Part 453

SHAFT-bars, are two pieces of wood to fasten the hind ends of the shafts together, into which they are pinned with wooden pins.

SHALLIE, Ind. The same as batty, which signifies rice in the husk.

SHAMROCK. The Irish word for trefoil, clover, or three leafed grass. It is worn by the Irish in their hats on the 17th of March, St. Patrick’s day.

SHANK. The long part of any instrument.

SHAROCK, Ind. A silver coin, equal in value to about one shilling.

SHAUMIARIS, Ind. A canopy of cotton cloth.

SHAW, Ind. A king.

SHAWZADA, Ind. The king’s son.

SHEED, Ind. A witness.

SHEICK. A chief of a tribe among the Arabs. Mr. Morier, in his account of a campaign with the Ottoman army, relates that in 1800, a fanatic sheick, who pretended to be inspired, headed the Fellahs, (the lowest class of inhabitants are so called among the Arabs) of the district of Demanhour, and caused a detachment of 80 Frenchmen to be put to death in the night; this was effected by first securing the sentinel.

SHELLS, in gunnery, are hollow iron balls to throw out of mortars or howitzers with a fuze hole of about an inch diameter, to load them with powder, and to receive the fuze: the bottom, or part opposite the fuze, is made heavier than the rest, that the fuze may fall uppermost; but in small elevations this is not always the case, nor is it necessary; for, let it fall as it will, the fuze sets fire to the powder within, which bursts the shell, and causes great devastation. The shells had much better be made of an equal thickness, for then they burst into more pieces.

The following shells may also be fired from guns.

Hand grenades from 6 Prs. 4²⁄₅ shells 12 Prs. 5¹⁄₂ shells 24 Prs. 8 inch 68 Pr. carronades.

Shells may likewise be thrown from guns to short distances, in case of necessity, though the bore be not of a diameter sufficient to admit the shell. For this purpose the gun may be elevated to any degree that will retain the shell upon its muzzle, which may be assisted by a small line going from the ears of the shell round the neck of the gun. To produce a greater effect, the space between the shell and the charge may be filled with wads or other substance.

Shells for Mortars and Howitzers--Their Dimensions, Weight, &c.

+---------+-----------------+-------+--------+--------+ | | | | Powder | | | | | | con- | Powder | | | | | tained | for + | | | Diam- | in | burst- | | Kind. | Weight. | eter. | Shells.| ing. | +---------+-----------------+-------+--------+--------+ | |Ct. qr. lbs. oz.|Inches.|lbs. oz.|lbs. oz.| |13 inch. | 1 3 2 | 12³⁄₄ | 10 4 | 6 12 | |10 -- | 3 9 | 9³⁄₄ | 4 5 | 2 10 | | 8 -- | 1 11¹⁄₂ | 7³⁄₄ | 2 12 | 1 14 | | 5¹⁄₂ -- | 15¹⁄₄ | 5¹⁄₄ | 1 | 12 | | 4²⁄₅ -- | 8 | 4¹⁄₅ | 7 | 5 | |H. Gren.{| 3 11 | 3·49 | | | | {| 1 13 | 2·77 | | 1 | | | | | | | +---------+-----------------+-------+--------+--------+

+---------+---------------+-------+ | | Diameter of | | | | Fuze Hole. | Thick-| | +-------+-------+ ness | | | Out- | In- | of | | Kind. | side. | side. | Metal.| +---------+-------+-------+-------+ | |Inches.|Inches.|Inches.| |13 inch. | 1·837 | 1·696 | 2·05 | |10 -- | 1·57 | 1·45 | 1·575| | 8 -- | 1·219 | 1·127 | 1·2 | | 5¹⁄₂ -- | 0·894 | ·826 | 0·822| | 4²⁄₅ -- | 0·832 | ·769 | 0·653| |H. Gren.{| | | | | {| | | | | | | | | +---------+-------+-------+-------+

To find the weight of a shell of iron.

Take ⁹⁄₆₄ of the difference of the cubes of the external and internal diameters for the weight of the shell.

To find how much powder will fill a shell.

Divide the cube of the internal diameter of the shell in inches by 57·3, for the pounds of powder.

To find the size of a shell to contain a given weight of powder.

Multiply the pounds of powder by 3.75, and the cube root of the product will be the diameter in inches.

To find the weight of a SHELL. Rule.

Double the difference of diameters of the shell and hollow sphere, and 7 times the result gives the weight in pounds, cutting off the two right hand figures of whole numbers.

Example. Let the diameter of the shell be 13 inches, and that of the hollow sphere 9·5. Then the cube of 13 is 2197, and that of 9·5, is 857·357; the difference is 1339·625, its double is 2679·25, which multiplied by 7, gives 18754·625; and cutting off two places in whole numbers, the result is 187 lb. or 1 cwt. 2 qrs. 21 lb. the weight of the shell.

French Shells, in French weights and measures.

+-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+-------------------+------+ | | | | Powder | | | | | | | | con- | Powder | Diameter of Fuze |Thick-| | | | | tained | for | Hole. | ness | | | | Diam- | in | burst- +---------+---------+ of | | Kind. |Weight.| eter. | Shells.| ing. | Outside.| Inside. |Metal.| +-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------+------+ | | lbs. |Inches.|lbs. oz.|lbs. oz.|Lines Po.|Lines Po.|Lines.| |12 inch| 150 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 15 9 | 15 | 16 | |10 ----| 100 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 15 9 | 15 | 16 | | 8 ----| 43 | 8 | 4 1 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 10 | | 6 ----| 23 | 6 | 2 8 | 12 | 11 | 10 6 | 10 | +-------+-------+-------+--------+--------+---------+---------+------+