CASTLETOWN-CASTOR OIL.

CA'STLETOWN, the capital town and seat of on by medicine; while a dose of a table-spoonful, government of the Isle of Man, called in Manx Balley or a little more, will almost always succeed if it Cushtal, or the Town of the Castle. C. is situated remains on the stomach. The only serious objecon the margin of Castletown Bay, near the southern tions to the use of C. O., are its disagreeable extremity of the island, and surrounds Castle Rushen, flavour, and the sickness often produced by it; some a Danish fortress of prodigious strength, having persons get over this difficulty by floating the oil walls from 12 to 18 feet in thickness, built of the in hot coffee, which is said to remove its nauseous limestone found on the spot, which is of so imperish-quality. able a nature that the sharp angles of the keep retain the marks of the builder's chisel, though completed in the 10th century. The castle was founded by Guthred II. of the Orrys kings of Man, and having been added to from time to time, it now consists of a pile of building of a most imposing appearance. It underwent a six months' siege by Robert Bruce in 1313. The keep is used as the public jail of the island, and the other portion of the castle consists of public offices, officers' apart ments, and accommodation for the chancery and other superior courts.

The adulterations of C. O. may be various. Several of the fixed oils, including lard, may be employed. The best test of its purity is its complete solubility in its own volume of absolute alcohol, which other fixed oils are not. Croton oil is occasionally added, to increase the purgative powers of the oil.

The CASTOR-OIL PLANT (Ricinus communis) is a native of the south of Asia, but now naturalised in the south of Europe, and in other warm regions of the globe. The genus Ricinus belongs to the natural order Euphorbiacea. It has panicled flowers, with 3-5-partite perianth; the fruit a tricoccous Being in the neighbourhood of the bold coast-capsule, with one seed in each cell, the outside of scenery of the Calf of Man, Spanish Head, &c., C. is the capsule generally covered with soft spines. The a desirable resort for the numerous tourists who castor-oil plant is often cultivated in gardens in the frequent the Isle of Man. Ship-building has of middle, and even in the northern parts of Europe, late made considerable progress in Castletown. where it is only an annual, attaining a height of Population in 1871, 2320. 3-10 feet, but highly ornamental by its stately growth, its large, broad, palmato-peltate, 7-9-fid leaves, 2 feet in diameter, and its generally purplish hue. Its flowers are produced in long glaucous racemes. In warmer climates, it is perennial,

CA'STOR and PO'LLUX, the two principal stars in the constellation Gemini (q. v.), were so called from Castor and Pollux, sons of Leda and Tyndareus, king of Lacedæmon. Their sister was the famous Helen of Troy. On account of their mutual attachment, Zeus placed them among the stars.

CASTOR AND POLLUX, the name given to a meteor, seen at sea, and which, under the form of twin balls of fire, attaches itself to the masts of ships. Sailors predict fair weather from its appearance. Sometimes, however, only one ball of fire is seen; the meteor is then called Helena, and it is regarded as foreboding a storm. Shakspeare makes mention of this superstition in the Tempest (Act i. Scene 2).

CASTOR OIL, a fixed oil obtained from the seeds of the C. O. plant. In extracting the oil, the seeds are first bruised between heavy rollers, and then pressed in hempen bags under a hydraulic or screw press. The best variety of oil is thus obtained by pressure in the cold, and is known as cold-drawn C. O.; but if the bruised and pressed seeds be afterwards steamed or heated, and again pressed, a second quality of oil is obtained, which is apt to become partially solid or frozen in cold weather. In either case, the crude oil is heated with water to 212°, which coagulates, and separates the albumen and other impurities. Exposure to the sun's light bleaches the oil, and this process is resorted to on the large scale. When pure and cold drawn, C. O. is of a light-yellow colour; but when of inferior quality, it has a greenish, and occasionally a brownish tinge. It is somewhat thick and viscid. Its specific gravity is high for an oil, being about 960 (water being taken as 1000). It is miscible with alcohol or spirits of wine and ether. Reduced to a temperature of 0° F., it does not become solid; but exposed to the air, it very slowly becomes rancid, then dry and hard, and serves as a connecting-link between the drying and non-drying oils. It has a nauseous smell, and an acrid, disagreeable, and sickening taste, which may be overcome by the addition of a little magnesia. The principal acid present in it is ricinolic acid (HO,C6H3305), which is allied to oleic acid.

C. O. is one of the most convenient and mildest of purgative medicines. Given in doses of one or two tea-spoonfuls, with a little peppermint-water, it forms a gentle laxative for habits easily acted

Castor-oil Plant:

a, end of a branch, with leaves and flowers; b, a capsule. and its stem becomes arborescent, attaining even 30 feet in height, with a corresponding thickness, so that ladders are used for climbing it. Different species which have been described, are probably mere varieties. It was known to the ancients, and appears to have been valued by them. Its seeds have been found in Egyptian sarcophagi. From the resemblance of its seeds to an insect called ricinus,

it received that name from the Romans. The seeds are oval, and about four lines long. They are chiefly valued for the oil which they yield, on account of which the plant is cultivated in the Levant, Spain, Provence, the West Indies, Brazil,

CASTORËUM-CASTRO.

the United States of America, as far north as New Jersey, and in other tropical and warm temperate countries. Although castor oil is chiefly used in medicine, it is not unfit for lamps and for oiling the wheels of machinery. The streets of Lima are lighted, and the machines used in the works of the sugar-plantations of Peru are oiled with it. The appearance of the castor-oil plant obtained for it the name of Palma Christi, by which it is still sometimes called. Its seeds were formerly known as semina cataputiæ majoris.

CASTO'RËUM, a substance secreted in two glandular sacs, closely connected with, but quite distinct from, the organs of reproduction in the Beaver (q. v.), and at one time held in the highest repute in medicine, although now regarded as almost inert, and chiefly used by perfumers. The C. sacs are pear-shaped, and it appears in commerce in these sacs themselves, connected in pairs as they are taken from the animal. C. is produced both by the male and by the female beaver. In Hudson's Bay commerce, ten pair of them are equal in value to one beaver skin. Russian C. is of much higher value than American. C. was well known to the ancients. From the time of Hippocrates, it was regarded as having a specific influence over the uterus, and is still in use in the north of Europe. It was at one time also esteemed a most valuable medicine in hysteria, catalepsy, and other spasmodic diseases.

CASTO'RIDÆ, a family of Mammalia, of the order Rodentia, of which the Beaver (Castor) is the type, and in which besides the beaver, the Coypu (Myopotamus), and the Musquash, some naturalists include other genera more commonly regarded as belonging to the Mouse and Rat family (Muridae), as the Lemmings and Voles.

CASTRAMETATION is the art of encamping; and a camp is the result of that art. See CAMP, ENCAMPMENT.

CASTREN, MATTHIAS ALEXANDER, the greatest authority in regard to the Finnish people and language, was born in 1813, not far from the Lappish boundaries of Finland. He received his earliest instruction in the town of Tornea, and afterwards studied at Helsingfors. About the year 1838, he undertook a pedestrian excursion through Finnish Lapland, in order to extend his knowledge of the language and literature; and, in 1840, another through Carelia, to collect ballads, legends, &c., illustrative of Finnish mythology. On his return, he published in Swedish a translation of the famous Finnish poem, Kalevala, the metre and style of which have been imitated by Longfellow in his poem of Hiawatha. Aided by the government of his native province, he commenced his researches among the Finnish, Norwegian, and Russian Laplanders, as also among the European and Siberian Samoyeds. Appointed linguist and ethnographer to the St Petersburg Academy, C., between the years 1845 and 1849, prosecuted his laborious investiga. tions as far east as China, and as far north as the Arctic Ocean. On his return, he was appointed first professor of the Finnish language and literature at the university of Helsingfors. He employed himself in preparing for publication the vast materials which he had collected, but died 7th May 1852, from exhaustion-a martyr to science. Before his death, appeared Versuch einer ostjäkischen Sprachlehre nebst kurzen Wörterverzeichniss (Petersburg, 1849), as the first instalment of his Northern Travels and Researches. He also wrote Elementa Grammatica Syrjaena (Helsingfors, 1844), and Elementa Grammatica Tscheremissa (1845); On the Influence of the Accent in the Lappish Language (Petersburg, 1845);

De Affixis Personalibus Linguarum Altaicarum (Helsingfors, 1850), &c.

CASTRES, a town of France, in the department of Tarn, is situated on both sides of the river Agout, 46 miles east of Toulouse. The two parts of the town are united by two stone bridges. In the middle ages, C. was celebrated for its Benedictine abbey, the heads of which exercised a temporal sway over the place. Later, it was one of the strongholds of the reformed party, but it was forced to submit, and had its fortifications demolished in the reign of Louis XIII. C. has beautiful promenades, shaded by fine alleys of trees, and in the neighbourhood is a remarkable rocking-stone, 11 feet high, and weighing some 30 tons. It is of eggshape, and rests upon its smaller end; a strong push is sufficient to cause its vibration. C. is a busy manufacturing place. Its fine wool-dyed goods are especially famous, and it has also manufactures of linen, leather, paper, soap, &c. Pop. (1872) 16,458.

CA'STRI, or KASTRI, a village of modern Greece, in the government of Phocis, situated on the south declivity of Mount Parnassus, and worthy of notice, as occupying a portion of the site of the ancient Delphi (q.v.). The famous Castalian spring, now called the Fountain of St John, is situated between 200 and 300 yards to the east of the village. Beside it grows a plane-tree, the only one in C., which is fabled to be that planted by Agamemnon.

Asiatic Turkey, capital of the island of Mitylene, CA'STRO (ancient Mitylene), a seaport town of situated on the east coast, about 55 miles north-west of Smyrna. It is surrounded with walls, and defended by a castle, and its streets are narrow and dirty. Remains of the ancient town are found to the west. Pop. 6500.

CASTRO, INES DE, whose mournful fate is the subject of several tragedies and poems, was the daughter of Pedro Fernandez de Castro, and sprang from a branch of the royal family of Castile. She was appointed lady-in-waiting to the wife of Dom Pedro, son of Alfonso IV. of Portugal. Her beauty captivated Dom Pedro, and, after the death of his wife, in 1345, he secretly married Ines. Their stolen interviews took place in the convent of St Clara, at Coimbra, until the secret was discovered and revealed to the king, who was made to believe that this union might prove injurious to the young Ferdinand, son of Dom Pedro by his deceased wife. Questioned by his father, Dom Pedro had not the courage to reveal the whole truth, while he refused to marry another. In the king's council, it was determined that Ines must die. To see this sentence executed, the king hastened to Coimbra, while his son, Dom Pedro, was engaged in hunting (1355); but the sight of the beautiful Ines, who, with her children, cast herself at the feet of the king, and prayed for mercy, diverted him for a few moments from his purpose. His advisers, however, soon obtained from the king permission to execute the sentence, and, in the course of an hour after the interview, Ines fell pierced by the daggers of assas sins. Dom Pedro attempted a revolt against his father, but was pacified by the queen and the Archbishop of Braga, and promised not to seek revenge for the death of Ines. Two years afterwards, the king died, having shortly before his death recom mended the murderers of Ines to leave Portugal, and seek shelter in Castile, where Peter the Cruel was then ruling. As several of Peter's nobles had escaped into Portugal, to avoid his oppression, he now proposed to Dom Pedro an exchange of fugitives, to which the latter (now king of Portugal) consented. Two of the assassins accordingly were delivered up, and were tortured and burned. Two

CASTRO DEL RIO-CASUISTRY.

years afterwards, the king, in an assembly of the nobility, declared that he had been lawfully married, by papal sanction, and in the presence of the Archbishop of Guarda, to Ines de Castro. When this statement had been confirmed by several testimonies, the king gave orders that the corpse of Ines should be removed from its grave, clothed in royal attire, with a crown on the head, and seated on a throne, should receive homage as queen. This strange ceremony was performed, the nobles of Portugal bowing before the enthroned dead, and kissing the hem of the royal robe. The body was then removed to Alcobaça followed by the king, with the bishops and the nobility, all on foot. A splendid marble monument was erected over the grave of Ines, surmounted by her statue, wearing a crown.

CA'STRO DEL RIO, a town of Andalusia, Spain, situated on a slope on the right bank of the Guadajocillo, 16 miles south-east of Cordova. A portion of the old town is surrounded by ruinous walls; the new town lying outside of these has some good streets. It has manufactures of woollen and linen fabrics, earthenware, &c., and considerable trade in agricultural produce. Pop. 9100.

CA'STRO-GIOVA'NNI, a town of Sicily, in the province of Catania, is situated 13 miles north-east of Caltanisetta, on a remarkable fertile plateau, which rises precipitously to a height of 4000 feet above the sea-level. C. occupies the site of the ancient Enna, of which Ceres was the presiding goddess, and her most famous temple was here. The neighbourhood was the scene of Proserpine's abduction by Pluto. In connection with the Punic and Servile wars, Enna has a conspicuous part in early history. There are no remains of the old town. A castle and other buildings of Saracenic origin are still standing. The district yields large quantities of sulphur. Pop. (1872) 14,633.

CASTRONUO'VO, a town of Sicily, in the province of Palermo, 25 miles north of Girgenti. It is situated on a hill, is fortified, and in its vicinity are quarries of fine marble, Pop. 4029.

CASTROVILLA'RI, a town of South Italy, in the province of Cosenza, 34 miles north of Cosenza. It is situated on an eminence surrounded by mountains, is partially fortified, and has an old massive castle, and a trade in wine, manna, silk, &c. Pop. 7931.

beef. C. equisetifolia is called in Australia the SWAMP OAK. It is a lofty tree, the Toa or Aitoa of the Society Islands, where it grows chiefly on the sides of hills, and where its wood was formerly used for clubs and other implements of war. It has been introduced into India, and is there much valued, as its wood bears a great strain, and is not readily injured by submersion in water. The hardness and durability of this wood led the earlier voyagers to the South Sea Islands to designate it Iron Wood. C. quadrivalvis is the SHE OAK of New South Wales. CASSOWARY TREE is a popular generic name of the Casuarina. Some of the species are scrubby bushes. All of them have a very peculiar appearance, their branches being long, slender, wiry, drooping, green, jointed, with very small scale-like sheaths instead of leaves. They resemble arborescent Equisetacea. The fruit consists of hardened bracts, collected in a strobilus, or cone, and enclosing small winged nuts. The flowers have neither calyx nor corolla; the stamens and pistils are in separate flowers, the male flowers with only one stamen, the female flowers with a onecelled ovary, the male flowers in spikes, the female flowers in dense heads. More than 20 species are known.

of

conscience, is that branch of theology and morals CA'SUISTRY, called by Kant the dialectics of which professes to deal with very delicate moral rules and principles of reasoning for resolving the questions-casus conscientia-and which supplies and partly from the authority of Scripture, the same; drawn partly from natural reason and equity, still is, studied chiefly by Roman Catholic theolocanon law, councils, fathers, &c. C. has been, and gians; but at one period Protestant divines also rudiments of it, however, are to be sought for in paid some attention to the perilous science. The antiquity. Traces of it are found in the Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece. This is not to be wondered at, for C. is not, in its essence, a device of the schoolmen, although the latter elaborated it into a science, but a natural expression of the intellect and moral nature of man, when he is placed in circumstances of great perplexity. The sound and healthy reason of antiquity, however, could not enter into the morbid refinement, or rather the insidious corruption of morals found in certain Jewish and Christian writers. The Talmud (q. v.) contains an enormous accumulation casuistical questions, while the sphere of Christian ethics in the middle ages often became a mere arena for unprofitable and pernicious disputations of this nature, as is seen in such works as the Summa Raymundiana, Summa Astesana, Summa Bartholina, which obtained their names from their respective compilers. At a later period, the Jesuits Molina, Escobar, Sanchez, Busenbaum, &c., became notorious for their abuse of ingenuity in the construction of their solutions. Some of them still suffer the of moral puzzles, and for the flagrant immorality vengeance' of Pascal's immortal satire. It is nevertheless indubitable, that in the life of every mannow as formerly-casus conscientia will at times CASUARI'NA, a genus of trees of the natural arise, when the higher laws of morality come into order Amentaceae, and of the sub-order Casuarineæ, collision with subordinate conventional ones. The which is regarded by some as a distinct natural dubiety as to what the path of duty is, what ought order. The trees of this genus are almost exclu- to be done, resulting from this collision, naturally sively Australian; one only, C. equisetifolia, being and legitimately leads to many nice considerations. found in the South Sea Islands, the Indian If these are carried on under the guidance of a pure Archipelago, the Malayan peninsula, and on the conscience, no harm can ensue, but, on the contrary, east side of the Bay of Bengal, as far north as much good. Such, however, is not the perverted Arracan. Some of them are large trees, producing C. of the Jesuits, the art of quibbling with God,' timber of excellent quality, hard and heavy, as M. Le Feore, preceptor to Louis XIII., called the Beef-wood of the Australian colonists, so it, in which a man seeks to justify, by subtle quirks, called from the resemblance in colour to raw his immoral actions. Mayer has published an

CASTUE'RA, a town of Estremadura, Spain, 68 miles east-south-east of Badajoz. It is situated near the right bank of the Guadalefra, has several good streets, manufactures of brick, earthenware, &c., and a trade in agricultural produce; there is also some weaving carried on. Pop. 5600.

CA'SUAL POOR are persons temporarily relieved without being admitted to the roll of permanent paupers. See POOR-LAWS.

CA'SUALTIES OF SUPERIORITY, in the feudal law of Scotland, are such emoluments arising to the superior as depend on uncertain events. See WARD-HOLDING.

CASUS BELLI-CAT.

account of all the writers on cases of conscience, ranging them under three heads-Lutheran, Calvinistic, and Romish.

CA'SUS BE'LLI, or

a case of war, is the reason alleged by one power for going to war with another. It is found impossible to reduce these causes or reasons to any definite code, because an ambitious or aggressive power has no difficulty in making a reason to declare to others, without acknowledging the real reason.

CAT (Lat. catus), a name sometimes extended to the whole family of quadrupeds designated by zoologists Felidæ (q. v.), the genus Felis of Linnæus; and sometimes more restrictedly applied to a section of that family, containing a number of its smallest species, the domestic cat and species most nearly allied to it. These form the subject of the present article. They all pursue their prey on the branches of trees more than on the ground, and are most expert climbers, in which, however, they are rivalled by some of the other Felida.

The origin of the domestic C. is by no means well ascertained; and by some naturalists it is described as a distinct species, under the name Felis domestica, which perhaps may be regarded as at least a convenient provisional designation, until satisfactory reasons can be adduced for referring it to some species existing in a wild state. By many, indeed, the domestic C. has been confidently pronounced to be a mere domesticated variety of the common Wild C. (Felis Catus) of Europe and the north of Asia; but to this there are many objections; the most important being that it is always of smaller size, contrary to what is usually observed of the effects of domestication in animals; and that in cats of the domesticated race which have run wild, and in their known progeny, there is no appearance whatever of a tendency to return to the type of the true wild cat. -Another opinion as to the origin of the domestic C. has obtained the assent of a considerable number of naturalists; that it is derived from the Felis maniculata, or Gloved C. of North Africa, a species discovered by the celebrated traveller Rüppell. But Mr Owen has stated a perfectly conclusive reason against identifying the domestic C. with the Felis maniculata, that the first deciduous molar tooth in the latter has a relatively thicker crown, and is supported by three roots, whilst the corresponding tooth both of the domestic C. and of the wild C. of Europe has a thinner crown, and only two roots.

The certainty, however, that the C. existed as a domestic animal in ancient Egypt, makes it not improbable that we ought to look for its original on the banks of the Nile, or in some of the countries from which the ancient Egyptians might most readily have obtained it. Of its rarity in Britain in former times, when the wild C. was common in all the woods which covered so much of the island, a curious evidence is afforded by a Welsh law quoted by Pennant a law of the reign of Howel the Good, who died in 938 A. D.-fixing the prices of cats according to their age and qualities, beginning with a price for a kitten before it could see, and enacting that if any one stole or killed the C. that guarded the prince's granary, he was to forfeit a milk ewe, its fleece and lamb'; or as much wheat as when poured on the C. suspended by its tail, the head touching the floor, would form a heap high enough to cover the tip of the tail.

It is needless to describe an animal so well known as the domestic C., or to do more than allude to its purring, its mewing, and the other sounds which it makes, its aversion to wet its feet or fur, its love of heat and comfort, its stealthy manners when in

quest of prey, its patient watchfulness, so often fatal to mice, and other points of its natural history with which everybody is familiar.

The delight which a C. takes in tormenting a tioned as an apparent exception to the general mouse before killing it, has sometimes been mencharacter of goodness manifest in the instincts of animals. It is an interesting circumstance, however, that when the prey is a bird instead of a mouse, a C. immediately inflicts a mortal wound, as if aware of its greater power of effecting its escape.

The eye of the C. is capable of much contraction and dilatation of its pupil, so that the animal can see in a very feeble light, and is thus adapted for those nocturnal habits to which, even in domestication, it shews so strong a natural tendency.

The fur of the C. is very free from any oily substance, so as to be readily injured by water, and is capable of being rendered highly electric by friction, particularly in very dry or frosty weather. electric spark is readily obtained from the tip of the

ear.

An

The strong statements of Buffon gave for a time great currency to the opinion, that the C. is incapable of affection, and retains, even in a domesticated state, its savage ferocity, merely restrained by selfishness, and disguised by cunning. The belief is very prevalent that the C. forms an attachment to places only, and not to persons. There are, however, well-authenticated stories which prove the C. to be capable of strong attachment to its master or mistress, although this quality is less frequently and remarkably displayed than by the dog. The instances which have, on the other hand, been recorded to shew the attachment of the C. to places, are well worthy of attention in connection with the subject of instinct in animals. Some of these instances of cats finding their way back from great distances to their former home, are very wonderful, and indeed cannot be explained on any grounds or principles known. The same instinct and power, however, are displayed by other animals.

The varieties of the domestic C. are neither numerous nor very different. The Tortoise-shell C. differs from the most common variety chiefly in colour, although it is also particularly elegant and delicate in form. It is much more common in the south of Europe than in Britain.-The Angora C. is a beautiful variety, remarkable for its long silky hair.-The Chinese C. has a fine glossy fur, and is remarkable for its pendulous ears.— 8.-The Chartreuse is of a bluish colour.-It is supposed that the Tabby may have undergone less change by domestication than any other variety.

The wild C. is still to be found in a few of the woods of the north of England, in the mountains of Wales, the Highlands of Scotland, and some parts of Ireland. It has entirely disappeared from districts where it was once common. It is the only beast of prey remaining in Britain the strength and fierceness of which make it at all dangerous to man; but an encounter with a wild C. is safe only to a man well. armed. Fortunately, the instances of its attacking when unmolested are rare, but such instances have occurred. The wild C. is an inhabitant of deep thickets and recesses of woods, and of the rocky and bushy ravines of mountainous districts. Its fur is held in considerable estimation. The fur is soft, long, and thick. The colour of the face is yellowish-gray, with a band of black spots towards the muzzle; the forehead is brown; the head is gray, with two black stripes passing from the eyes, over and behind the ears; the back, sides, and limbs are gray, darker on the back, paler on the sides, with a blackish longitudinal stripe along the middle of the back, and numerous paler curved

In

The

d

Catabrosa aquatica :

d, glumes.

Superstitions regarding Cats.-Cats have been objects of superstition from the earliest ages. Egypt, they were held in the highest reverence; temples were erected in their honour; sacrifices and devotions were offered up to them; and it was customary for the family in whose house a C. died to shave their eyebrows. In the middle ages, they were regarded as the familiars of witches. favourite shape of Satan was said to be that of a black C.; and the animal was an object of dread instead of veneration. There is or was a belief among sailors, that the frolics of a C. at sea portended a storm. Many people still prophesy rainya, panicle; b, part of stem, with roots and leaves; e, a spikelet ; weather from a C. washing its face; and a cat-call on the house-top was formerly held to signify death. Their supposititious connection with witches, and the foolish belief that a C. has nine lives, have led to the perpetration of great cruelties upon this harmless and very useful domestic animal. See Brand's Popular Antiquities, Ellis's revised edition. CAT, on shipboard, is a name for many of the ropes or lines employed. A cat-fall is a rope for heaving up the anchor from the water's level to the bow; it works through cat-blocks, and is connected with the cat-head. Cat-harpings are small ropes for tightening the shrouds. The cat-heads, just named, are two strong short timbers projecting from the bow, on each side of the bowsprit. A cat-hook fastens the ring of the anchor to the cat-block.

CAT, or CAT-CASTLE, in the military engineering of the middle ages, was a kind of movable tower to cover the sappers as they advanced to a besieged place. The garrison sometimes poured down burning pitch and boiling oil from the walls upon the C.; but occasionally this stratagem was disastrous, for the besiegers availed themselves of the blazing tower to burn the wooden gates of the town or fortress.

CAT-O'-NINE-TAILS. See FLOGGING. CATABRO'SA (Gr. catabrosis, a gnawing), a genus of grasses formerly included in Aira (see HAIR-GRASS), but distinguished by the leathery palea, which are ribbed, truncated, erose (as if gnawed at the points), awnless, and nearly equal. The glumes are much shorter than the spikelets,

range, being found throughout Europe, from Lapland to the Mediterranean, and also in the torrid regions of South America. It grows only in very moist situations, as the muddy margins of lakes and rivers, ditches, &c., and is only cultivated in irrigated meadows, or on the banks of rivers subject to be overflowed by high tides, where the ground is always wet and muddy. It is one of the most valuable grasses for such situations, its foliage being peculiarly sweet, and much relished by cattle. Both its foliage and its seeds, also, afford much food to water-fowl, and to some kinds of fish, particularly carp. Its leaves often float, and its stalks seldom rise, more than a foot or fifteen inches above the surface of the water. It has a stiff branching panicle, with whorled spreading branches, and its seeds are small. When its artificial propagation is attempted, it is more frequently by dropping freshly gathered stems into still waters, or scattering them on the mud, than by sowing the seeds. It is sometimes called WHORL GRASS, and sometimes SWEET WATER GRASS.

CATACOMBS (Gr. kata, and kumbos, a hollow), subterraneous chambers and passages formed generally in a rock, which is soft and easily excavated, such as tufa. C. are to be found in almost every country in which such rocks exist, and, in most cases, probably originated in mere quarries, which afterwards came to be used either as places of sepulture for the dead or as hiding-places for the living. The most celebrated C. in existence, and those which