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Caracara (Polyborus Braziliensis).

CARA CAS, the capital of the republic of Venezuela, the most northerly state in South

but it is capable of being tamed, and has been America, with Guiana on the E., and New Granada employed in hunting.

CARACA'LLA, properly named MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS BASSIANUS, a Roman emperor, the son of the Emperor Septimius Severus, was born at Lyon, 188 A. D. He was playfully named by his father Caracalla, from his long hooded tunic, made in the fashion of the Gauls, and so called in their language. After his father's death, 211 A.D., he ascended the throne as co-regent with his brother Publius Septimius Antoninus Geta, whom he afterwards caused to be murdered. Having bribed (at enormous cost) the Prætorians to overlook this foul deed, and to make him sole emperor, C. next directed his cruelty against all the friends and adherents of Geta, of whom twenty thousand of both sexesincluding the great jurist Papinianus-were put to death. Innumerable acts of oppression and robbery were employed to raise supplies for the unbounded extravagance of the despot, and to pay his soldiers. In his famous constitution, he bestowed Roman citizenship on all his free subjects not citizens-who formed the majority, especially in the provincesbut simply in order to levy a greater amount of taxes on releases and heritages, which were paid only by citizens. In his campaigns, he imitated, at one time, Alexander, at another time, Sulla; while his main object was to oppress and exhaust the provinces which had been in a great measure spared by the tyranny of former emperors. In 217 he was assassinated, at the instigation of Macrinus, prefect of the Prætorians, by one of his veterans named Martialis, on the 8th of April 217, on the way from Edessa to Carrhæ. Historians paint the life of C. in the darkest colours. Among the buildings of C. in Rome, the baths-Therma Caracalla-near Porta Capena were most celebrated, and their ruins are still magnificent.

CARACARA, or CARACARA EAGLE (Polyborus), a genus of birds of prey peculiar to America, and regarded as a connecting-link between eagles and vultures; agreeing with the former in their strongly hooked bill and claws, but with the latter in their naked face and propensity to prey on carrion. The name C. is originally Brazilian, and is derived from the peculiar hoarse cry of a common Brazilian species (P. Braziliensis), a bird of very fine plumage, and about 50 inches in expanse of wings, which is

on the W., is situated in lat. 10° 30′ N., and long. 67° 5' W., 16 miles to the south of La Guayra, its port on the Caribbean Sea. It is 2880 feet above the tide-level, enjoying from this elevation a healthy air and a temperature so moderate as to average 68° and 72° F. in February and June respectively. Standing immediately above the confluence of four streams, it is well supplied with cool water, which is distributed by means of fountains, pipes, and reservoirs. The neighbourhood is subject to earthquakes-12,000 citizens having, in 1812, perished from this cause. The present population is estimated at about 40,000. The streets are straight and regular. The most splendid edifice in the city is the Church of Alta Gracia for the people of colour, excelling even the cathedral in the richness of its decorations.

CARACAS, the province of which the foregoing city is the capital, extends in N. lat. from 7° 38' to 10° 46', and in W. long. from 65° 30' to 68°, and contains about 250,000 inhabitants. With a generally mountainous interior, the immediate coast is flat, presenting, besides La Guayra above mentioned, several harbours or roadsteads. The exports of the province are cocoa, coffee, dye-woods, hides, indigo, and sarsaparilla.

CARA'CCI, a celebrated family of Italian painters, the founders of the Bolognese school of painting.

CARACCI, LUDOVICO, the son of a butcher, was born at Bologna, 1555. As a student, he was so inapt that his master recommended him to abandon the pursuit; but instead of that, he went to Venice and Parma, making acquaintance with the works of the great masters there, and returned to Bologna imbued with art principles quite opposed to the superficial mannerism then prevailing in his native city. In conjunction with two of his cousins, who, instructed by him, had imbibed the same ideas, he founded, in spite of great opposition, the school which afterwards became so famous in the history of painting. The first principle of this new school was, that observation of nature ought to be combined with imitation of the best masters.' The allied artists found numerous pupils, to whom they gave practical instructions in drawing from natural and artistic models, with theoretical lessons on perspective, anatomy, &c. So great was their success,

CARACCIOLI-CARAMNASSA.

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CARACCI, AGOSTINO, cousin of Ludovico, was born (1558) in Bologna. He became a disciple of his cousin, but he was of too versatile a genius to devote himself closely to any subject, though his magnificent painting of the Communion of St Jerome' proves that he might have attained to very great eminence, had he devoted his undivided attention to the art; but he was in the habit of abandoning his easel for literature, poetry, and engraving on copper. As an engraver, indeed, he holds an important position in Italian art. He accompanied his younger brother, Annibale, to Rome, and there assisted in some of the paintings in the Farnese Gallery; but his brother, who was a slave to his art, soon quarrelled with him for his inattention, and he left Rome, and went to Parma. He died in 1602.

CARACCI, ANNIBALE, brother of Agostino, was born (1560) in Bologna, where he learned, under his father, the business of a tailor, from which he was called away by Ludovico Caracci. His progress in the study of painting was rapid, and at first he took principally for his models Correggio, Titian, and Paul Veronese. His picture of St Roche distributing Alms' first gained for Annibale C. a wide reputation. His fame reached Rome, and he was employed to paint the Farnese Gallery there, which is considered his greatest work, and the manner of which partakes somewhat of Raphael and Correggio. On this gallery he was employed some eight years, and he received for his work the incredibly paltry sum of 500 crowns. In disgust and vexation, the artist threw aside his pallet. He died in Rome in 1609, where his remains were interred, close to Raphael's tomb, in the Pantheon. Annibale C. was one of the greatest followers of Correggio, and in composition approached most nearly to the style of Raphael. Ludovico had a greater talent in teaching, and Agostino had a more versatile invention, but Annibale was unquestionably the greatest artist of the

three Caracci.

CARACCI, ANTONIO, natural son of Agostino, was born at Venice 1583, died in 1618. He was a pupil under Annibale, and painted some excellent pictures.

CARACCI, FRANCESCO (styled FRANCESCHINI), brother of Agostino and Annibale, was born in 1595, and distinguished himself as an eminent designer. He died 1622.-The best Italian masters of the 17th c-Domenichino, Guido Reni, Albani, and others-proceeded from the school of the Caracci.

CARACCIOLI. The name of a Neapolitan family unfortunately associated with the memory of Lord Nelson. Several members of this family were employed in political offices.-LOUIS ANTOINE DE C., born in Paris 1721, died 1803, was the author of a pseudograph, entitled Lettres Intéressantes du Pape Clement XIV., which mystified many readers throughout Europe.-FRANCESCO C., a meritorious Neapolitan admiral, entered in early life the marine service, and distinguished himself at Toulon, 1793. In the year 1798, the offensive conduct of the court of Naples toward C. induced him to return from Palermo, where the court was then residing, to Naples, where he entered into the service of the republic established by the French invaders, and, with a few vessels, prevented the attempted landing of a Sicilian and British fleet. In 1799, when Ruffo took Naples, C. was arrested, contrary to the

terms of capitulation, sentenced to death by the junta, hanged on the mast of a frigate, and his corpse thrown into the sea. This affair, to which Lord Nelson was a consenting party, is a stain on the reputation of the English admiral.

CARA'CTACUS, a king of the Silures, who inhabited South Wales, was one of the most per

sistent enemies of the Romans in Britain. For nine years he warred gallantly against the invaders, but at length was completely overthrown. His wife and daughters fell into the hands of the victors, and his brothers surrendered. C. himself fled to Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes, who delivered him up to the Romans. He was carried to Rome, 51 A.D., and exhibited to the people by the Emperor Claudius. When he approached the imperial seat, we are told, he addressed Claudius in so noble a manner, that he and his relatives were immediately pardoned. They appear, however, to have lived during the remainder of their lives in Italy.

CA'RADOC SANDSTONE AND BALA BEDS, a division of the Lower Silurian System, so named from their development at Caer Caradoc, in Shropshire. They consist of sandstones, grits, and slates, with occasional beds of limestone. Enormous masses of contemporaneous igneous rocks are interstratified with them. They attain a thickness of 9000 feet, not including the igneous rocks. Fossils are very abundant in some beds. They consist chiefly of Trilobites (q. v.), Brachiopoda (q. v.), and Graptolites (q. v.).

The Silurian rocks in the southern districts of Ayrshire belong to this division.

CARA'GLIO, a town of the Sardinian states, in the province of Coni, six miles west of the city of that name. It is situated on the Grana, and has manufactures of silk. Pop. 6268.

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CARA'MBOLA, an East Indian fruit, of the size and shape of a duck's egg, but with five acute angles, or longitudinal ribs. It has a yellow, thin, smooth rind, and a clear watery pulp, in some varieties sweet, in others acid, of very agreeable flavour. It is often used in making sherbets, and in tarts and preserves; and is known to the British in India as the Coromandel Gooseberry. It is one of the most universally cultivated and abundant of the fruits of India. It is produced by the Averrhoa Carambola, a small evergreen tree, or bush, of the natural order Oxalidea. The BILIMBI, or BLIMBING, is the very acid fruit of another species of the same genus, A. Bilimbi, also East Indian. Both species are now much cultivated in the tropical parts of America. Both exhibit an irritability of leaf resembling that of the sensitive plant; they known to physiologists as those of Sleep (q. v.) in also display in a remarkable degree the phenomena plants.

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CARAMNA'SSA, a river in the sub-presidency of Bengal, which rises in lat. 24° 3 N., and long. 83° 46′ E., and, after a course of about 150 miles, enters the Ganges from the right in lat. 25° 28′ N., and long. 83° 58' E. It is remarkable on several grounds. Though, on issuing from its

CARANA RESIN-CARAVAN.

source, it is clear as crystal, it is yet said to be both nauseous and noxious-a peculiarity which the natives impute to various supernatural causes; about 50 miles from its mouth, it is crossed by a stone bridge of three wide arches, which forms part of the grand road from Calcutta to Delhi; and lastly, it is so exceptionally subject to floods, that it has been known to rise 25 feet in a night, when scarcely any rain had fallen in the adjacent plain of the Ganges itself.

CARA'NA RESIN, more commonly, but less correctly, called GUM CARANA, is a resinous substance imported from the tropical parts of America. Its properties and uses resemble those of tacamahac. It is entirely soluble in alcohol, and melts in a slight heat. It is not well known what tree produces it.

CARA'NJA, an island on the east side of the ordinary entrance of the harbour of Bombay (q. v.), separated from the mainland by a narrow and unserviceable channel of four miles in length. It is itself two miles broad, being comparatively level and fertile, with the exception of two hills-the Little Hill in the north, and the Great in the south.

CARANX. See SCAD.

CARAPA, a genus of plants of the natural order Meliacea, natives of warm climates. C. Guianensis, or guareoides, sometimes called the Anderaba, also the C. tree, is a large tree with beautiful shining pinnate leaves, which have many leaflets, a native of Guiana and the adjacent countries, where its bark has a great reputation as a febrifuge, and the oil obtained from its seeds is much used for lamps. Masts of ships are made of its trunk. The oil, which is called Oil of Carapa, is thick and bitter, and is anthelmintic.-C. Touloucouna, or Guineensis, an African species, yields a similar oil, which is employed by the negroes for making soap, and for anointing their bodies, its bitterness protecting them from the bites of insects, a purpose to which the Oil of C. is also applied in South America.These species are very similar, and are supposed by some botanists not to be essentially distinct.

CA'RAPACE, the dorsal shield or buckler of chelonian reptiles (Tortoises and Turtles), and of the Crustacea Malacostraca (Crabs, Lobsters, &c.). In animals so widely different, however, there is only a general similarity in the appearance of the C., and the purpose which it serves; its organic relations are very different. For notice of these, we refer to the articles CHELONIA and CRUSTACEA.

CA'RAT, originally, it would seem, the name given to the seeds of the Abyssinian Coral Flower (q. v.) or Coral-tree (Erythrina Abyssinica); but these, which are small, and very equal in size, having been used in weighing gold and precious stones, C. has become the designation of the weight commonly used for weighing precious stones, and particularly diamonds. The seeds of the Carob (q. v.) tree have also been said to be the original C. weights of jewellers, but with less probability. Goldsmiths and assayers divide the troy pound, ounce, or any other weight, into 24 parts, and call each a C., as a means of stating the proportion of pure gold contained in any alloy of gold with other metals. Thus, the gold of our coinage and of wedding-rings, which contains of pure gold, is called 22 carats fine,' or 22 C. gold. The lower standard used for watch-cases, &c., which contains of pure gold, is called 18 C., and so on. The C. used in this sense has therefore no absolute weight; it merely denotes a ratio. This, however, is not the case with the C. used for weighing diamonds, which has a fixed weight, equal to 3 troy grains, and is

divided into quarters, or 'C. grains,' eighths, sixteenths, thirty-seconds, and sixty-fourths. These C. grains are thus less than troy grains, and therefore the jeweller has to keep a separate set of diamond weights.

CARAVA'CA, a town of Spain, in the province of Murcia, about 39 miles north-west of the city of that name, is situated on the slope of a hill crowned with a fine old castle. Its principal streets are wide, clean, and well paved; it has a fine church, with a miraculous cross, that is annually taken down and bathed in the waters of the town, to which it is supposed to communicate sanitary properties. It has manufactures of linen and woollen fabrics, soap, paper, leather, &c. Pop. about 10,000.

CARAVAGGIO, a town of Lombardy, Northern Italy, about 24 miles east of Milan. In the principal church are some esteemed paintings by Campi; and C. is also celebrated as the birthplace of the painters, Polidoro Caldara and Michael Angelo Merighi, both surnamed Caravaggio. In the neighbourhood is a sanctuary of the Madonna, built from designs of Pellegrini (1575). Pop. 6200.

At

CARAVAGGIO, MICHAEL ANGELO AMERIGHI or MERIGHI DA, a celebrated Italian painter, was born 1569, at Caravaggio in Lombardy, Northern Italy. His father, who was a mason, employed him in making paste for the fresco-painters, and in this way the artistic genius of the boy was stirred. After studying the works of the great masters in Milan and Venice, he went to Rome, where he lived for some time in very reduced circumstances. length, a picture of his attracted the notice of Cardinal del Monte, who now patronised the young artist; but the ferocious and quarrelsome character of C. soon involved him in difficulties. Having fled from Rome to Malta, on account of manslaughter, he obtained the favour of the grand-master by painting an altar-piece in the church of St John, and other pictures. His quarrelsome nature soon forced him to flee from Malta; and in making his way back to Rome, he was wounded, lost all his baggage, caught a violent fever, and on reaching Porto Ercole. lay down on a bank and died (1609), at the age of 40. Trueness to nature was the object aimed at by C., who left all schools, and devoted himself to paint life as he found it in lanes, alleys, and other resorts of the lower classes. He studied no such matters as refined sentiment or elevation of realities, but gave in his paintings expression to his own wild and gloomy character. One of his best paintings, The Fraudulent Gamblers,' is preserved in the Sciarra Gallery, at Rome. His shadows are deep, his backgrounds very obscure; in consequence of which the whole picture seems to possess a kind of mysterious greatness, that is very imposing.

Even Rubens confessed that C. was his superior in chiaro-oscuro. When he painted on sacred subjects, he remained falsely faithful to the low realities of Italian life; so that several of his pictures painted for churches, had to be removed from their places, because they could not be harmonised with sacred associations. Kugler, the German critic, has justly said of one of C's most celebrated works, a Burial of Christ,' that it appears like nothing better than the funeral of a gipsy-chieftain.'-An earlier Italian painter of less eminence, POLIDORO CALDARA DA CARAVAGGIO, was born in 1495, and murdered in 1543.

CA'RAVAN (from the Persian karvan, i. e, trader), the name given to the great assemblages of travellers which, at stated times, traverse the deserts of Asia and Africa. Many caravans are entirely for the purposes of trade, the merchants associating themselves for mutual help and protection. A C.

CARAVANCES-CARBAZOTIC ACID.

sometimes has so many as 1000 camels, which follow each other in single file, so that it may be a mile or more in length. The most celebrated caravans are those formed by pilgrims going to Mecca, particularly those which annually assemble at Cairo and at

Damascus. The latter consists of 30,000 to 50,000 pilgrims, and is under the special protection of the Turkish sultan. The trade between Tripoli and the interior of Africa is exclusively carried on by caravans, also that between Darfur and Egypt.

CARAVANCES. See CHICK PEA.

Caravan.

CARAVA'NSARAI, or KHAN, an eastern institution, a sort of unfurnished inn to provide travellers with a shelter. Those in towns and cities, which are generally built for traders, and charged a small sum a day, are handsomer and more convenienthaving doors to the apartments-than those met with on the roads or outside the walls of the cities. They commonly consist of a square building of four wings built round a courtyard, in which the beasts of burden may be enclosed, and where there is usually a well of water; the lodgings are small rooms, about 7 or 8 feet high, which run round the courtyard, and are bare of every article of furniture.

These caravansarais are an institution of very ancient date, being the 'inns' of Gen. xlii. 27, xliii. 21; and it was in the stable of such a place, there being no room for his parents in the lodging apartments, that our Saviour was born (Luke ii. 7). They belong either to government, to some private individual, or are the property of the church (mosques); those situated in towns or cities are charged, but not more than two or three Turkish piastres a day; those situated on the road are usually free. There are some large and very handsome caravansarais at Cairo, Damascus, Beyrout, Aleppo, &c.

CA'RAWAY (Carum carui), a plant of the natural order Umbellifera, growing abundantly in meadows and rich pastures in the middle and south of Europe, and in some parts of Asia, naturalised in many places in Britain. In some parts of Holland and Germany, and also in the counties of Kent and Essex in England, it is extensively cultivated for its aromatic seeds-in more strict botanical language, carpels-which are used medicinally as a carminative and tonic, and are also very much used as an aromatic condiment, and by confectioners, distillers, and perfumers, entering into the preparation of liqueurs, cakes, sweetmeats, scented soaps, &c. They depend for their aromatic properties on a volatile oil called Oil of C., which is obtained by bruising C. seeds, and distilling them with water, and is at first limpid and colourless, but becomes yellow, and subsequently brown by keeping. Oil of C. is used medicinally to relieve flatulence, and to correct the nauseating and griping tendencies of some cathartic medicines; also in the preparation of Spirit of C., and C. Water.-Spirit of C., which may be prepared either by dissolving the oil of C. in proof-spirit, or by distilling bruised C. seeds along with proof-spirit, is much used in Russia and Germany as a liqueur (Kümmel-branntwein), sweetened with sugar.-C. has a branching stem 1-2 feet high, with finely divided leaves, and dense umbels of whitish flowers. The fruit is oblong, each carpel having five thread-like

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CARBAZO'TIC ACID, or PI'CRIC ACID, is a substance of great importance in dyeing, which is obtained by the action of strong nitric acid and heat on many complex organic materials, such as silk, indigo, salicine, and a variety of resins. On a commercial scale, it is best obtained from the oil of tar, which distils over from crude tar between 300° and 400°, or from the resin of Xanthorrhaa hastilis. The hot nitric acid solution is strained from impurities, and on cooling, yellow crystals separate of C. A., which can be purified by washing with cold water. These crystals are readily soluble in alcohol and ether, and dissolve in 80 or 90 times their weight of cold water, yielding a yellow solution, which has a very bitter taste, and stains the skin yellow; and when silk which has been treated with a mordant of alum, or cream of tartar, is immersed in a solution of C. A., it is dyed of a beautiful permanent yellow colour. The bitter taste of C. A. has led to its being fraudulently employed,

CARBINE-CARBON.

instead of hops, in communicating a bitter taste to beer.

It is

CA'RBINE is a light kind of musket, named probably from the Carabins. See next article. now used by the cavalry, the yeomanry cavalry, the Irish constabulary, and other corps. The best carbines are now rifled. A considerable number of American carbines, rifled and breech-loading, were purchased at a high price by the English

government in 1856.

This American C. has a

barrel only 22 inches in length, and a total weight of 7 lbs. It is simple in construction, has a great range, hits a mark with accuracy, may be fired with rapidity, requires little cleaning, can be loaded without a ramrod, and supplies itself with caps from a reservoir in the hammer. Among English makers, Mr Prince has successfully applied the breech-loading principle to carbines. The new Victoria Cavalry C. has a barrel 26 inches long, with 0.733 inch bore; its weight is 7 lbs., and it is fired with 2 drachms of powder.

CARBINEERS, or CARABINEERS, are said to have derived their designation from the Arabs, among whom the Carabins or Karabins were light horsemen, stationed at outposts to harass the enemy, defend narrow passes, &c.; in action, they took the place of skirmishers. A corps under the same name was raised in France in 1560; but the designation has not been much used in that country since the introduction of Hussars and Lancers. In the English army, C. was at one time a frequent designation for cavalry; but now there is only one regiment, the 6th Dragoon Guards, known by this title; and the distinction between them and other cavalry is little more than nominal.

CARBOHY'DROGENS, or HYDROCA'RBONS, are a series of compounds belonging to organic chemistry, which are composed of carbon and hydrogen, in such proportions that the various members of the group differ from each other in definite and regular numbers of atoms of carbon and hydrogen. The best marked group of hydrocarbons commences with Methylene (C2H2), which may be regarded as the first step in the ladder, and by the successive addition of other two atoms of carbon and hydrogen, we obtain Ethylene or Olefiant Gas (CH), Propylene (C.H.), Butylene or Oil Gas (C.H ̧), Amylene (C1,H1), &c. There are also series beginning with Methyl (C,H,), then Ethyl (CH), and with Hydride of Methyl or Marsh Gas (CH), then Hydride of Ethyl (CH). The members of these groups are likewise characterised by a gradual ascending difference in their chemical and physical properties, especially the boiling-point, which rises by a given amount.

carbon. It is much more abundant, however, in a
state of combination. United with oxygen, it occurs
as carbonic acid (CO,) (q. v.) in the atmosphere, in
natural waters, in limestone, dolomite, and iron-
stone. In coal, it is found combined with hydrogen
and oxygen; and in plants and animals, it occurs
as one of the elements building up wood, starch,
gum, sugar, oil, bone (gelatine), and flesh (fibrine).
Indeed, there is no other element which is so
characteristic of plant and animal organisms, and
it ranks as the only element never absent in sub-
stances obtained from the two kingdoms of organic
Wood-charcoal, coke, lampblack, and
nature.
animal charcoal, are artificial varieties, more or less
impure, of carbon.

The atomic weight or equivalent of C. is 6; the specific gravity greatly varies; that of the diamond is 3-330 to 3.550 (water being 1000), and of graphite 1.800. C., in its ordinary forms, is a good conductor of electricity; in the form of diamond, it is a nonconductor. Of heat, the lighter varieties of C., such as wood-charcoal, are very bad conductors; graphite in mass has very considerable conducting powers. At ordinary temperatures, all the varieties of C. are extremely unalterable; so much so, that it is customary to char the ends of piles of wood which are to be driven into the ground, so as by this coating of non-decaying C. to preserve the interior wood; and with a similar object, the interior of casks and other wooden vessels intended to hold water during sea-voyages, are charred (coated with C.), to keep the wood from passing into decay, and thereby to preserve the water sweet. Its power of arresting odours and colours likewise varies much. See BONE-BLACK. In the simple property, even of combustion, there is a marked difference. Wood-charcoal takes fire with the greatest readiness, bone-black less so; then follow in order of difficulty of combus tion-coke, anthracite, lampblack, black-lead, and the diamond. Indeed, black-lead is so non-combustible, that crucibles to withstand very high heats for prolonged periods without breakage or burning, are made of black-lead; and the diamond (q. v.) completely resists all ordinary modes of setting fire to it. In the property of hardness, how soft and velvet-like does lampblack feel to the touch, and yet how hard is that diamond which cuts glass, and is the hardest of all gems, and indeed of all things!

Carbon for electrical purposes.-When C. is obtained of sufficient density, it is found to be a good conductor of electricity, and to make an excellent electro-negative element in a galvanic pair. Graphite displays these qualities to advantage, and so does the hard incrustation of C. that is found sublimed in gas retorts. Coke and woodcharcoal are too porous to possess them to any great extent. The scarcity of graphite, and the precarious supply of retort-C., preclude the possithe electrical properties of C. with these substances bility of obtaining much practical advantage from alone. Bunsen of Heidelberg for the discovery of a process We are indebted, however, to Professor whereby a C. of the requisite density can be manufactured with great ease and economy. The carbons thus obtained for galvanic batteries rival platinum in electric energy, and they have aided in no small degree, from their cheapness, in heightening the utility of galvanic electricity. The Bunsen carbons, hollow cylinders, whereas those made in France as manufactured in Germany, are of the form of and this country are solid rectangular prisms. The CA'RBON is one of the elementary substances following are the more important details of the largely diffused in nature. It occurs uncombined in process. Two parts of coke, and one of baking coal the mineral graphite or black-lead (q. v.), and in the proportion varying to some extent with the the diamond (q. v.), which is pure crystallised materials are ground to a fine powder, and passed

CARBO'LIC ACID, or PHENIC ACID (HO,C,,H,O), is the principal acid substance procured during the destructive distillation of coal. It is produced also by the distillation of gum benzoin and the resin of Xanthorrhoea hastilis, and is present in the urine of the cow and some other animals. It is a liquid with a hot burning taste, and its principal property of popular interest is its antiseptic power, in which it rivals creasote; and indeed the greater part of the preserving power which coal-tar and the oils derived from it exhibit, when wood is satur ated with them, is due to the C. A. present. It is proposed to use it for purifying the streams which flow through towns, and rendering the sewerage (q. v.) inoffensive.

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