Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/156

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SHREW.

than the mallard, but rather larger than the widgeon. The male has the head and neck fuscous, glossed with green, the back fuscous, upper and under tail coverts dark green, lower neck and breast white, and the belly chestnut. The female is much duller. In America it is more common in the interior than on the coast and breeds locally from Texas northward. Its flesh is very highly esteemed. Several other species of shoveler are known in Oriental regions.

SHOV′ELL, Sir Clowdisley (1650-1707). A distinguished English admiral, born in Cocksthorpe, in Norfolk. He entered the navy in 1664, and served against the Dutch and the Barbary pirates. In 1689 he commanded the Edgar in the battle of Bantry Bay, was soon after knighted, and was put in command of a squadron in the Irish Sea. In the following year he was promoted to be rear-admiral of the blue. Two years afterwards he commanded the red squadron in the battle of Barfleur, and by breaking the French line greatly contributed to the English victory. In 1704 he participated with the fleet under Sir George Brooke in the capture of Gibraltar and in the action off Malaga. In the same year he was made rear-admiral of England. In the following year he was appointed admiral, and was made joint commander with the Earl of Peterborough of the expedition which captured Barcelona. In 1707 he coöperated with the Duke of Savoy in the attack on Toulon, and, although the town was not taken, Shovell destroyed a great number of French vessels. On the way Back to England his flagship was wrecked on one of the Scilly Islands. He was cast ashore in a helpless condition and was murdered by a woman who coveted an emerald ring on one of his fingers. His body was taken to England and buried in Westminster Abbey. Consult Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History (6 vols., London and Boston,' 1896-1901).

SHOWBREAD. See Shewbread.

SHRAPNEL. A form of projectile used in field and naval guns and invented by Col. Henry Shrapnel of the British Army. It consists of a shell containing a number of balls, a bursting charge, usually of black powder, and a combination time and percussion fuze. (See Fuze.) The bursting charge may be located either in the front or in the rear of the shell, whose walls are thinner than in the case of ordinary shell. The bursting charge may also be contained in a central tube, as is the case of navy shrapnel, which may be larger than that used in field pieces. Shrapnel is designed for use against troops in open country or for clearing covered spaces, destructive effect over a considerable area rather than penetrative power being desired. With this in view the fuze is so adjusted that the projectile bursts in close vicinity to the target and scatters its fragments and the balls, which may be placed either in metal or wooden frames or plates or in a matrix of resin. In naval warfare shrapnel is used against attack by torpedo boats or small boats. See Projectiles, where United States Army 3.2-inch shrapnel is illustrated; also Canister; Field Artillery.

SHRAPNEL, Henry (1761-1842). An English inventor, born at Bradford-on-Avon. In 1784 he began to study hollow projectiles. He spent three years in Gibraltar and in 1803 his shot case or shell was recommended for adoption into the service. He improved the construction of howitzers and mortars and invented the brass tangent slide. In 1837 he was promoted to be lieutenant-general. See Projectiles; Shrapnel.

SHREVE, Henry Miller (1785-1854). An American inventor and steamboat builder, born in Burlington County, N. J. He was reared in western Pennsylvania, adopted the career of a river boatman, and early became interested in the problem of steam navigation on the Ohio and Mississippi. In 1814 he was at New Orleans, and with boats protected by cotton bales ran the gantlet of the British batteries to carry supplies to Fort Saint Philip, and later had charge of a gun in the battle of New Orleans. In 1815, in the Enterprise, he made the first trip ever accomplished by a steamboat from New Orleans to Louisville. Subsequently he constructed a river steamboat known as the Washington, which had many points of improvement over the boats of the Fulton model. The success of the Washington was followed by lawsuits brought by Fulton and his associates, who claimed the exclusive right to steam river navigation, but the cases were eventually decided in Shreve's favor. From 1826 to 1841 he was employed by the Government as superintendent of improvements on the Western rivers, and successfully opened the Red River to navigation. He invented many improvements in steamboat machinery and construction, as well as the steam ‘snag-boat’ and a ram for harbor defense.

SHREVE, Samuel Henry (1829-84). An American civil engineer, born at Trenton, N. J. He graduated in 1848 at Princeton, and afterwards studied law and civil engineering. He directed the construction of numerous railways, and in 1875 was engineer of the New York Rapid Transit Commission. Subsequently he was consulting engineer of the Metropolitan Elevated Railroad, and chief engineer of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad. He published a treatise on The Strength of Bridges and Roofs (1873).

SHREVE′PORT. The parish seat of Caddo Parish, La., 170 miles east of Dallas, Texas; on the Red River, and on the Texas and Pacific, the Saint Louis South western, the Kansas City Southern, the Houston and Shreveport, and other railroads. (Map: Louisiana, B 1). Among the noteworthy features of the city are the Charity Hospital, a sanatorium, Cooper Building, First National Bank Building, the United States post-office, the court-house, and the high school building. Shreveport is in a rich cotton and stock raising region, and is of considerable commercial importance. It carries on a large wholesale trade, especially in groceries, dry goods, and hardware. In addition to several establishments connected with cotton—cotton factory, large compressors, and warehouses—there are molasses works, foundries and machine shops, lumber mills, etc. The government, under the charter of 1898, is vested in a mayor, chosen every two years, and a unicameral council. Shreveport was settled in 1833, and was first incorporated in 1839. Population, in 1890, 11,979; in 1900, 16,013.

SHREW (AS. scrēawa, shrew; connected with OHG. scrōtan, Ger. schroten, to cut, gnaw, bruise, AS. scrēadian, Eng. shred). A small nocturnal