Sheep

(shep.) (Zool.) The common name of the well known Ruminant i a, comprising the gen. Ovis, tribe OVINE, q.v. The varieties of the domestic sheep-most of which have been acclimatized in the U. States-are very numerous, differing in size, the length of their legs, and the size of their horns: some are covered with hair instead of wool; others have enormous tails; and others, again, pendent ears. The three varieties we give for illustration (Fig. 590), are: 1. The Spanish Merino, a variety celebrated above any other for the finene of the wool, and to which much attention has been paid in some parts of the U. States. 2. The South down Sheep, which is hornle , and takes its name from an immense tract of downs, formed by a long range of chalk-hills extending more than 60 miles in length, through parts of the English counties of Su ex, Surrey, and Kent; its wool is short, close, curled, and free from spi ry, projecting hairs. 3. The Cheviot breed, also from England, so called from the Cheviot Hills, in North umber land. They have no horns, and are mostly white-faced and white-legged; the body long, with fine, small, clean-boned legs; the fleece fine, short, close, and thick set. Sheepshead. (shēpzhěd.) (Zool.) See SCIENIDE. Sheep'-shearing, (-shëring.) (Agric.) The act, proce , or operation of clipping off the full-grown wool from the bodies of ewes and lambs. It is usually performed in the summer, so as to allow the animals to regain their natural warm covering before the winter cold sets in. Sheer, (sher.) (Naut.) The curve presented by the line of a ship's side viewed sideways. When the surface thus viewed is a level one, the ship is said to have a straight sheer. Sheerne , (sheer'něs,) a fortified seaport and naval dockyard of England, on the Isle of Sheppey, co. Kent, at the junction of the Medway with the Thames, 19 m. W.N.W. of Canterbury. Pop. 16,880. Sheers, (shērz,) [sometimes written SHEARS. ] (Mech.) A mechanical contrivance for raising heavy weights or bulky bodies to a considerable elevation, as in masting a ship or lowering the boilers into the interior of a steam-ve el. The most usual form of S., is that in which two strong and lofty spars are lashed together near the top, with a block depending from the point of intersection. It thus resembles a St. Andrew's cro . See DERRICK. Sheet, (shet.) [From A. S. sc eat.] (Naut.) On shipboard, the rope which serves to spread out a sail to the wind; it is attached to its leeward clew. Sheffield, (shef'feld,) a great manuf, borough of England, W. Riding co. York, at the junction of the Don and Sheaf rivers, 6 m. N. of Rother ham. The cutlery and steel and plated wares fabricated here have a worldwide reputation. Pop. 239,947. Shefford, (shef'furd,) in Canada E., a S.W. central co., drained by the Yamaska River; area, 745 sq. m.; C. Granby. Pop. 19,077. Shehr, (shar,) a seaport and manuf. town of Arabia, on its S.E. coast, 32 m. E.N.E. of Makallah. Pop. 6,000. Sheik, (shāk.) [Ar.] An elder or chief of an Arabian tribe or horde. The S. are very proud of their long line of noble ancestors; and some of them take the title of Emir. The Mohammedans also call the heads of their monasteries S., and the Mufti of Constantinople is called Sheik-ul-Islam, or chief of the true believers. [s. 820]