Scopas - Scruple

Scopas

Scopas, a Greek sculptor, born in the island of Paros, flourished during the first half of the 4th century B. C. He was a contemporary of Praxiteles, and with him stands at the head of the later Attic school of sculpture. Among his most famous works are the slabs from the mausoleum of Halicarnassus representing a battle of Amazons. The celebrated group of Niobe and her children in the Uffizi gallery, Florence, and the Venus of Milo in the Louvre, are also attributed to Scopas, though the latter probably belongs to the school of Phidias. He was employed on the temples of Athena Alea in Arcadia and of Diana at Ephesus. His masterpiece, according to Pliny, was a group representing Achilles conducted to the island of Leuce by sea divinities. - See Shopas's Leben und Werke, by Ulrichs (Greifswald, 1863).

Scoter

See Duck, vol. vi., p. 291.

Scotland

Scotland, a N. E. county of Missouri, bordering on Iowa, and intersected by the Wya-conda, North Fabius, and Middle Fabius rivers; area, 400 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 10,670, of whom 129 were colored. The surface is mostly prairie, and the soil fertile. It is traversed by the Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 95,862 bushels of wheat, 30,035 of rye, 736,703 of Indian corn, 350,516 of oats, 45,246 of potatoes, 18,328 tons of hay, 10,972 lbs. of tobacco, 110,698 of wool, 327,960 of butter, 19,450 of honey, and 42,556 gallons of sorghum molasses. There were 5,898 horses, 919 mules and asses, 5,326 milch cows, 10,089 other cattle, 29,957 sheep, and 24,849 swine. Capital, Memphis.

Screw Propeller

See Steam Navigation.

Scribes

Scribes (Heb. sopherim), a learned order among the ancient Hebrews. It was their duty to keep the official records of the kingdom, to make transcripts of the law, and to expound and teach it. In the time of David the name of a scribe is mentioned among the high officers; and under his successors they constituted a much esteemed and highly influential body, recognized and supported by the state. In the later times of the nation they recorded and expounded the oral traditions. In the New Testament they appear as a body of high officers, members of the sanhedrim.

Scriven

Scriven, an E. county of Georgia, bordering on South Carolina, bounded E. by the Savannah river, and S. W. by the Ogeechee; area, 540 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 9,175, of whom 4,888 were colored. The Surface is level and the soil sandy. Pine timber is exported largely. It is traversed by the Central railroad of Georgia. The chief productions in 1870 were 153,242 bushels of Indian corn, 10,962 of peas and beans, 30,789 of sweet potatoes, 3,086 bales of cotton, and 12,552 gallons of molasses. There were 609 horses, 565 mules and asses, 3,067 milch cows, 6,049 other cattle, 3,225 sheep, and 9,416 swine. Capital, Sylvania.

Scruple

Scruple (Lat. scrupulum, a little pebble), a weight equal to the third part of a dram or the 24th part of an ounce, as used by apothecaries. The scrupulum (also written scripulum and scriptulum) was 1/24 of the Roman uncia, and afterward 1/60 of an hour. The 60th part of this was scrupulum secundum, and the 60th of this scrupulum tertium, whence our terms seconds and thirds applied to these divisions.