Images de page
PDF
ePub

CANDAHAR-CANDELABRUM.

other leguminous plants-has been employed as a detergent application to foul sores.

the useful to so large an extent as in their candlesticks and lamps. Candelabra usually stood on the ground, and were of considerable height-from The most common were of

In the

fre

wood; but metals of all kinds,
including the precious metals,
were used for their construc-
tion, and sometimes they
were even adorned with gems.
The candelabra found at Her-
culaneum and Pompeii are
mostly of bronze.
temples and palaces of the
emperors, they were
quently of marble, and of
great size and richness. They
have usually a capacious cup
at the top, either for the pur-
pose of containing oil enough
to feed a large flame, or that
they might be used for burn-
ing incense. Though varying
greatly in details, a general
design runs through the forms
of the candelabra of antiquity.
They have all a foot or feet,
a shaft and a plinth on which
a lamp is placed, or which is furnished with a
The base often consists of
socket for a candle.
three feet of a lion, goat, griffin, or other animal real

CANDAHA'R, or KANDAHAR, the capital of Central or Southern Afghanistan, situated about 2004 to 8, or even 10 feet. miles to the south-west of Cabul. It is in lat. 32° 37' N., and long. 66° 20' E., and has an elevation of 3484 feet above the level of the sea. It is said to be an oblong square, while all its streets run straight, and cut one another at right angles-an alleged regularity which can hardly be reconciled with Elphinstone's avowed inability even to guess the extent of the city or the number of its inhabitants, which has been variously estimated at from 25,000 to 100,000. C. is well watered by two canals drawn from a neighbouring river, which send to almost every street its own adequate supply; and the same means of irrigation have covered the immediate vicinity with gardens and orchards. C. is a place of great trade, attracting dealers from Bokhara, and even from Samarcand. Among its permanent residents, C. has a larger proportion of Afghans, chiefly of the Dooraanee tribe, than any other city of Afghanistan. About 2 miles to the northward rises a precipitous rock, crowned by a fortress impregnable to everything but heavy artillery. Here, amid all the disasters of the Afghan war, the British maintained their ground. C. has been a pivot for the history of Central Asia during more than 2000 years. It is supposed to have been founded by Alexander of Macedon, owing, most probably, its name to the oriental corruption of Iskender or Scander, as in Scanderoon or Iskenderun of Syria. A comparative blank of upwards of 13 centuries in the history reaches to the famous Mahmoud of Ghiznee, who wrested the stronghold from the Afghans. From that epoch down to 1747, when the native rule was permanently established, C., with brief and precarious intervals of independence, was held by Tatary, India, and Persia in turn.

CANDEI'SH, a collectorate in the presidency of Bombay (lat. 20° 10′-21° 58′ N., and long. 73° 37' -76° 20′ E.), and containing 9311 square miles, with a comparatively scanty population of 778,112. It lies chiefly in the valley or basin of the middle part of the Taptee, which enters the Gulf of Cambay below Surat; and it is bounded mostly by territories. of nearly all the powerful native princes-the Nizam, Scindia, Holkar, and the Guicowar. Through its situation, it necessarily suffered much from the long contest between the Mohammedans and the Mahrattas, and also from the struggles among the rival chiefs of the latter. Accordingly, when, in 1818, it fell to the East India Company on the overthrow of the Peishwa, it presented little better than a scene of desolation, with ruined mansions, dismantled towns, and dilapidated temples. The difficulties of the new government were considerably aggravated by the Bheels, a more than half-savage race, that formed about an eighth of the population; and even beasts of prey, particularly tigers, had, under the constant influences of human strife, multiplied to an unusual extent. But the improvement was regular and steady. Peace and security reigned; so that roads, formerly hazardous for armed parties, were traversed in safety by unarmed individuals. The staple productions are cotton, wheat, and other grains, and also a little indigo. The cultivators are generally in a progressive condition, more especially in the cotton districts, and the well-watered talooka of Baglan.

CANDELA'BRUM, a Latin word signifying properly a candlestick (from candela, a candle), but more frequently employed to mean a support for a lamp. There were, perhaps, no articles of furniture in which the ancients combined the beautiful with

Ancient Roman
Candelabra.

[graphic]

Candelabrum, with suspended Lamps.

or imaginary. Sometimes a figure was introduced either into the body of the shaft, or placed on the top of it, in either case supporting the superincumbent portion of the C. on its head. Sometimes a figure was substituted for the shaft altogether, the receptacle for the oil being placed in one hand. In others, the shaft is a sliding one, like that of a musicstand, the object being, of course, to raise or depress the light at pleasure.

In addition to the various kinds of candelabra which, from their height, seem to have stood on the floor, the ancients had others intended to be placed on a table. These consisted either of a pillar or of a

CANDIA-CANDLE.

tree, and from the capital of the former, or the branches of the latter, lamps were suspended, as in the accompanying illustration, which we copy from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. The C., in this instance, including the stand, is only three feet high. From the size of the stand in proportion to the rest of the C., it would seem to have been used for some other purpose.

CA'NDIDATE (Lat. candidatus). Among the Romans, a suitor for the office of consul, quæstor, prætor, &c., was named C. because, in appearing before the people, he wore a white (candida) toga without a tunic. His dress was chosen partly as an ostentation of humility, and partly as it served to display wounds received in battle. The candidature commonly lasted two years: in the first year, the C. was proved by CA'NDIA, in Turkish, 'KIRI'D,' called in the the senate, whose decision, if favourable, was ratified most ancient times Idea, afterwards Crete, one of by the popular assemblies; and, in the second, his the largest islands of the Mediterranean, is situated name was entered in the list of candidates. During at the entrance of the Archipelago, in long. 23° 40' this period occurred the ambitio, or canvassing of -26° 40′ E., lat. 34° 50′-35° 55′ N. It is very voters, which often gave occasion to enormous bribirregular in form, its length being about 160 miles, ery, in spite of the severe enactments passed to preand its breadth varying from 6 to 35 miles. The vent the corruption of the electors. The elected C. history of C. commences with Greek mythology, and was styled Designatus. historians and poets say that it was governed by its own king, among whom were Saturn, Jupiter, and Minos, 1300 years before Christ. C. was conquered by the Romans under Metellus, who, on that account, had the title of Creticus;' on the division of the empire, it fell to the share of the eastern monarchs. In 823 A.D., it was conquered by the Saracens, who built the city of C. on the ruins of Heraclea. In 1204, it was sold by Pope Boniface -to whom Baldwin I. gave it -to the Venetians. The Venetians divided the island into four provinces -Sitia, Candia, Retimo, and Canea. In 1645, the Turks besieged Canea, and in 1669 conquered the island, after a war which lasted 24 years, and a blockade of 13 years-30,985 Christians, and 118,754 Turks being killed or wounded in the siege. At present, the island belongs to the Sultan of Turkey.

[ocr errors]

The island of C. is for the most part mountainous, the mountains being chiefly composed of freestone or of marble, which is either gray or white. Towards the south side of the western part of the island, there is a chain of high mountains, extending in length about 374 miles, which, from their appearing white, especially at the west end, were anciently called Leuci. Mount Ida, now called by the natives Upsilorites, is one in a chain of mountains extending to the northwest of the island almost to Retimo; the mountain is of gray marble, and the surface loose stones: there is no verdure on it except a few small shrubs. Jupiter is said to have passed great part of his youth amongst these mountains in the exercise of hunting and drawing the bow.

The island abounds in springs and fountains, which are found even by the sea-side; most of the rivers are dry in summer, but in winter many of them are very dangerous torrents. The island does not produce any minerals of importance. The soil of C. is fertile, and produces wheat in abundance. The exports, which consist chiefly of oil, wood, linseed, and fruit, in 1857 amounted in value to £402,556, and the imports to £435,628.

C. had once, according to Homer in his Odyssey, 90 cities; there are now only 3 principal towns: Megála Kástron or Candia, pop. 12,000, of which 8000 are Christians: Retimo or Rhithymnos, pop. 3200, of which 1500 are Christians; Canea or Khania, pop. 6000, of which 3800 are Christians. The total population of the island does not now number 200,000 less than half its amount at the outbreaking of the Greek revolution in 1821.

The language spoken by both Christians and Moslems in C. is modern Greek. The whole rural population may be said to have a common descent from the Cretans of the middle ages-the worldly advantages which used to result from embracing Islamism, induced whole districts to abandon the faith of their forefathers-but a mere change of religious faith was unaccompanied by any change of language.

In the early Christian Church, newly baptized converts were styled CANDIDATES, on account of the white garments worn during eight days after baptism. In modern times, a German probationer or theological student who has been approved before the highest ecclesiastical authorities, is called a C.; but a still broader signification is also attached to the word, an applicant for any office whatever, religious or secular, being termed a candidate.

CA'NDLE, a cylinder of wax or fatty matter with a wick, intended for giving light. Candles are made principally of tallow; also of the solid portion of palm and cocoa-nut oils, of bleached wax, and of spermaceti. They are either dipped, moulded, or rolled. 'Dips' are made by stretching a number of wicks upon a suitable frame, so that they may hang down at a distance from each other equal to about double the intended thickness of the C.; these are then dipped in a trough of melted tallow, and hung upon a rack until cooled, then dipped again and again, until the required thickness is obtained. The dipper has a number of frames prepared before commencing, and by the time he has dipped the last, the first is cool enough to dip again. The tallow in the trough has to be kept only a little above its melting point, for if it were much hotter, it would melt away a portion of the tallow already on the wick, instead of adding to it. Tallow-candles are much improved by being kept a year or a winter before using.

Moulds, or mould-candles, are cast by pouring the tallow down a pewter tube, along the axis of which the wick has been previously fixed. These tubes are well polished in the inside, and several are fitted in a frame, the upper part of which forms a trough, into which the moulds all open; and thus by pouring into the trough, all the moulds are filled at once.

Wax-candles are not moulded, on account of the great amount of contraction which wax undergoes in cooling, and the difficulty of drawing it from the moulds. The wicks are warmed, and suspended over a basin of melted wax, which is poured over them until they acquire the proper thickness; they are then rolled, while hot, between two flat pieces of smooth hard wood, kept wetted to prevent adhesion.

Great improvements have recently been made in the manufacture of candles, and these are especially interesting from being the direct results of the progress of scientific chemistry-of theory applied in practice. All oils or fats are composed of one or more fatty acids combined with a base, called glycerine. The fatty acids constitute the combustible and more solid portion of the compound. Both acid and base are very weak, and it is a general law in chemistry, that a strong base, under favourable conditions, will separate a weaker one from its acid, by combining with the acid, and taking the place of the weak base; and a strong acid will

A

CANDLEBERRY-CANDLEMAS.

in like manner displace a weaker one. Lime is a strong base, and being cheap, is used to separate the glycerine from the fatty acid of tallow, palm-oil, &c. This it does when the melted fat is stirred for some hours with a mixture of lime and water. The lime forms a hard insoluble soap, by combining with the fatty acid, and the glycerine remains in solution with the water. This lime-soap is then broken to powder; and the weak fatty acid separated by means of sulphuric acid, which combines with the lime, forming sulphate of lime. The whole being heated, the fatty acid floats on the top, is skimmed off, and the candles made from it. These are called composite candles; they give a purer light than ordinary tallow, from being freed from the glycerine, which not only softens the fat, but diminishes its combustibility. Pure stearic acid, or stearine, the chief fatty acid of tallow, is a hard crystalline substance, perfectly dry, and free from any greasiness, with a somewhat pearly lustre. Its crystalline structure presents a difficulty in the manufacture of candles, for when cast in moulds, it contracts on cooling, and leaves small spaces between the crystals. This has been obviated by mixing a little arsenic with it; but this method is now abandoned, on account of the poisonous gas evolved by the combustion of such candles, and the desired effect is obtained by mixing the stearine with a little wax, and pouring it into hot

moulds.

One

To obviate the necessity of snuffing candles, several contrivances have been adopted; in all of them, the object is effected by causing the wick to bend over and its end to fall outside of the flame, and thus, by coming in contact with the oxygen of the air, to be completely burned-for such combustion cannot take place within the flame. See FLAME. This bending over is variously brought about. method is by twisting the wick with one strand shorter than the rest, which is strained straight while the candles are being cast; and when released by the melting of a portion, it contracts, and bends the wick. Another method is by adding on one side of the wick a paste, consisting of a mixture of borax, bismuth, flour, and charcoal. Another, by coating one of the threads of the wick with a metallic envelope, by dipping it in fused bismuth; the metal fuses at the end of the burning wick, and forms a small globule, which bends the wick over, and is itself readily combustible at a red heat.

These are called metallic wicks. Various other

contrivances have been adopted for the same object.

Candles of this improved kind, in which the wick disappears in burning, and that bear a general resemblance to candles of wax, are now manufactured on an extensive scale, the progressive use of gas making apparently little impression on this branch of trade. Price's manufactory of patent' candles, as these improved candles usually are called, is perhaps the largest in England. It is situated at Vauxhall, in the neighbourhood of London, and its economic arrangements have attracted not a little public attention.

Candles were early introduced-with symbolical signification-into Christian worship, and are still so employed in the Roman Catholic Church. In the Church of England, candles are sometimes placed on the altar; but the practice is a subject of controversy. The numerous superstitious notions and observances connected with candles and other lights in all countries had a more remote origin, and may be considered as relics of the once universally prevalent worship of the sun and of fire. Numerous omens are taken from them, and they are also used as charms. In Britain, a portion of the tallow rising up against the wick of the candle is called a wind

ing-sheet, and regarded as a sure omen of death in the
family. A bright spark at the candle denotes that the
party directly opposite is to receive a letter. Windy
weather is prophesied from the waving of the flame
without visible cause, and wet weather if the wick
does not light readily. Lights appearing to spring up
from the ground, or issue out of a house, and traverse
the road or air by invisible agency, the superstitious
in Wales and elsewhere call corpse-candles. They
are ominous of death, and their route indicates the
road the corpse is to be carried for burial. The size
and colour of the light tell whether the fated person
is young or old. It is or was customary in some
places to light a candle, previously blessed, during
the time of a woman's travail. C. were supposed to
he efficacious after death as well as before birth,
for they were placed on the corpse.
The object
was doubtless to ward off evil spirits, who were
supposed to be always on the alert to injure souls
on entering and on quitting the world. See also
CANDlemas.

CA'NDLEBERRY, CANDLEBERRY MYRTLE, WAX
TREE, WAX MYRTLE, TALLOW TREE, or BAYBERRY
Myrica cerifera), a small tree or shrub of 4-18
native of the United States of America, but most
feet high, but generally a low spreading shrub, a
abundant and luxuriant in the south. It belongs to
the natural order Amentaceae, sub-order Myricea,
according to some, a distinct natural order, 'distin-
guished by naked flowers, with 1-celled ovary, a
fleshy-and a single erect seed. The genus Myrica
drupaceous fruit (stone-fruit)-the scales becoming
has male and female flowers on separate plants;
fleshy-and a single erect seed.
and the scales of the catkin in both male and female
flowers are concave.
lanceolate leaves, with two small serratures on each
The C. has evergreen oblongo-
bark and leaves when bruised emit a delightful fra-
side at the point, sprinkled with resinous dots. The
grance. The drupes-popularly called berries-are
covered with a greenish-white wax, which is collect-
about the size of peppercorns, and when ripe, are
ed by boiling them and skimming it off, and is after-
wards melted and refined. A bushel of berries will
yield four or five pounds. It is used chiefly for
emit an agreeable balsamic odour, but do not give
candles, which burn slowly with little smoke, and
from it.M. Gale is the SWEET GALE of the moors
a strong light. An excellent scented soap is made
and bogs of Scotland, well known for its delightful
fragrance, a native of the whole northern parts of the
world. Several species are found at the Cape of
Good Hope, one of which, M. Cordifolia, bears the
name of WAX SHRUB, and candles are made from its
berries.

CA'NDLEMAS, in its ecclesiastical meaning, is the feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, and is observed on the 2d of February. This festival is very strictly kept by the Roman Catholic Church, there being a procession with many lighted candles, and those required for the service of the ensuing year being also on that occasion consecrated; hence the name Candlemas Day. In Scotland, this day is one of the four term-days appointed for periodical annual payments of money, interest, taxes, &c., and of entry to premises—the three other term-days there being Whitsunday, Lammas and Martinmas. See TERM-DAYS.

An old document of the time of Henry VIII., preserved in the archives of the Society of Antiquaries, London, concerning the rites and ceremonies in the English Church, speaks thus of the custom of carrying candles: On Candlemas Daye it shall be declared that the bearyinge of candles is done in the memorie of Christe, the spirituall lyghte whom Simeon dyd prophecye ["a light to lighten the

CANDLE-NUT-CANEA.

and extending its aggressive efforts. Since the death of Dr. Chalmers, he has been the most active and influential worker in the Free Church, and the man to whom, above all others, it is most deeply indebted. As a debater in church courts, he is unequalled; as a preacher, he is noted for earnestness, strength, and acuteness of mind. His writings

Gentiles", as it is redde in the churche that daye.' But an older and heathen origin is ascribed to the practice. The Romans were in the habit of burning candles on this day to the goddess Februa, the mother of Mars; and Pope Sergius, seeing it would be useless to prohibit a practice of so long standing, turned it to Christian account by enjoining a similar offering of candles to the Virgin. The have not made the same impression on the comcandles were supposed to have the effect of frighten-munity as his actions, but they are nevertheless ing the devil and all evil spirits away from the highly respectable in point of ability. The prinpersons who carried them, or from the houses in cipal are-Contributions to the Exposition of the which they were placed. An order of council in Book of Genesis, An Examination of Mr. Maurice's 1581 prohibited the ceremony in England. There is Theological Essays, and Life in a Risen Saviour. a tradition in most parts of Europe to the effect CA'NDY. See CEYLON. that a fine C. portends a severe winter. In Scotland, the prognostication is expressed in the following

distich:

'If Candlemas is fair and clear,

There'll be twa winters in the year.' Christ's Presentation, the Holyday of St. Simeon, and, in the north of England, the Wives' Feast-day, were names given to Candlemas Day. See Brand's Popular Antiquities, Bohn's edition.

CAʼNDLE-NUT (Aleurites triloba), a tree of the natural order Euphorbiaceæ (q. v.) a native of the South Sea Islands, Madagascar, Molucca, Java, &c., which produces a heart-shaped nut with a very hard shell, and a kernel good to eat when roasted, although in a raw state it possesses in a slight degree some of the active properties so common in the Euphorbiaccæ, and is apt to cause purging and colic. It is about as large as a walnut. An excellent bland oil is procured from it, used both for food and as a lamp oil. The inhabitants of the Society Islands after slightly baking these nuts in an oven, and removing the shell, bore holes through the kernels, and string them on rushes, hanging them up in their houses, to be used for torches, which are made by enclosing four or five strings in a leaf of the screw-pine (Pandanus). These torches are often used in fishing by night, and burn with much brilliancy. The lampblack used in tattooing was obtained from the shell of the candle-nut. A gummy substance exudes from the C. tree, which the Tahitians chew.

CAʼNDLESTICK. The ordinary C. is so well known that no description is needed. The most important modern improvement in the C., is a contrivance for maintaining the candle at a uniform height, by means of a spring placed below the candle, and confined in the cylindrical body of the C.; this spring presses the candle upwards with sufficient force to drive it completely out, but for a collar at the top, against which the surface around the wick bears, and thus, as the candle melts, it yields to the pressure of the spring, and maintains a uniform height. The collar, when properly adjusted, also prevents the guttering to which composite candles are liable when exposed to currents of air or moved about.

CANDLISH, ROBERT SMITH, D. D., an eminent Scottish divine, was born in Glasgow, in 1807, entered the university of his native city in 1822, and was licensed as a preacher in connec

tion with the Established Church in 1831. In 1834 he became minister of St. George's, Edinburgh. From this period, his public career may be said to have commenced. With intense zeal, he advocated the justice and necessity of ecclesiastical reforms, and became one of the boldest and most vigorous leaders of the popular or 'non-intrusion' party. After the Disruption (see FREE CHURCH), he co-operated with Dr. Chalmers and other chiefs of the newly formed denomination in organising, consolidating,

[ocr errors]

and Persians over their other garments. CA'NDYS (Gr.), a loose gown, worn by the Medes It was made of woollen cloth, which was either purple or of some other brilliant colour, and hade wide sleeves. In the sculptures at Persepolis, nearly all the personages are represented as so attired. A gown of a very similar kind is still worn by Arabians, Turks, and other orientals.

CANDY-SU ́GAR is the popular name applied to ordinary sugar when procured in large crystals by the gradual and slow cooling of a concentrated solution of sugar. solution of sugar. See SUGAR.

CAʼNDYTUFT (Ibéris), a genus of plants of the natural order Cruciferce, distinguished by unequal petals, the largest being towards the circumference of the dense corymbs in which the flowers grow, and by an emarginate pouch with the valves keeled and winged, the cells one-seeded, and the cotyledons accumbent. See COTYLEdon. The species are chiefly found in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, and the name C. is supposed to be derived from that of the Island of Candia, the name Iberis from Iberia (Spain). One species, I. amara, remarkable for its bitterness, is a doubtful native of England. Some species are slightly shrubby, some are herbaceous perennials, some annuals. Some are among the most familiar ornaments of our flower-gardens, as the annual White and Purple C. (I. umbellata), the Sweet-scented C. (I. odorata), and two slightly shrubby species, I. sempervirens and I. semperflorens, the latter of which, in favourable situations, continues to blossom throughout the whole winter, and pleases the eye at all seasons, both by the abundance and the perfect whiteness of its flowers.

CANE, or KEN, a river rising in Bundelcund, near lat. 23° 54′ N., and long. 80° 13′ E., and, after a north-north-east course of 230 miles, entering the Jumna in lat. 25° 47′ N., and long. 80° 35′ E. It is too rapid and rugged for navigation; and is remarkable for the matchless beauty of its pebbles.

CANE, a term sometimes indiscriminately applied to any small and smooth rod, of the thickness of a walking-stick or less; but more correctly limited to the stems of the smaller palms and the larger grasses. We thus speak of Sugar C., Bamboo C., &c., among the latter; whilst among the former, this name is particularly appropriated to the species of the genus Calamus, also called Rattan. To this tropical regions of the east for making bottoms of genus belong the canes largely imported from the chairs, couches, &c.

See RATTAN.

CANE SUGAR. See SUGAR.

CANE'A, or CA'NNA, called Khania (Tà Chania) by the Greeks, is the capital of the island of Candia or Crete, and situated on the northern coast, in lat. 35° 28′ N., and long. 24° 2′ E. It occupies the site of the ancient Cydonia. The present city is of Venetian origin, and dates from 1252 a. D., when a colony was sent from Venice to occupy it. The object of its

[ocr errors]

CANE-BRAKE-CANIS MINOR.

Naro, is well built, and has sulphur mines. The inhabitants, 18,000 in number, are principally engaged in agricultural pursuits.

foundation was to keep down the Greeks, who had been in arms, and at open war with their Italian lords, almost without intermission from the day when the Venetians first set foot on their shores. Venetian CANI'CULAR, CANICULAR DAYS, or coats of arms are still observed over the doorways of some of the principal houses. C. is surrounded by a strong wall and deep ditch, both of which, however, are in a state of great dilapidation; it has a good, but very shallow harbour. C. is the principal mart for Candian commerce, and exports to France and Italy, oil, soap, wax, &c. Consuls from all nations are stationed here, and it is the residence of the Turkish governor of Candia, and of the Greek bishop. Pop. about 6000, of whom a seventh are Christians and Jews. The language spoken is modern Greek. The environs of C. are very beautiful.

CA'NE-BRAKE (Arundinaria macrosperma), a large kind of reed or grass, indigenous to the warmer parts of the United States of North America. It grows in marshy situations. It is of a genus allied to the bamboo. The flowers are in panicles.

CANE'LLA (Canella alba), a small tree common in the West Indies, where it is often called WILD CINNAMON. Its place in the botanical system has not yet been exactly ascertained, but it seems to be allied to Pittosporaceœ. The fruit is a small black berry. The whole tree is very aromatic, and its flowers are extremely fragrant. The bark of the young branches is the C. Bark of apothecaries,

also known in commerce as Whitewood Bark, and sometimes called White Cinnamon. It forms a considerable article of export from the Bahamas. It has an aromatic fragrance, regarded as intermediate between that of cinnamon and that of cloves, and a bitterish, acrid, pungent taste. It is employed as a stomachic and stimulant tonic, and as an aromatic addition to tonics or to purgatives, in debilitated conditions of the digestive organs.

CA'NÉS VENA'TICI (Lat. Hunting Dogs), a constellation of the northern hemisphere, added by Helvetius, and known generally as the greyhounds of Helvetius. The dogs are distinguished by the names of Asterion and Chara. On the celestial globe, they are represented as being held in leash by Bootes, and apparently pursuing Ursa Major (q. v.) round the pole of the heavens.

CANG, CANQUE, or KEA, an instrument of degrading punishment in use in China. It consists of a large wooden collar fitting close round the neck, and the weight of which is usually from 50 to 60 pounds. Over the parts where the C. fastens are pasted slips of paper, on which the mandarin places his seal, so that the culprit may not be relieved until the full term of his sentence has expired, which sometimes extends to 15 days. On the C. is also inscribed, in large letters, the offence and the duration of the punishment. The criminal having been paraded through the streets by the police, is then left exposed in some thoroughfare of the city. As he is incapable of using his hands, he has to be fed during the time he is suffering the penalty.

CA'NGAS DE O'NIS, a town of the Asturias, Spain, about 35 miles east-south-east of Oviedo. It is a poor place, but in its vicinity are one or two interesting monastic structures, and the cave whence the Goths fled and hid themselves, after the battle of Gu..dalete, in 711, and from which, in 718, they issued, and annihilated the Moorish invaders. Pop. 6380.

CANICATTI, a town of Sicily, in the province of Girgenti, and 15 miles east-north-east of the city of that name. It is situated on the banks of the

DOG-DAYS, CANICULAR YEAR. Canicular
was an old name of Canis Minor (q. v.); it was also
used to denote Sirius or the Dog-star, the largest
and brightest of all the stars, and which is situated
in the mouth of Canis Major (q. v.). From the
Heliacal Rising (q. v.) of this star (Sirius), the
ancients reckoned their dog-days, or Dies Canicu-
lares, which were 40 in number-20 before, and 20
after the rising of the star. The rising of the dog-
star was in ignorance supposed to be the occasion
of the extreme heat and the diseases incidental to
these days. It was by mere accident that the
rising of the star coincided with the hottest season
of the year, in the times and countries of the old
astronomers. The time of its rising depends on the
latitude of the place, and is later and later every
year in all latitudes owing to precession. In time,
the star will rise in the dead of winter. The Cani-
cular Year was that known among the Egyptians
and Ethiopians. It was computed from one rising
of Sirius to the next, and consisted ordinarily of 365
This year was
days, and every fourth year of 366.
sometimes called the Heliacal Year. The reason
for computing the year from the rising of Sirius,
seems to have been that, at the time, the heliacal
rising coincided with the greatest swelling of the

Nile.

CA'NIDE (Lat. canis, a dog), a family of the Digitigrade (q. v.) section of carnivorous mammalia, which, as now generally defined, is less extensive than the Linnæan genus Canis, the hyænas being excluded from it, and referred to the family Viverridae (civets, ichneumons, &c.). These families are, indeed, closely connected, and hyenas may be said to form a connecting link between them, the dentition, however, making a nearer approach than in either of them to that of the cats or Felida.-The C. have two flat tuberculous molar teeth or grinders on each side, behind the great carnivorous cheektooth-the last præmolar -of the upper jaw, a dentition resembling that of the bear family, or Urside, to which they exhibit a further resemblance in their power of adapting themselves to the use of vegetable food. Their whole organisation fits them to be less exclusively carnivorous than the feline tribe. They have generally three incisors or cutting teeth, with one large canine tooth, and four præmolars on each side in each jaw, two true molars on each side in the upper jaw, and three in the lower. The true molars are adapted for crushing either bones or vegetable food. The last præmolars in the upper jaw are remarkably large, and particularly adapted for cutting flesh. See DoG, FENNEC, FOX, Jackal, LYCAON, Wolf, &c.

[ocr errors]

Dentition of Canidæ.

CA'NIS MAJOR, the Greater Dog, a constellation of the southern hemisphere, below the feet of Orion. It contains Sirius, the brightest of all the stars, and its place may be found by means of this star, which is on the continuation of the line through the belt of Orion. According to Flamstead, it contains 31 stars.

CA'NIS MI'NOR, the Lesser Dog, is a constellation of the southern hemisphere. It is near Canis Major, and just below Gemini. Procyon, of the first magnitude, is its principal star, and lies in a direct line between Sirius and Pollux; so that the position of the constellation may be found by means

« PrécédentContinuer »