CROSSBOW

CROTALARIA

585

Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra).

two common species, L. pityopsitta cus and L. curvirostra, since in the former the crossing of the bill is seen in a much less emphasised degree. The lastnamed species is of frequent, though inconstant occur

rence in Britain, and two other species have been recorded as visitors. Altogether, seven species are known, from the northern regions of both hemispheres, and always found gregariously in conifer forests. The crossbill has become associated with a sacred legend, familiar to many from Longfellow's translation of a German poem on the subject. The bird was fabled to have sought, by pecking at the nails, to free Christ from the cross.

Crossbow, or ARBALEST, a weapon used in war and sport in medieval times. It consisted of a wooden stock, with a bow made of wood, iron, or steel, crossing it at right angles to the end; the bowstring was pulled down towards the other end of the stock by a lever (which in the simpler

11

B

kinds was

worked by hand or foot), and retained in position sometimes in a notch by a catch or trig ger. The bolt or 'quarrel' was then laid in a groove on the top of the stock, and the trigger being pulled, it was shot with a considerable amount of

power. The latter, of course, depended on the size of the bow, some of A, Hand Crossbow; B, Rolling-purchase the weapons Crossbow. being comparatively small and easily handled, while others were of large dimensions, and required a machine of the nature of a windlass, called a 'moulinet' or 'gaffle,' to enable the bow to be properly bent. The crossbows of the 14th century were almost all thus equipped. The quarrels employed varied with the size of the bow, but generally they were short stout shafts about 18 inches long, winged with horn or leather, and having a metal point, which was sometimes sharp, but often lozenge-shaped, obtuse, and indented at the sides. Some crossbows had a tube or barrel, with a slit for the bowstring, and dis

Cross-breeding. See BREED.

Cross-buns, a small cake specially prepared for Good-Friday, and in many towns of England cried about the streets on the morning of that day as hot cross-buns.' Bun is, according to Skeat, ultimately of Scandinavian origin. There is an Old Fr. word bugne, a swelling,' which may be the immediate source of the English word. GoodFriday buns were appropriately marked with the The origin of the cross, and hence the name. practice is obscure. Most probably it is a relic of some heathen observance, to which the early church gave a Christian significance. At Chelsea, there were formerly two celebrated bun-houses, besieged on Good-Friday from morning until night by hundreds of eager purchasers, but they have long since disappeared.

Crosse, ANDREW, electrician, born at Fyne Court, Somersetshire, 17th June 1784, was educated at Bristol and at Brasenose College, Oxford. His principal researches in science were as to the artificial formation of minerals by processes of electrical deposition and the application of electricity as a means of improving wines, cider, &c. In 1837 he announced that under certain circumstances, organisms (of the genus Acarus) appeared in solutions of inorganic substances; a discovery which attracted much attention, but which exposed him to the ridicule of opponents. He died 6th July 1855. See Memoir (1857) by his second wife; and her Red Letter Days of my Life (1893). Cross-examination. See EVIDENCE.

Crossley, SIR FRANCIS, manufacturer and philanthropist, was born at Halifax, October 26, 1817. His father was the founder of the Dean

Clough Carpet Mills. Sir Francis encouraged the inventor George Collier to produce a greatly improved carpet-loom; the mills increased till 6000 hands were employed; while carpets were much cheapened in price, and their use greatly extended at home and abroad. Amongst Sir Francis's benefactions to Halifax were a public park (1857) at a cost of £40,000, almshouses, and orphan homes, besides large donations to the London Missionary Society and to the Congregationalists. A baronetcy was conferred on him in 1863, and from 1852 till his death on 5th Jan. 1872 he represented Halifax and the West Riding as a Liberal.

Crossraguel ('Cross of St Regulus '), a ruined abbey in Ayrshire, 2 miles SW. of Maybole. It was a Clugniac foundation, a daughter of the Paisley abbey, and dates from 1244. A notable

disputation took place in 1562 between John Knox and the abbot, Quentin Kennedy; and in 1570 the commendator was 'roasted' or severely tortured by fire by the Earl of Cassilis, to force him to resign certain lands. The charters of the abbey have been edited by F. C. Hunter Blair (2 vols. 1886).

Crotalaria (Gr. krotalon, 'a rattle'), a tropical genus of papilionaceous Leguminosa, deriving its

name from the inflated pods in which the seeds rattle when ripe. The species are annual, perennial, and shrubby plants, some of which yield valuable fibre, particularly C. juncea, the Sunn, or Hemp Sana, or Janupa Hemp of India, an annual species. The perennial C. tenuifolia (Jubbulpore Hemp) is grown in Southern India, and other species or varieties are in cultivation. Several species are North American.

Crota'lidæ. See RATTLESNAKE.

Crotch, WILLIAM, composer, was born at Norwich in 1775. His musical genius was quite as precocious as that of the great Mozart. When little more than two years old he could play God save the King with chords, and in 1779 he was performing in London as a musical prodigy. When only twenty-two he was appointed professor of Music in Oxford University, and in 1822 he obtained the principalship of the Royal Academy of Music. Crotch composed a large number of pieces for the organ and piano, two oratorios, ten anthems, &c.; and he was author of Elements of Musical Composition (1812) and Styles of Music of all Ages (1807-18). He died at Taunton, December

29, 1847.

Crotchet. See MUSIC.

Croton, a genus of plants of the natural order Euphorbiacea, with numerous species, which are mostly tropical or subtropical trees or shrubs, a few herbaceous. The most important is the Purging Croton (C. Tiglium), a small tree, a native

Croton.

of India and the more easterly tropical parts of Asia. The leaves are extremely acrid; the wood in a fresh state is a drastic, and in a dried state, a more mild purgative; and the seeds (Croton Seeds, or Tilly Seeds) are a very powerful drastic purgative, formerly much employed in Europe, but latterly disused on account of violence and uncertainty of action, although still valuable as yielding croton-oil. They are oval or oval-oblong, about the size of field-beans. So great is their acridity, that dangerous effects have ensued from working for some hours with packages of them. The oil is obtained mostly by expression, and partly by treating the cake with alcohol. The wood and seeds of C. Pavana are employed in some parts of the East in the same way as those of C. Tiglium. Other species possess similar properties. Very different are the properties of the species which yield Cascarilla (q.v.) and Copalchi (q.v.) barks. Other species are still more aromatic, and some

CROUP

delightfully fragrant, containing in great abund ance a thickish balsamic sap. The sap of C. gratissimus is employed as a perfume and cosmetic at the Cape of Good Hope; that of C. origanifolium is used in the West Indies as a substitute for Balsam of Copaiva; that of C. balsamiferum, also West Indian, furnishes Eau de Mantes by distillation; and the balsamic sap of some South American species is dried and used as incense. The C. Draco and other species yield a blood-red juice, which, and is possessed of astringent properties. when dried, forms the finest kind of dragon's-blood,

CROTON-OIL is the oil expressed from the seeds liquid, with an acrid taste, a somewhat rancid of the C. Tiglium, and is a sherry-coloured, viscid smell, and a fluorescent appearance. It contains a number of oily bodies, none of which have as yet been definitely shown to be the cause of its Croton-oil purgative and vesicating properties. being sufficient to remove constipation. When is a violent purgative, in most cases a single drop rubbed upon the skin it produces rubefaction and pustular eruption, and thereby tends to relieve some affections of the internal organs. It is used either by itself in the unmixed state, or diluted with oliveoil, soap liniment, alcohol, &c. It is not to be employed except under the advice of a doctor.

Crotona, a city of Lucania in ancient Italy, owed its origin to a colony of Achæans, as far back as 710 B.C. It soon became one of the most prosperous, wealthy, and powerful cities of Magna Græcia Its walls measured 12 miles in circumference, and the territory over which it extended its sway was considerable. Its inhabitants were celebrated for athletic exercises, and they carried off most of the prizes at the Olympic games. Pythagoras settled here about the middle of the 6th century B.C., and became a very important member of the body politic (see PYTHAGORAS). About 510 B.C. Crotona sent forth an army of above 100,000 men, under Milo, its most renowned athlete, to fight the Sybarites; the latter, though three times as numerous, were utterly defeated, and their city destroyed. The war with Pyrrhus completely ruined the importance of Crotona, and in the 2d century B.C. it had sunk so low that a colony of Romans had to be sent to recruit its well-nigh exhausted population. It never afterwards recovered its prosperity. Some ruins belonging to the old exist in the vicinity of the modern city (called Cotrone, q.v.); and very fine Greek coins have been found. Cortona (q.v.) was also anciently called Crotona.

Croton River. See AQUEDUCT.

Crotophaga (Gr., 'tick-eater'), a genus of birds in the cuckoo family and order Coccygomorpha. They are also known by the names Ani and Keelbird, the former referring to the cry, the latter to the blade-like ridge on the compressed arched beak. The best known of the three species (C. ani) frequents South America to the east of the Andes, and is often called the Savanna Blackbird. They are distinguished from other cuckoo-like birds by the tail, which has only eight steering feathers. The beak is as long as the head, and the keel is said to be used in unearthing their insect prey; the wings are long and pointed; the tail is long, broad, and rounded. They are social birds, and several females lay their eggs in a common nest. They are fond of keeping about herds of horses and cattle for the sake of the insect larvæ which they find on their skin. In this connection they are obviously of some importance.

Croup, a term used in Scotland from an early period to describe a certain train of laryngeal symp toms, was first applied by Dr Francis Home, in 1765, to an acute inflammatory and non-contagious affection of the Larynx (q.v.), in which there is the

CROUP

formation of a false membrane or fibrinous deposit on the mucous surface of the windpipe. The invasion of the disease resembles that of simple Catarrh (q.v.), and may be very insidious. The child is languid, feverish, and thirsty, and a dry, shrill cough is gradually developed, but these symptoms sooner or later give way to those of the second stage. Here the respiration becomes difficult, the drawing of each breath having a hissing and croupy' sound; the voice is almost inaudible or greatly modified, and accompanied by a harsh, brassy, or may be stifled cough; the face is red and swollen, and covered with sweat; and the nostrils are rapidly working. If the little patient is not relieved by coughing or vomiting up some membraneous shreds and glairy mucus, a state of greater dyspnoea ensues; the lips become livid and the nails blue; the fever is higher, the pulse quicker but weaker; and the child's efforts to relieve the increasing obstruction to the breathing are most distressing to witness. A period of extreme restlessness and suffering is (unless relieved by immediate treatment-see below) soon followed by death from increasing coma, syncope, or exhaustion.

Croup seems to be caused by a damp atmosphere of low temperature, and is got in exposed situations. It is most frequently met with between the years of two and ten, although all ages and classes are liable to suffer from it. It is commoner in boys than girls. Croup requires to be distinguished from simple catarrh of the windpipe; from so-called false croup, a spasmodic affection of the larynxthe Laryngismus Stridulus of Dr Mason Good; and from Diphtheria (q.v.), an infectious disease in which a false membrane is usually found on the pharynx or palate, as well as in the larynx. As croup is an acute and very fatal disease, the treatment requires to be active and decided. If the case is seen early, apply an ice-bag to the throat and give ice to suck, but if you suspect the presence of false membrane, give a full dose of an emetic, such as ipecacuanha, sulphate of copper, or sulphate of zinc, which should be repeated in three or four hours if necessary and effectual in relieving the breathing. The child should at intervals be placed in the hot bath, and inhalations of steam or medicated vapours administered. An inhalation of lactic acid is often of great use in the first stage. If these means fail, Tracheotomy (q.v.) must be at once resorted to, to save the life of the patient, as recommended by Trousseau.

Crow (Corvus), a genus of Passerine birds, and type of a family Corvida, which also includes Magpies (Pica), Nutcrackers (Nucifraga), Jays (Garrulus), Choughs (Fregilus), and other genera. The crow family is included in that division of Passeres known as Acromyodi, from peculiarities in the vocal organs, and its members share the following characters: the bill is moderately long, strong and thick; bristles at the base cover the nostrils; the wings are of medium size and rounded; the tail is not prominent; the feet are strong. On the whole they outdo the other Passeres in size and strength, and are represented by towards two hundred species.

Keeping first to the crow genus proper (Corvus), we need give little description of the general characters of these familiar birds. The long black bill, the large gape, the tail all but covered by the wings, the black feet, &c. are well-known characteristics. The genus is distributed in most parts of the world except South America and New Zealand. They are essentially tree birds, and almost always build their nests there. In diet they are predominantly vegetarian. It is important to distinguish the four British species of crow. (1) The Raven (Corvus corax) is a well-known species in Europe and North Asia. Its black plumage has a

bluish sheen; the upper portion of the bill is bent over the lower; the wings reach the point of the tail. It is a hungry bird, devouring inter alia fieldmice and small birds; it is not unfrequently tamed, and can be readily taught to ejaculate and play tricks. See RAVEN.

(2) The Rook (C. frugilegus) is a commoner smaller species of gregarious habit. There is the same metallic shimmer, the wings again reach the tail, but the upper bill is not elongated over the lower. The face becomes curiously bare during the first winter, and so remains. It is of use in destroying injurious insects, but its omnivorous appetite includes eggs, young birds, fish, walnuts, corn, &c. See ROOK. The accompanying figure

shows the heads of the raven, A, and the rook, B, and illustrates well the prevalent characters of the bill in this genus. It shows also in the raven the bristles which, as in most of the species, surround its base, but which are wanting in the rook. Noteworthy, too, is the greater strength of neck, head, and bill of the more carnivorous as compared with the more frugivorous species.

(3) The Hooded Crow (C. cornix) derives its name from the fact that while the general colour is ashen gray, the head is black. The under throat, the wings, and the tail are also, however, black. Like the next species, the hooded crow is fond of carrion, and both are often shot by gamekeepers on account of the damage they do to young game-birds, &c.

(4) The Carrion Crow (C. corone, or Corone hiemalis), which is of the same size as the rook, has black plumage, with a steel-blue shimmer on back and head, and wings which do not reach the tip of the tail. The bases of the feathers are gray in the rook, white in the carrion crow. It is useful in destroying mice and insects. It is said to interbreed with the preceding species. The name is given in America to a Vulture (q.v.). In some parts of Scotland the carrion crow is called the Hoody. There is considerable dispute as to the specific dignity of some of the crows. A few other forms in addition to the above four may be noticed. The crow of North America (C. americanus) is very similar to the carrion crow, but rather smaller, and, after the breeding season is over, congregates into great flocks; it is also partially migratory, great numbers from the more northerly parts moving to the south on the approach of winter. Its habits are otherwise intermediate between those of the carrion crow and the rook.-The Fish Crow (C. ossifragus) frequents the coasts and southern rivers of the United States, feeding chiefly on fish, which it catches with great dexterity. It also sometimes assails gulls, and compels them to disgorge their prey.-The Jabbering Crow (C. jamaicensis) of the Blue Mountains of Jamaica

is remarkable for the resemblance of its voice to human speech. Sir J. E. Tennent gives an interesting account of the small glossy gray-necked crow of Ceylon (C. splendens), which frequents the towns, feeding on offal, and boldly enters rooms through open windows, to snatch some morsel from the dinner-table. See also CHOUGH, JACKDAW, JAY, MAGPIE.

Crowberry, or CRAKEBERRY (Empetrum nigrum), a small procumbent shrub, with characteristically inrolled leaf-margins, of the order Empetracea, a native of the colder northern parts of the world, abundant in the moors of Scotland and the north of England, and common throughout Canada, Alaska, and Siberia. The order consists of a few heath-like shrubs, which, however, are usually associated with Euphorbiaceae (Spurges, &c.), with small trimerous unisexual flowers, the fruit a small

Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum):

a, flowering branch; b, flowers enlarged; c, fruit.

berry seated in the persistent calyx. The berries of the crowberry are nearly black, surround the branches in crowded clusters, and each contain six to nine bony seeds and a watery acidulous juice. A fermented liquor is prepared from them in some northern countries. They are a favourite food of game. E. rubrum of Cape Horn differs little, except in having red berries. The berries of the Camarinheira (Corema alba) are employed in Portugal for the preparation of an acidulous drink in fevers. The plants of this order, especially E. nigrum, have taken considerable part in the forma 1on of peat.

Crowe, MRS CATHERINE (née Stevens), authoress, was born at Borough Green, in Kent, in 1800. In 1822 she married Lieutenant-colonel Crowe, and spent great part of her after-life in Edinburgh. She died in 1876. Her mind was morbid and despondent, ever hovering on the border-line of insanity, which it crossed once in one violent but brief attack. Her translation of Kerner's Seeress of Prevorst (1845) prepared the way for her well-known Night Side of Nature (1848), a great collection of supernatural stories, told, indeed, with vigour and verisimilitude, but hopelessly credulous and uncritical. She wrote also tragedies, juvenile books, and novels; of the last, the best, Susan Hopley (1841) and Lilly Dawson (1847). Her Spiritualism and the Age we live in (1859) has no value, save as autobiography.

CROWN

Crowe, JOSEPH ARCHER, C.B., art-writer, born in London in 1825, studied and travelled widely on the Continent, where in 1847 he met Cavalcaselle; their joint works will be found in the article CAVALCASELLE. Crowe was a special correspondent in the Crimean war, the Indian mutiny, and the Franco-Austrian war; and in 1857-59 was director of the School of Art at Bombay. In 1860 he was appointed British consul-general at Leipzig, and afterwards at Düsseldorf; in 1882 he was named commercial attaché at Paris. Made a C.B. in 1885, lie was raised to the dignity of K.C.M.G. in 1890. He contributed the article RAPHAEL to this work. He died 6th September 1896. See his Reminiscences (1895), mainly of his career as journalist. Crowfoot. See RANUNCULUS.

Dakota stock, live on reservations in Montana. Crow Indians, some 4000 in number, of the

Crowland, or CROYLAND, an ancient markettown in the south of Lincolnshire, on the Welland, in the Fens, 10 miles NNE. of Peterborough. Here in 716 King Ethelwald founded a monastery in honour of the hermit St Guthlac, which, burned by the Danes in 870, and again destroyed by fire in 1091, was restored in 1113, and thereafter became a mitred Benedictine abbey of singular magnificence. The north aisle of its church now serves as the parish church, and part of the west front also remains. Ingulph (q.v.) was abbot of Croyland. Pop. of parish, 2929. See G. Perry's Croyland Abbey (1867). The Triangular Bridge' is described in our article BRIDGE, Vol. II. p. 436.

Crown (Lat. corona). The crown of classical times was a circular ornament of metal, leaves, or flowers, worn on festive and solemn occasions, and as a reward of worth, talent, and military or naval prowess. Among the Greeks the crown (stephanos) was sometimes used as an emblem of office, as in the case of the archons; sometimes as an ornament for the heads of the victors in the public games; and sometimes as a mark of distinction for citizens who had merited well of their country. The Romans made great use of crowns as rewards for valour. The most highly prized was the corona obsidionalis, which was bestowed by a beleaguered garrison or army on the general who rescued them. It was made of grass or wild-flowers, gathered from the place which had been beset by the enemy. Next in order was the corona civica, a garland of oak leaves and acorns, which was given as a reward to any soldier who had saved the life of a Roman citizen in battle; the corona navalis, a gold circle decorated with beaks of ships, was the reward for naval services; the corona muralis, a similar circle surrounded with battlements, was bestowed on him who first scaled the walls of a besieged city; and the corona vallaris, a circle ornamented with palisades, on the first soldier who forced his way into the enemy's camp. There was also the corona triumphalis, bestowed upon a general when he obtained a triumph.

Other crowns were emblematical, such as the sacerdotal, funeral, convivial (of roses, violets, myrtle, ivy, and even parsley), and nuptial crowns. The custom of wearing bridal wreaths or even bridal crowns of metal is not unknown in modern Europe as in Germany and Norway and medieval England; and the bridal wreaths of young brides are still suspended in some Derbyshire churches. (1) Corona sacerdotalis, worn by the priests and bystanders when engaged in sacrifice. (2) Corona funebris or sepulchralis, with which the dead was crowned, a custom which prevailed both among the Greeks and Romans. In Greece, these crowns were commonly of parsley. (3) Corona convivialis, worn by guests on festive occa

sions.

As the emblem of sovereignty in modern Europe, the crown was borrowed less from the crowns of antiquity than from the diadem, a fillet of silk, linen, or woollen. This decoration was originally oriental. Alexander the Great adopted it from the kings of Persia; and Antony assumed it during his luxurious intercourse with Cleopatra. In modern states, crowns have been of various forms, and undergone various changes. The royal crown of England in the 12th and 13th centuries was a jewelled circlet of gold, heightened with strawberry-leaves or trefoils, sometimes alternately large and small. In the very costly and magnificent crown of Henry IV., the strawberry-leaves, eight in number, alternated with as many fleursde-lis, the whole alternating with sixteen small groups of pearls. The same crown was worn by Henry V. in the beginning of his reign, but on undertaking his French campaign he ordered it to be broken up, and the fragments distributed as security for the loan required by him to carry on the war. The crown that succeeded it was probably an arched one; for although no arched crown appears on the Great Seal of any monarch before Edward IV., the arched as well as the unarched form of crown is found occasionally in sculptures and illuminations of the reigns of Henry V. and Henry VI. The crown of Edward IV. (which was probably also worn by Henry V. and Henry VI.) differs from previous crowns in being arched over with jewelled bands of gold, closing under a mound ensigned by a cross patée, while crosses patée are substituted for the strawberry-leaves, and roses or fleurs-de-lis for the clusters of pearls. During succeeding reigns down to that of Charles II., the crown underwent various minor changes of form. There were sometimes three complete arches, sometimes two as at present, and these were at first very acute, afterwards more and more depressed; but the crown of the first Stuarts (weighing 7 lb. 6 oz., and worth £1110) was broken up in 1649. From the reign of Charles II. till that of William IV., the same actual crown was used, its form being what is still usually known in this country as the imperial crown, and represented in fig. 1. It has four crosses patée and four fleurs-de-lis set alternately on the circlet, while two complete pearl-studded arches rising from within the crosses patée carry at their intersection the mound and cross. A new state crown was made for the coronation of Queen Victoria, differing some what from the imperial crown. Its arches rise almost perpendicularly, are elevated rather than depressed at their intersection, and assume the form of wreaths of rose, thistle, and shamrock, formed of brilliants; and the crown itself is covered with diamonds and studded with costly gems (fig. 2). In official representations of the royal arms, they are ensigned by the imperial crown, but a graceful modification of that crown is sometimes made use of instead of it with Her Majesty's sanction (fig. 3). For the coronets of the members of the royal family and of the nobility generally, see CORONET.

H

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

589

The crown of Scotland, long lost sight of, was in 1818 discovered, along with the other Regalia (q.v.), in a chest in Edinburgh Castle. Its gold circle, richly jewelled and enamelled, is heightened with ten fleurs-de-lis, alternating with as many crosses fleury, each adorned in the centre with a great diamond between four large pearls put crossways. Four gold arches, added in the reign of James IV., close under a mound, on which rests a large cross patée, with four pearls at the extremities, and as many in the angles. Excepting the arches, the crown is probably of the date of Robert Bruce.

In the crown of the kings of France the circle was heightened with fleurs-de-lis; and from the time of Francis I. it was closed with eight arches,

from whose intersection arose a fleur-de-lis. The crown of the former German emperors, now of the Austrian emperors, is cleft in the centre, so as to present an appearance suggestive of a mitre. The adoption of this crown by Charles V. seems to have resulted from the kings of France having, in emulation of the emperors, assumed a close crown. The iron crown of the ancient Longobardic kings (fig. 4)-restored to the king of Italy by the Emperor of Austria in 1866-is alleged to have been bestowed by Pope Gregory the Great on Queen Theodolinda, and with it Henry of Luxemburg and succeeding emperors were crowned. It is a gold circle with enamelled flowers and jewels, within which is a thin fillet of iron, which has been asserted to have been hammered from a nail of the true cross. The crown of the new German empire is shown in fig. 5. The crown with which the king of Roumania was crowned in 1881 was made of bronze from the cannon captured in the Plevna redoubts.