Ores of.** See **MINERALOGY Index.**
**Shell-SILVER,** is prepared of the fines of silver leaf, or of the leaves themselves, for the use of painters, after the same manner as shell gold. See **Shell GOLD.**
**SILVERING,** the covering of any thing with silver. It is usual to silver metals, wood, paper, &c., which is performed either with fire, oil, or size. Metal-gilders silver by the fire; painter-gilders all the other ways. See **GILDING.**
To silver copper or brass. 1. Cleanse the metal with aquafortis, by washing it lightly, and immediately throwing it into pure water; or by heating it red hot, and scouring it with salt and tartar, and pure water, with a small wire brush. 2. Dissolve some silver in aquafortis, in a broad-bottomed glass vessel, or of glazed earthenware; then evaporate away the aquafortis over a chafing dish of coals. 3. Put five or six times its quantity of water, or as much as will be necessary to dissolve it perfectly, on the remaining dry calc; evaporate this water with the like heat; then put more fresh water, and evaporate again; and, if need be, the third time, making the fire towards the latter end so strong as to leave the calc perfectly dry, which, if your silver is good, will be of a pure white. 4. Take of this calc, common salt, crystals of tartar, of each a like quantity or bulk, and mixing well the whole composition, put the metal into pure water, and take of the said powder with your wet fingers, and rub it well on, till you find every little cavity of the metal sufficiently silvered over. 5. If you would have it richly done, you must rub on more of the powder; and, in the last place, wash the silvered metal in pure water, and rub it hard with a dry cloth.
**SILVERING of Glasses.** See **FOLLATING of Looking-Glasses.**
**SILURIS,** a genus of fishes belonging to the order *abdominales.* See **ICHTHYOLOGY Index.**
**SIMANCAS,** a village on the eastern boundary of the kingdom of Leon in Spain, six miles below Valladolid, on the river Gifnerga. Dr Robertson, in the introduction to his History of America, makes mention of it, and it is remarkable for the archives of the kingdoms of Leon and Castile, kept in the castle. This collection was begun when the kings often resided at Valladolid, in which city is still the civil and military tribunal for almost the whole of Spain, to the north of the Tagus. It was thought proper to have those papers kept in the vicinity of that court, for which purpose this castle was peculiarly fitted, being entirely erected of stone. At one period there were two large halls in this office filled with papers respecting the first settlement of the Spaniards in South America. There was likewise in the room called the *ancient royal patronage,* a box containing... Simancas containing treaties with England, in which are many letters and treaties between the kings of England and Spain, from the year 1400 to 1600. There was also a strong box in the same archives, with five locks, which, we are told, has not been opened since the time of Philip II. and it is supposed that it contains the proceeds against Philip's son Prince Charles. But it appears that some of the state papers have been removed to Madrid.
SIMEON of DURHAM, the cotemporary of William of Malmesbury, took great pains in collecting the monuments of our history, especially in the north of England, after they had been scattered by the Danes. From these he composed a history of the kings of England, from A.D. 616 to 1130; with some smaller historical pieces. Simeon both studied and taught the sciences, and particularly the mathematics at Oxford; and became precentor of the church at Durham, where he died, probably soon after the conclusion of his history, which was continued by John, prior of Hexham, to A.D. 1156.