Home1823 Edition

DOCK

Volume 7 · 373 words · 1823 Edition

in Botany. See Rumex, Botany Index.

the manege, is used for a large case of leather, as long as the dock of a horse's tail, which serves it for a cover. The French call the dock trosssequene. It is made fast by straps to the crupper, and has leathern thongs that pass between his thighs, and along his flanks to the saddle straps, in order to keep the tail tight, and to hinder it from whisking about.

maritime affairs, a sort of broad and deep trench formed on the side of a harbour, or on the banks of a river; and commodiously fitted either to build ships or receive them to be repaired and bream'd therein. These sort of docks have generally strong flood-gates to prevent the flux of the tide from entering the dock while the ship is under repair.—There are likewise docks of another kind, called wet docks, where a ship can only be cleaned during the recess of the tide, or in the interval between the time when the tide left her dry aground, and the period when it again reaches her by the return of the flood. Docks of the latter kind are not furnished with the usual flood-gates. See the article Dock, Supplement.

Dock-Yards, certain magazines containing all sorts of Dockyards of naval stores and timber for ship-building. In England, the royal dock-yards are at Chatham, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Deptford, Woolwich, and Sheerness. His majesty's ships and vessels of war are generally moored at these ports during the time of peace; and such as want repairing are taken into the docks, examined, and refitted for service.

The principal dock-yards are governed by a commissioner, resident at the port; who superintends all the masters of the officers, artificers, and labourers, employed in the dock-yard and ordinary. He also controls their payments therein; examines their accounts; contracts, and draw bills on the navy-office to supply the deficiency of stores; and, finally, regulates whatever belongs to the dock-yard, maintaining due order in the respective offices.

These yards are generally supplied from the northern crowns with hemp, pitch, tar, rosin, canvas, oak plank, and several other species. See the plan and fitting up of a dock-yard. See the article Dockyards in the Supplement.