Lowland rams put to breed half-bred and cross lambs receive about
1 ℔ of grain daily to prevent their falling off too rapidly in condition,
as they would do if exclusively supported on mountain fare.
Literature.—D. Low, Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Isles (1842, illustrated, and 1845); R. Wallace, Farm Live Stock of Great Britain (1907); J. Coleman, Sheep of Great Britain (1907), and the Flock Books of the various breed societies. (R. W.)
SHEEPSHANKS, JOHN (1787–1863), British manufacturer and art collector, was born in Leeds, and became a partner in his father's business as a cloth manufacturer. His brother Richard.(1794–1855) was a distinguished astronomer and man of science, whose collection of instruments eventually passed to the Royal Astronomical Society. John Sheepshanks collected pictures, mainly by British artists, and in 1857 presented his magnificent collection to the nation. He retired from business in 1833 and died a bachelor in 1863.
SHEEPSHEAD, the name of one of the largest species of the genus Sargus, marine fishes known on the coasts of S. Europe as “sargo” or “saragu.” These fishes possess two kinds of teeth:—one, broad and flat, like incisors, occupying in a single series the front of the jaws; the other, semi globular and molar-like, arranged in several series on the sides of the jaws. The genus belongs to the Acanthopterygian family Sparidae which includes the Sea-breams. The sheepshead, Sargus ovis, occurs in abundance on the Atlantic coasts of the United States, from Cape Cod to Florida, and is one of the most valued food-fishes of
Sheepshead.
North America. It is said to attain to a length of 30 in. and a weight of 15 ℔. Its food consists of shellfish, which it detaches with its incisors from the base to which they are fixed, crushing them with its powerful molars. It may be distinguished from other allied species by seven or eight dark cross-bands traversing the body, by a recumbent spine in front of the dorsal tin, by twelve spines and as many rays of the dorsal and ten rays of the anal fin, and by forty-six scales along the lateral line. The term “sheepshead” is also given in some parts of North America to a freshwater Sciaenoid, Corvina ascula, which is much less esteemed for the table.
SHEERNESS, a garrison town and naval seaport in the Faversham parliamentary division of Kent, England, in the Isle of Sheppey, on the right bank of the Medway estuary at its junction with the Thames, 51 m. E. of London by the South-Eastern & Chatham railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 18,179. Blue Town, the older part of the town, with the dockyard, is defended by strong modern-built fortifications, especially the forts of Garrison Point and Barton's Point, commanding the entrance of both the Thames and the Medway. The dockyard, chiefly used for naval repairs, covers about 60 acres, and consists of three basins and large docks, the depth of water in the basins ranging down to 26 ft. Within the yard there are extensive naval stores and barracks. Outside, the dockyard are the residences of the admiral of the home fleet and other officers, and barracks. The harbour is spacious, sheltered, and deep even at low water. Sheerness has some trade in corn and seed, and there is steamboat connexion with Port Victoria, on the opposite side of the Medway; with Southend, on the opposite side of the Thames; and with Chatham and London, and the town is in some favour as a seaside resort. A small fort was built at Sheerness by Charles II., which, on the 10th of July 1667, was taken by the Dutch fleet under De Ruyter.
SHEET, an expanse or surface, flat and thin, of various materials; a rope attached to a sail. These two apparently widely separated meanings are to be explained by the generally received etymology. In O. Eng. there are three words, all from the root seen in “shoot,” to dart, let fly, thrust forward; scete or scȳte, a sheet of cloth, sceat, corner or fold of a garment, projecting angles, region (e.g. sæs scādt, portion of the sea, gulf, bay), and scēata, foot of a sail, pes veli (Wright, Gloss.). The original meaning, according to Skeat, is “projection,” or that which shoots out, then a corner, especially of a garment or of a cloth; after which it was extended to mean a whole cloth or “sheet.” In Icelandic, the cognate word skaut has much the same meanings, including that of a rope attached to a sail. Other cognate forms in Teutonic languages are Ger. Schoss, lap, bosom, properly fold of a garment, Dutch schoot, Icel. skaut, &c. In current English usage, “sheet” is commonly applied to any flat, thin surface, such as a sheet of paper, a sheet of metal, or, in a transferred application, to an expanse of water, ice, fire, &c. More specifically it is used of a rectangular piece of linen or cotton used as that part of the usual bed clothes which are next the sleeper's body. In nautical usage the term “sheet” is applied to a rope or chain attached to the lower corners of a sail for the purpose of extension or change of direction (see Rigging. The connexion in derivation with “shoot” is clearly seen in “sheet-anchor,” earlier “shoot-anchor”—one that is kept in reserve, to be “shot” in case of emergency (see Anchor).
SHEFFIELD, JOHN BAKER HOLROYD, 1st Earl of (1735–1821), English politician, came of a Yorkshire family, a branch of which had settled in Ireland. He inherited considerable wealth, and in 1769 bought Sheffield Place in Sussex from Lord de la Warr. Having served in the army he entered the House of Commons in 1780, and in that year was prominent against Lord George Gordon and the rioters. In 1783 he was created an Irish peer as Baron Sheffield of Roscommon, a barony of the United Kingdom (Sheffield of Sheffield, Yorks) being added in 1802. In 1816 he was created Viscount Pevensey and earl of Sheffield. He was a great authority on farming, and in 1803 he was made president of the Board of Agriculture; but he is chiefly remembered as the friend of Gibbon (q.v.), whose works he afterwards edited. His son and grandson succeeded as 2nd and 3rd earls, the latter (1832–1909) being a well-known patron of cricket, at whose death the earldom became extinct. The Irish barony, however, under a special remainder, passed to the 4th baron Stanley of Alderley, who thus became Baron Sheffield of Roscommon.
SHEFFIELD a city, and municipal, county and parliamentary borough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, 158½ m. N.N.W. from London. Pop. (1901) 409,070. It is served by the Midland, Great Central and Great Northern railways, and has direct connexion with all the principal lines in the north of England. The principal stations are Victoria (Great Central) and Midland. Sheffield is situated on hilly ground in the extreme south of the county, and at the junction of several streams with the river Don, the principal of which are the Sheaf, the Porter, the Rivelin and the Loxley. The manufacturing quarter lies mainly in the Don valley, while the chief residential suburbs extend up the picturesque hills to the south. The centre of the city, with the majority of the public buildings, lies on the slope south of the Don, and here are several handsome thoroughfares. The older portions were somewhat irregular and overcrowded, but a great number of improvements were effected under an act of 1875, and have been steadily continued. There is an extensive system of tramways, serving the outlying townships. The parish church of St Peter is a cruciform building, mainly Perpendicular. The original Norman building is supposed
