said To Extend From Qurna To The Bar At Fao, And ...
Shechem
Shechem, An Ancient Town Of Palestine, 6 M. S. Of Samaria, Mod. Nablus. The Modern Town Lies In The Valley Between Ebal And Gerizim In A Beautiful Situation: Pop. In 1931, 17,189 (a Few Samaritans And Christians). The Samaritan Quarter Is In The South-west Of The City And Contains Their ...
Sheep
Sheep. Little Is Known With Certainty About The Origin Of Domesticated Sheep. The Earlier Writers Assumed A Hypothetical Wild Ancestor Having A Long Tail And Certain Other Characteristics That Distinguish The Majority Of Domesticated Breeds From The Existing Wild Species; But None Of These Characters Is Of Real Signifi Cance, ...
Sheep Shearing Machines
Sheep Shearing Machines. In Countries Where Individual Flocks Of Sheep Are Large Or Where Wages Are High, Mechanical Aids To Hand Clipping Are Employed In Order To Lower The Cost Or To Speed Up The Work. In The Pastoral Districts Of Australia, New Zealand And South America Mechanical Shearing Is ...
Sheffield
Sheffield, A City, County And Parliamentary Borough In The West Riding Of Yorkshire, England, 1581 M. N.n.w. Of London, 424 M. S.e. Of Manchester And 53 M. S.w. Of York. It Is Served By The L.m.s. And L.n.e. Railways And Has Con Nection With All The Principal Towns In The ...
Sheffield Plate
Sheffield Plate Is The Term Applied To Articles Pro Duced From Copper And Coated With Silver By The Process Of Fusion History.—about The Year 1742 Thomas Boulsover, A Sheffield Cutler, While Undertaking Repairs To The Haft Of A Knife Observed That By The Application Of Heat A Piece Of Silver ...
Sheikh Or Shaykh
Sheikh Or Shaykh, An Arabic Title Of Respect. Strictly It Means A Venerable Man, Of More Than 5o Years Of Age. It Is Specially Borne By Heads Of Religious Orders, Chiefs Of Tribes And Headmen Of Villages. Every Village, However Small, Every Separate Quarter Of A Town, Has A Sheikh ...
Shekinah
Shekinah, A Hebrew Word Meaning "that Which Dwells," Or "the Dwelling." An Expression Used In The Targums In Place Of "god." The Word "shekinah" Is Of Constant Occurrence In The Targums (q.v.). Great Care Was Taken By The Scribes To Mitigate The Anthropomorphic Expressions Applied To God In The Scriptures, ...
Shell Money
Shell-money, A Medium Of Exchange Common To Many Primitive Races, Consisting Of Sea Shells Or Pieces Of Them Worked Into Beads Or Artificially Shaped. Shell-money Appears To Have Been Almost Universal, Being Found In America, Asia, Africa And Australia. The Shell Used By The Indians Of Alaska And Cal Ifornia ...
Shell Mounds Or Kitchen Middens
Shell-mounds Or Kitchen-middens (dan. Kjokken-modding), Prehistoric Refuse Heaps Or Mounds, Found In All Quarters Of The Globe, Which Consist Chiefly Of The Shells Of Edible Molluscs Mixed With Fragments Of Animal Bones, And Im Plements Of Stone, Bone And Horn. They May Sometimes, As In The Straits Of Magellan, Be ...
Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley, In Virginia, U.s.a., Begins At The Potomac River And Extends South-westward Between The Blue Ridge Mountains On The East And The Alleghenies On The West, To The Eminence Of Land Between Staunton And Lexington. The Valley Is More Than 1 Oo M. Long And Varies In Width From ...
Shenandoah Valley Campaigns
Shenandoah Valley Campaigns In The American Civil War (1861-65) The Shenandoah Valley Was Often The Scene Of Military Operations ; At Two Points In The War These Operations Rose To The Height Of Separate Campaigns Possessing Great Significance In The General Development Of The War. From A Military Point Of ...
Shensi
Shensi, The Historic Province Of Chinese Civilization Cen Tring In The Wei Valley, Which Has Afforded A Way Eastwards From The Northern Slopes Of The Mountains Of Central Asia Via Lan Chow-fu And Kungchangfu. Area, 75,270 Sq. Miles. Pop. Esti Mates Vary Between Six Million And 17 Million, Nine Million ...
Sherborne
Sherborne, A Market Town Of Dorsetshire, England, 118 M. W.s.w. From London By The S.r. Pop. Of Urban District (1931), 6,542. It Lies Near The Border Of Somersetshire, On The Southern Slope Of A Hill Overlooking The River Yeo, In A Fertile, Well-wooded District. There Is No Evidence Of Roman ...
Sheriff Or Shire Reeve
Sheriff Or Shire-reeve, Often Called "high Sheriff," The English And Irish Executive Authority In A County, Or Other Place, Often Called His "bailiwick." The Office Also Exists In About 20 Ancient Cities And Boroughs, Among Which May Be Named Lon Don, Norwich, York, Bristol, Oxford, Lincoln, Chester And Canter Bury ...
Shetland Or Zetland
Shetland Or Zetland, A Group Of Islands Constituting A County Of Scotland, And The Most Northerly British Possession In Europe. It Consists Of An Archipelago Of More Than Ioo Islands And Islets, North-east Of Orkney, Between 59° 50' And 6o° 52' N. And 55' And 2° 14' W., And Bounded ...
Shingles
Shingles. The Popular Name For The Variety Of Herpes (q.v.) Known As Herpes Zoster, From Its Tendency To Extend In Girdle Fashion Around The Waist, I.e., One Or Both Sides Of The Chest. The Rash Of Shingles In Itself Is But Moderately Painful, But The Importance Of The Condition Lies ...
Shintoism
Shintoism. Shinto Or "kami-no-michi" (the Divine Way), The Religion Of Japan, Still Living Among The Japanese People, Is A Designation Given To The Early Religious Belief Of The Japanese Soon After Their First Contacts With China. The First Documentary Appearance Of The Term Shinto Is In The Book Of The ...
Ship
Ship, The Vehicle By Which Man Conveys Himself And His Goods Upon Water. The Earliest And Most Elementary Form Of Ship Was, Doubtless, A Log Or One Or Two Of Them Secured Together To Form A Raft. The First Conception Of A Vessel Which Can Carry Weights, Not Merely On ...
Ship Lanes Of The
Ship Lanes Of The North Atlantic. The Sinking Of The U.s. Mail Steamer "arctic" In October 1854, By Collision With The French Steamer "vesta," In A Thick Fog While On Passage From Liverpool To New York, Resulted In A Loss Of About 300 Lives. This Disaster Inspired Lieutenant M. F. ...
Shipbuilding Mercantile
Shipbuilding: Mercantile. As A Ship Is A Most Complex Engineering Structure, The Process Of Design Requires Con Siderable Experience And Skill, Allied With Sound Judgment. When A Shipowner Orders A New Vessel He Must In The First Instance Have A Clear Idea As To The Size And Type And The ...
Shipbuilding Worlds Statistics
Shipbuilding: World's Statistics. The Ship Building Of The World During The 2oth Century Has Undergone Considerable Changes. Statistics Are Not Available In Detail For The Years Prior To 1894, Dating Back To The Time When Steam Was Definitely Replacing Sail. About 188o There Was As Much Sailing Ship Tonnage In ...
Shipka Pass
Shipka Pass, In Bulgaria, A Pass In The Balkans, Celebrated As The Scene Of Fierce Fighting In The Russo-turkish War Of 78. The Main Road From Rumelia To Bulgaria, Leading From Sistova By Tirnova And Eski Zagra To Adrianople, Crosses The Balkans Near The Village Of Shipka, And This Passage ...
Shipping Lines And Groups
Shipping Lines And Groups. The Tendency For A Large Number Of Comparatively Small Shipowning Firms To Spring Up During A Period Of Prosperity And To Collect Into Groups In The Ensuing Depression Has Long Been One Of The Regular Cycles Of The Shipping Business. Since The Latter Part Of The ...
Shipping Merchant Ships Of
Shipping: Merchant Ships Of The World. In Spite Of The Wealth Of Literature Dealing With The Sea And Ships, There Is Very Little Information About The Size Of The Fleets Of The Seafaring Nations Of The World Before The Nineteenth Century. Mulhall Estimates The Total World Tonnage Of Shipping In ...
Shipping Routes
Shipping Routes. Regular Shipping Routes Have Existed As Long As Regular Shipping, Originally As Measures Of Safety But Afterward As Part Of The Intricate Organisation Of Trade. For This Reason They Are Constantly Changing With Changed Trade And Politi Cal Conditions. Influenced By Accident As Well As By Discovery, And ...
Shipping Tonnage Terms
Shipping: Tonnage Terms. The Term "tonnage" Has A Variety Of Meanings. According To The British Merchant Shipping Acts And The Suez And Panama Canal Regulations It Is A Measurement Of The Capacity Or Volume Of A Ship Expressed In Units Of Ioo Cubic Feet—one Unit Of Such Volume Being Termed ...
Shipping War Losses Of
Shipping: War Losses Of. The Outstanding Fea Tures Of The Attack Upon Merchant Shipping In The World War Were (i) The Enormous Preponderance Of The British Losses, ( 2 ) A Neu Tral Nation—norway—suffered The Second Largest Losses, (3) Two Allied Nations, The United States And Japan, Owned More Shipping ...
Shipping Wreck Statistics
Shipping: Wreck Statistics. About 1870, Samuel Plimsoll, A Member Of Parliament, Commenced An Agitation Against The Overloading Of Ships And The Sending To Sea Of Unsea Worthy Ships. This Agitation Led To The Appointment Of A Royal Commission On Unseaworthy Ships. Important Load-line Legisla Tion Followed And The Freeboard Mark ...
Ships Figureheads
Ships' Figureheads. The Primitive Ship Was Double Ended, With Both Stems, That Is The Stem And Stern-post, Rising Above The Planking Of The Hull; And Nearly All Types Occurring From The Earliest Times Till Late In The Middle Ages Are Recognizable As Variants Of This Original. The High Stems Were ...