Online Encyclopedia

SHRUB

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 1023 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SHRUB  . (i) A bushy plant whose

stem is woody and branches out thickly from the ground, not attaining sufficient height to be called a tree; this smallness of vertical growth is natural or is effected by cutting and lopping at an early stage or at stated seasons . The
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term is loose in application and the
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line between shrubs, trees and certain woody herbaceous
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plants is not easy to draw . The holly, the yew, the
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laurel, if allowed to grow from a single stem, become trees, other plants such as
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rhododendron, syringa, the euonymous are properly shrubs . The word is the same as "scrub," low, stunted undergrowth, in O . Eng. scrob; the root, which is also seen in "
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shrimp" and " shrivel," means to contract . Many
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English place-names contain the word, the most familiar being Shrewsbury (Scrobbesbyrig) and
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Wormwood Scrubs . (2) The name of a drink or cordial, now rarely found except in country districts . It is made of
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currant juice boiled with
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water and
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sugar to which some spirit, usually rum, is added . Another form of the drink is made of rum, orange and lemon juice, peel, sugar and water . The word is an adaptation of the Arabic sharb or sharab, beverage, drink, shariba, he drank, and is thus directly related to " sherbet " and " syrup " (q.v.) . SHUFFLE-BOARD, or SHOVEL-BOARD (originally "shove-board "), a
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game in which wood or metal disks are " shoved " by the hand or with an implement so that they shall come to a stop on or within certain lines or compartments marked on the " board "—a table or a floor .

It was formerly very popular in

England, especially with the aristocracy, under the names shove-groat, slide-groat and shovel-penny, being mentioned as early as the 15th century . It was a favourite pastime at the
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great country houses, some of the boards having been of exquisite workmanship . That at Chartley Hall in
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Staffordshire was over 30 ft. long and was made up of 26o pieces . Shuffle-board enjoys considerable vogue in the
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United States, the board being from 28 to 30 ft. long and from 18 to 20 in. wide, of pine, poplar or white wood, with a gutter 41 in. wide extending entirely round the board . The
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surface is slightly sanded and sometimes oiled . About 5 in. from each end of the board is
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drawn a line called the deuce line . Each side, whether composed of two or four persons, used four disks of polished brass or iron, generally about 2 in. in diameter and in. thick . When two persons
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play they shove first from one end of the board and then from the other; but when four play one of each side remains permanently at each end . The disks, four of which are marked A and four B, are shoved alternately by each side . A disk resting between the deuce line and.the end of the board is in and scores two . One protruding over the end sufficiently to be lifted by the
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finger is called a
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ship and
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counts three . A disk resting on the board but not
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crossing the line counts one .

In scoring only the best of the eight disks counts, unless one side has two that are better than any of their opponents', in which

case both count . The side first scoring 21 points wins . A variety of shuffle-board is very popular as a
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deck game onboard steamers and yachts . It is played by pushing wooden disks by means of crutch-shaped cues, or shovels, into which the disks
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fit, so that they come to a stop within the lines of a large rectangle drawn with
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chalk on the deck and divided into squares numbered from 1 to ro with an extra square nearest the player, numbered The game is usually 21 points .

End of Article: SHRUB
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