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edition of 1729 is castrated ; some particulars relating to the revo-hit'ron in that of 1723 having given offence.

Sheffield, in geography, a town of England, in the W. Bid-ing of Yorkshire, on the borders of Derbyshire . This town hasbeen noted'several hundred years for cullers’ and smiths’ manufac-tures, which were encouraged by the neighbouring mines of iron,particularly for files and knives, or whittles; for the last of whichespecially it has been a staple for above 300 years; and it excelsBirmingham in these wares, as much as it is surpassed by it inlocks, hinges, nails, and polished steel. The first mills in Englandfor turning grindstones were also set up here. Sheffield is 34 milesN. of Derby, 31 S. of Leeds, and 101 N. VV. by N. of London .Lon. 1. 29. W. Lat. S3. 20. N.

SHEFEJELD1A, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to theclass pentandria, and order monogynia. Corolla bell-shaped;filaments ten, of which every second is barren; capsule one-celled, four-valved. There is only one species, viz. S. repens.

SHEFFNAL, a town of England, in Shropshire nine milesN. E. of Bridgenorth .

SH EFFORT), a town of Bedfordshire , eight miles S. E. ofBedford. >

SflEIBON, a district in Africa , lying S. E. of the kingdomof Dar-Fur, where much gold is found, both in dust and in smallpieces.

SI1E1K, in the oriental customs, the person who has the care ofthe mosques in Egypt ; his duty is the same as that of the imamsat Constantinople .

Sheik-Bellet, an officer in tlie oriental nations. In Egypt tire sheik-bellet is the head of a city, and is appointed by the pacha.The business of this officer is to take care that no innovations bemade which mav be prejudicial to the Porte.

SHEKEL, [Spw.j an ancient Jewish coin equal to four Attic idrachms, or four Roman denarii, in value about 2s. 6d. sterling.The shekel was also the name of a weight current among the an-cient Jews . Dr. Arbutlmot makes the weight of the shekel equalto nine pennyweights 2^ grains Troy-weight; and the valueequal to 2s. 3Sterling.

Shekel, 1 he Golden, was worth Ik 16$. 6 d.

SHELBURNE, a flourishing town of North America , in theBritish province of New Brunswick . Lon. 64. 0. W. Lat 43.46. N.

Shelburne, a sea-port-town of Nova Scotia , on the S. E.coast; 90 miles S. W. of Halifax . Lon. 65. 15. W. Lat. 43.50. N.

SHELDON, Gilbert, archbishop of Canterbury , an eminentand munificent English prelate, horn in 1593. He was entered ofTrinity college Oxtord, in 1613, and in 1622, was elected fellowof AU-Souls, and became chaplain to lord Coventry, keeper ofthe Great Seal, who made him a prebendary of Gloucester, andrecommended him to king Charles I . 'The king made him vicarof Hackney and rector of Ickford and Newington. In 1635, liewas chosen warden of All-Souls. During the civil wars, he conti-nued attached to the king; and attended as one of his commis-sioners at the treaty of Uxbridge, where he argued warmly for theking and the church. Hence he was afterwards imprisoned by theparliament for six months, and deprived of his wardenship andlodgings. He was liberated by the reforming committee, Oct.24th, 164S, on condition that he should not come within five milesof Oxford. On the restoration, he was replaced in his wardenship,made master of the Savoy, dean of the chapel royal, and bishopof London; and in 1663, archbishop of Canterbury . In 1607, hewas chosen chancellor of the university of Oxford, but lost kingCharles IPs favour by honestly advising him to dismiss his mis-tress, Barbara Villiers. He died Nov. 9, 1677, aged 80. Hespent no less than 60,000/. in public and private charities.

SH ELF, among miners, the samewith what they otherwise callfast ground or fast country ; being that part of the internal struc-ture of the earth which they find lying even and in an orderlymanner, and evidently retaining its primitive form and situation.

SHELFORD, a town of England, in Bedfordshire , nine milesS. of Bedford, and 41 of London .

SHELL, in natural history, a hard crustaceous, or bony cover-ing, with which certain animals are defended. See Physiology,and Conchology.

SHELLS, chemically examined, are found, like bones, to con-

sist of calcareous salts united to a soft animal matter; hut in themthe lime is united chiefly to carbonic acid, whereas in hones it isunited to phosphoric acid. In shells, the predominating ingredientis carbonate of lime; but in bones it is phosphate of lime. Mr.Hatchett has divided shells into two classes. The first are usuallyof compact texture, resembling porcelain, and have an enamelledsurface, often finely variegated. These are denominated porce-laneous shells: to this class belong (he various species of voiuta,cyprsa, &c. The second class consists of shells usually coveredwith a strong epidermis, below which lies the shell in layers, andcomposed entirely of the substance well known by the name ofmother of pearl. They have been distinguished by the name ofmother-of-pearl-shells. The shell of the fresh-water-muscle, tileheliotis iris, the turbo olearius, are examples of such shells. Theshells of the first class contain a very small portion of soft animal-matter: those of the second contain a very large porportion.Hence the difference of their component parts. 1. Porcelaneousshells, when exposed to a red heat, crackle, arid lose the colour oftheir enamelled surface. They emit no smoke nor smell; theirfigure continues unaltered; their colour becomes opaque white,tinged partially with pale grey. They dissolve when fresh witheffervescence in acids, and without leaving any residue; but ifthey have been burnt there remains always a little charcoal. Thesolution is transparent, gives no precipitate with ammonia oracetate of lead ; of course it contains no sensible portion of phos-phate or sulphate of lime. Carbonate of ammonia throws downan abundant precipitate of carbonate of lime. Porcelaneous shells,then, consist of carbonate of lime cemented together with a smallportion of animal-matter, which is soluble in acids, and thereforeresembles gelatine. 2. Mother-of-pearl-shells when exposed toa red heat, crackle, blacken, and emit a strong feelid odour. Theyexfoliate, and become partly dark grey, partly a fine white.When immersed in acids they effervesce at first strongly; butgradually 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 membranaceous substances which stillretain the form of the shell. The genera of shells are extremelynumerous, and the species under many of them are also verymuch so. However, they may be divided into three series ororders; the first comprehending all shells formed only of onepiece, called by authors simple or univalve shells; the second, allthose shells composed of two parts or valves, under the name ofbivalves; and the third, all shells composed of several parts orvalves, under the name of mnltivalves. See Conchology.This method takes in all the shells hitherto known; the land, aswell as the sea-shells, being all comprehended under one or otherof these divisions: indeed, all the recent land-shells are univalves,but the fossil-shells belong 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, aswell as those found lying on the sea-shore, make an excellent ma-nure, especially for cold clayey lands.

Shells, in gunnery, are hollow iron-balls to throw out of mor-lars or howitzers, with a fuse-hole of about an inch diameter, toload them with powder, and to receive the fuse. See Pro-jectiles.

Shells, Message, are nothing more than howitz-shells, in theinside of which a letter or other papers are put; the fuse-hole isstopped up with wood or cork, and the shells are fired out of *royal or liowitz, either into a garrison or camp. It is supposed,that the person to whom the letter sent knows the time, and ac-cordingly appoints a guard to look out for its arrival.

SHELT1E, a small but strong kind of horse, so called frotbShetland, where they are produced.

SHELTON, a small town of England, in Bedfordshire ; tb cmost northern in the county.

SH ELVES, in sea-language, a general name given to any dal>'gerous shallow', sand banks, or rocks, lying immediately undcftiie surface of the water, so as to intercept any ship in her passageand endanger her destiuction. ,

SIIEM, or SEM, the second son of Noah, born about A. M-1558. He lived to the age of 600 years, and died about B. 6"1848. . :

SH ENSTONE, William, an admired English poet, the elder^son of a country gentleman, who farmed his own estate in ShrofJ