CAT-CATACOMBS. ones on the sides; the tail is ringed with light-membranaceous, and very obtuse. The general gray and black, the tip being black. The length of appearance is different from that of the genus a medium-sized male wild C. is almost 2 feet, exclu- Aira.-C. aquatica is a pretty common British sive of the tail, but this length is sometimes very grass. It is of very wide geographic and climatic considerably exceeded.-We know no record of any attempt to domesticate the wild cat. The animal often called wild C. in America is the Bay Lynx. See LYNX. Catabrosa aquatica: d, glumes. Superstitions regarding Cats.-Cats have been objects of superstition from the earliest ages. In 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. The 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; c, 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 palec, 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 panicle, with whorled spreading branches, and its surface of the water. It has a stiff branching seeds are small. When its artificial propagation is attempted, it is more frequently by dropping freshly gathered stems into still waters, or scattering them times called WHORL GRASS, and sometimes SWEET on the mud, than by sowing the seeds. It is someWATER 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 after wards 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 CATAFALCO-CATALEPSY. are generally understood when C. are spoken of, are those on the Via Appia, at a short distance from Rome. To these dreary crypts it is believed that the early Christians were in the habit of retiring, in order to celebrate their new worship, in times of persecution, and in them were buried many of the saints and martyrs of the primitive church. They consist of long narrow galleries, usually about 8 feet high and 5 wide, which twist and turn in all Interior of one of the Catacombs of Paris. directions, very much resembling mines. The graves were constructed by hollowing out a portion of the rock, at the side of the gallery, large enough to contain the body. The entrance was then built up with stones, on which usually the letters D. M. (Deo Maximo), or XP., the first two letters of the Greek name of Christ, were inscribed. Other inscriptions and marks, such as the cross, are also found. Though latterly devoted to purposes of Christian interment exclusively, it is believed that the C. were at one time used as burying-places by pagans also. At irregular intervals, these galleries expand into wide and lofty vaulted chambers, in which the service of the church was no doubt celebrated, and which still have the appearance of churches. The original extent of the C. is uncertain, the guides maintaining that they have a length of 20 miles, whereas about 6 only can now be ascertained to exist, and of these, many portions have either fallen in or become dangerous. When Rome was besieged by the Lombards in the 8th c., many of the C. were destroyed, and the popes afterwards caused the remains of many of the saints and martyrs to be removed and buried in the churches. Art found its way into the C. at an early period, and many remains of frescoes are still found in them. The C. at Naples, cut into the Capo di Monte, resemble those at Rome, and evidently were used for the same purposes, being in many parts literally covered with Christian symbols. In one of the large vaulted chambers there are paintings, which have retained a freshness which is wonderful, when the influences of time and the dampness of the situation are taken into account. The palm-tree, as a memorial of Judea, is a prominent object in these pictures. At Palermo and Syracuse there are similar C., the latter being of considerable extent. They are also found in Greece, in Asia Minor, in Syria, Persia, and Egypt. See NECROPOLIS. At Milo, one of the Cyclades, there is a hill which is honey-combed with a labyrinth of tombs running in every direction. In these, bassirilievi and figures in terra cotta have been found, which prove them to be long anterior to the Christian era. In Peru and other parts of South America, C. have been discovered. The C. in Paris are a species of charnel-houses, into which the contents of such burying-places as were found to be pestilential, and the bodies of some of the victims of 1792, were cast by a decree of the government. CATAFA'LCO (Ital. a scaffold), or САТАFALQUE, a temporary structure of carpentry, intended to represent a tomb or cenotaph, and adorned with sculpture and painting. employed in funeral ceremonies. The most magnificent C. ever made, perhaps, was that used at the interment of Michael Angelo, at Florence. It was CATALA'NI, ANGELICA, a highly celebrated Italian singer, born at Sinigaglia, in the States of the Church, some say in 1780, others in 1784, educated in the convent of St Lucien, near Rome, where, in her seventh year, she displayed such wonderful vocal powers that strangers flocked from all quarters to hear her. She made her first public appearance at Venice, in her 16th year, and experienced a succession of triumphs in every country in Europe for more than 30 years, amassing immense sums of money. The Italian Opera in Paris was twice under her direction; but her husband's interference and extravagance brought her into much trouble. Her large queenly person and fine countenance, the immense volume, range, and flexibility of her voice, her power of sustaining her notes, in contrast with the lightness and facility of her unerring execution, everywhere took her audience by storm. Her expression, although fine, and her In concert-singing, her great triumphs were in whole style, surprised rather than touched the heart. Rhode's Air with variations, and God Save the King -which she would call shave; and in Oratorios, Luther's Hymn, her delivery of which, especially when her marvellous voice alternated with the trumpet's sound, was so sublimely awful, that the audience were hushed and pale, and some were borne away fainting. The throat from which these wondrous sounds proceeded was physically of such dimensions, that a physician, when called to look into it, declared he could have passed down a pennyloaf! In 1830, Madame C. purchased a villa near Florence, formerly belonging to the Medici family, where she gave free instructions to girls who had a talent for singing, on condition of their taking the name of Catalani. In the spring of 1849, when political disturbances broke out in Tuscany, she repaired with her daughters to Paris, where she died of cholera on the 18th of June. the ancient name of the wide plain surrounding CATALAU'NIAN PLAIN (Campi Catalaunici), Chalons-sur-Marne, in the old province of Champagne, France, celebrated as the field of battle where the West Goths, and the forces under the Roman general Aëtius, gained a great victory over A wild tradition (made the Attila in 451 A.D. subject of a striking picture by Kaulbach, 'Die Hunnenschlacht, or The Battle of the Huns') tells that three days after the great fight, the ghosts of the fallen myriads appeared on the plain, and renewed the conflict. CATALDO, SAN, a town of Sicily, in the province of Caltanisetta, and 5 miles west of the town of that name. There are productive sulphur-mines in its vicinity. Pop. 8900. CA'TALEPSY (katalepsis, a taking possession of), a state of more or less complete insensibility, with absence of the power of voluntary motion, and statue-like fixedness of the body and limbs in the attitude immediately preceding the attack, a like position being also retained, unless altered by force, until the return of consciousness. Such is the abridged description of C., as commonly given in works of authority. The patient is usually in good CATALOGUE-CATALYSOTYPE. rosemary, &c., extend where the cork has its limits. Northern upper C. has a more severe winter than the south; but everywhere, vineyards and olivegardens cover the slopes, and cornfields extend in the valleys. Among the other products are hemp, flax, madder, barilla, and saffron. Hazel-nuts, a variety called Barcelona nuts, are extensively grown. Meadow-lands and pastures are comparatively rare, and horned cattle are, therefore, mostly confined to the districts bordering on the Pyrenees; while few horses and mules are kept; but sheep, goats, and swine are bred in considerable numbers. Silk-worms and bees are also reared. The coasts abound with fish, and game is plentiful. The minerals are coal, copper, manganese, zinc, lead, cobalt, salt, sulphur, and many varieties of marble. C. is the principal manufacturing province of the kingdom-is, in fact, the Lancashire of Spain' The inhabitants are neither French nor Spaniards, their language, costume, and habits being quite distinct from those of either; they have also focal coins, weights, and measures. In energy, industry, and intelligence, they greatly surpass the rest of the Spaniards. health at the time of seizure, or subject only to by aloe-hedges, and olives grow on Montserrat. nervous affections, such as hysteria (q. v.); some- Cork-trees grow on the mountains, and thickets times the attack is preceded by disappointment, of thorn-apple, laurel, myrtle, pomegranate, box, fear, violent exciting or depressing passions, or even religious emotions, being in such cases only an extreme form of what is otherwise called trance, reverie, or ecstasy (q. v.); on other occasions, the apparent cause is more purely physical, as in some of the hysterical cases, depending on suppressed menstruation. In all cases of cataleptic rigidity and insensibility, it may be presumed that the brain, as the organ of consciousness, is disturbed; but it does not appear that in any considerable proportion there is structural disease. Patients rarely die during the attack, which may, however, be protracted for an indefinite period, and may even endanger life indirectly by the debility consequent on imperfect nourishment. The circulation and respiration are, in most instances, little affected; cases, however, have been recorded in which, in consequence of their failure, the patient has been supposed to be dead. See DEATH, APPARENT. Many of the recorded cases of C. are little worthy of credit, and it has even been doubted whether this curious disease can ever be said to exist except as the result of some degree of deception, or at least voluntary and conscious regulation of the muscles on the part of the person affected. The combination of C. with hysteria, and its frequent association with what are called the higher phenomena of mesmerism (q. v.), are undoubtedly circumstances of great suspicion; but it would certainly be wrong to suppose that all the cases described were fictitious, and not less so to classify them all under the head of pure imposture. Epidemic C. has been described, and in such cases it would appear plain that the principle of imitation, so powerful in producing nervous disease, must have been at work. The remedies of C. are the same as those of the states to which it is so nearly allied, and of which it may be said to form a part. Moral means form a large part of the treatment, as in hysteria. In some cases, it may become necessary to administer food by means of the stomach-pump, and this even for weeks or months. We have seen such a case end in complete recovery. CATALOGUE (Gr. a list). See BIBLIOGRAPHY, BRITISH MUSEUM, LIBRARY, STARS. CATALO'NIA (Spanish, Cataluña), an old province and principality of Spain, now divided into the provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona, Lerida, and Gerona, the total area being 12,180 miles, and the population (1857), 1,735,420. C. occupies the north-eastern corner of Spain, having France on the north, and the Mediterranean on the east and south-east. It is watered by the Llobregat and the Ter, and by some of the affluents of the Ebro, the last-mentioned river having its embouchure in Catalonia. The coast is rugged, its boldest promontories being Capes Creus and San Sebastian, and its deepest indentations the Bays of Rosas and Tarragona. With the exception of a few low plains of limited extent, the soil of C. is that of a wild mountainous region formed by numerous offsets or terraces of the Pyrenees, one great ridge or series of ridges extending through the centre of the province. The terraces, sloping abruptly down to the coast, or to the narrow coast plains, are divided by the valley of Llobregat into the lower and the upper Catalonian mountains. The climate of C., though fog and rain are frequent, and extreme and rapid changes of temperature prevail, is on the whole healthy and favourable to vegetation. Near Barcelona, oranges flourish in the open air; the fields in some parts are bounded C., under the name of Hispania Tarraconensis, was one of the earliest, and remained among the last of the Roman provinces. It was invaded and captured by the Alans, who were followed by the Goths, hence its name, Gothalania, changed into Gothalunia or Catalonia. In the 8th c., the Arabs gained possession of the southern part. When Charlemagne, in 788, subjugated Spain as far as the Ebro, C. formed the central portion of the Spanish mark, governed by French counts, having Barcelona as their residence. They soon made themselves independent of France. In 1137, Earl Raymund Berengar, by his marriage, united C. with Aragon; and the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella (1469) united both with Castile, and so C. became a portion of the Spanish monarchy, but never a very peaceable one. In modern times especially, it has been the scene of all the Carlist insurrections. CATALYSIS (Gr. dissolution) is a term applied in Chemical Physics to a force supposed to be the latter is subjected to change or decomposition, exerted by one substance upon a second, whereby whilst the former, or acting substance, remains comparatively unaltered, and does not combine with it. The force, indeed, has been ascribed to the mere 'action of contact.' of this force (see BEER), when one part of yeast Fermentation is an example acting upon the sugar of the sweet worts, without entering into combination with it, compels 100 parts of sugar to pass into alcohol and carbonic acid. in the ground, is another example where one part Germination, or the sprouting of grain when placed of diastase changes 1000 parts of starch into sugar. No plausible theory has been brought forward to account for these changes, or to define what the force of C. is. Liebig has suggested, as an explanation, that a body in the act of combination or is in contact to enter into the same state;' but decomposition enables another body with which it this view does not explain C., as that force does not act in the majority of cases where changes are proceeding, and, moreover, the acting substance, while changing itself, never throws the body acted to assume a new series of changes different from upon into the same state of change, but causes it those pursued by itself. CATALYSOTYPE, a name given by its inventor, CATAMARAN-CATAPLASM. Dr Wood, to a modification of the calotype process, upon the assumption that light set up a catalytic action (see CATALYSIS) among the ingredients employed. The paper is first washed with very dilute hydrochloric acid, to prevent the formation of yellow patches of insensitiveness, and then treated with syrup of iodide of iron containing a trace of free iodine; it is then partially dried between folds of blotting-paper, and sensitised by brushing over it a solution of nitrate of silver of ten grains to the ounce. Immediate exposure in the camera follows; after which, though no picture be visible at first, if it be allowed to remain in the dark for a period which varies with the length of time it was exposed, and the amount of light, a negative picture of great perfection is gradually developed. It is not necessary, however, for the explanation of this phenomenon, to assume that a catalytic action is set up, inasmuch as the ordinary chemical reactions are quite sufficient to account for it. As soon as nitrate of silver comes in contact with the moist iodide of iron with which the paper is first imbued, an interchange of elements takes place, iodide of silver is precipitated in the pores of the paper, and protonitrate of iron is diffused over the surface; and this latter salt is even a more energetic developing agent than the ordinary gallic acid, hence the seemingly spontaneous appearance of the picture. This process is so uncertain in its results, that it is seldom practised. CATAMARA'N is a raft formed of three planks lashed together, the middle one serving as a keel, Indian Catamaran. and the other two for the sides. The rower stands or kneels on the middle plank, and works a paddle. These simple vessels are used by the natives of Madras, to maintain communication between ships and the shore, ordinary boats being rendered unsafe by the surf. By the adoption of a similar construction on a larger scale, some of the catamarans are made large and strong enough to carry goods, and even artillery. Catamarans used in Brazil consist simply of three logs of wood tapered at the end and lashed together; they carry a sail. its chief public buildings are the Benedictine convent and church of San Nicolo, with one exception, the grandest structure of the kind in Europe; the town-hall; the cathedral, with its noble granite columns; and the university, founded in 1445. It has besides many handsome churches and convents and several educational and charitable institutions, and is the seat of one of the three high courts in the island. The inhabitants, formerly much more numerous, now amount to about 55,000, and are distinguished by their commercial spirit and industry. C. has manufactures of silk and linen goods, and of articles in amber, lava, wood, &c. Among the remains of ancient times, that earth. quakes have spared, are those of a theatre, an odeium, a temple of Ceres, Roman baths, and an aqueduct. C., anciently known by the name Catana, was founded by a Greek colony of Chalcidic origin, in the latter part of the 8th c. B. C.; and as early as the beginning of the 5th c. B. C., it was esteemed one of the most flourishing towns in Sicily. It was taken by the Athenians under Nicias, and was desolated by Dionysius I.; but again rose under the Roman sway into its former importance. Augustus here founded a Roman colony. It suffered at the hands of the Goths, but once more, under the Byzantine empire, became one of the principal cities in the island. C. gives name to the province of which it is the capital, and which is one of the richest in Sicily, with an area of 1743 square miles, and a population, in 1856, of 411,832.-C., GULF OF, an inlet of the Mediterranean, on the east coast of Sicily, extends in the form of a semicircle from La Trezza Bay to Cape Santa Croce, a distance of 18 miles. It is about 10 miles deep, and receives the river Giaretta. CATANZA'RO, a city of Naples, in the district of Calabria Ultra II., is beautifully situated on the declivity of a rocky hill, near the Gulf of Squillace, and in the midst of a very fertile district. On account of its agreeable climate, many wealthy families have made it their residence. It has a cathedral, an old castle of the Norman period, a college, one of the largest, as it is one of the best conducted in the country, and is the seat of one of the four great civil courts of the kingdom. C. suffered very severely by an earthquake in 1783. It has manufactures of silk-velvet and woollen fabrics, and an active trade in agricultural produce. Pop. 13,600. CA'TAPLASM (a Greek term for a poultice), an application to diseased or painful parts, for the purpose of promoting suppuration, relieving pain, and stimulating or soothing the skin, according to circumstances. A C. may be composed of any moist pulpy substance of sufficient consistence to retain the water without dripping or soaking through the thin muslin covering in which it is generally wrapped. The making of a poultice well is a matter of some nicety, and unless the proper consistence is given to the mass, the application is apt to do more harm than good. The linseed-meal poultice is the most easily made, and most satisfactory of all soothing CATA'NIA, or CATANEA, a city and seaport of Sicily, situated on the east coast, near the foot of Mount Etna, 31 miles north-north-west of Syracuse. The fertile and well-cultivated neighbourhood of C., extending along the south-east base of Mount Etna, is styled the granary of Sicily,' and has given to C. the title, 'La Bella Catania.' By eruptions of the great volcano and attendant earthquakes, the city has been several times almost entirely destroyed-applications. The meal is stirred gradually into a especially in the year 1693; but out of its ruins it has always risen with increased beauty, and it is now the finest city in Sicily, being built throughout on a beautiful and consistent plan, from which no deviation is allowed. The harbour of C., formerly good, was choked by a stream of lava in 1693, and the mole was partly destroyed, so that now it has only a roadstead, which is guarded by a fort, and serves as a landing-place. It has several squares, the finest of which, in front of the cathedral, has a statue of an elephant sculptured in lava. Among sufficient quantity of boiling water, placed in the bottom of a small basin or teacup, until a perfectly smooth pulp is formed of the proper consistence, and in quantity sufficient to cover completely, to the thickness of three-quarters of an inch, the whole pained part. The pulp is then folded up in muslin or thin calico, and applied as soon as the heat will permit it to be borne. The bread and milk, or even bread and water poultice, is also very good; as is also the oatmeal-porridge poultice, to which a little butter may be added with advantage. A spoonful CATAPULTA-CATARACT. or two of yeast may be added, if there are foul and, when the candle is moved, goes in the opposite discharges, or peat charcoal may be sprinkled on the direction, while the two erect images move with surface of the poultice before it is applied. Carrot the candle. When the back of the lens becomes poultices are in great favour with the people in some opaque, the inverted image is obscured or disappears; parts of the country. Hemlock poultices, made of and when the front of the lens is affected, only the the fresh leaves, or of the dried leaves, with the aid of great front image, caused by the cornea, remains. some powder of the leaves, form a valuable sedative This curious experiment may be tried on a large application in painful diseases; and poppy-heads, or scale, by holding a common bi-convex lens a little even opium, are sometimes infused in the water of way behind a watch-glass. Then, on greasing the which a poultice is made, for the same purpose. A back of the lens, to imitate C., the inverted image stimulating C. or poultice may be made by sprinkling disappears, and on turning the lens round, all but oil of turpentine, or chloroform, or mustard in mode- the image in the watch-glass disappears. rate quantity on the surface of any ordinary poultice. When considerable irritation of the skin in a short time is desirable, a mustard C. or sinapism (sinapi, mustard) is used. CATAPULTA, an engine of war used by the ancients, somewhat resembling the crossbow. In the C., a string or rope, suddenly freed from great tension, gave a powerful impulse to an arrow placed in a groove. There were great catapultas, fixed upon a Catapulta. scaffold with wheels, which were used in sieges, and small ones, carried in the hand, which were employed in the field. For a description of similar engines of ancient warfare, see articles BALISTA and ARBALEST. CATARACT, an opaque condition of the lens of the eye. It is readily distinguished from opacities of the cornea, or clear front part of the eye, by its position just behind the pupil-that round and varying aperture in the iris through which light is admitted into the back of the eye. C. may affect the lens alone (lenticular C.), or the front or back of the capsule of the lens (capsular C.), or both lens and capsule (capsulo-lenticular C.). Its whiteness varies from that of half-boiled white of egg to that of snow. Heat will produce a like change on the lens out of the body, just as it changes white of egg from transparent to opaque. The rounded lens of the fish is seen at table in this opaque condition. C. is painless, and unaccompanied by inflammation. It occasions blindness simply by obstructing the passage of the light; but C. alone does not produce so complete blindness but that the patient can tell light from darkness. It may occur at any age, but is most common in elderly persons, and is not unfrequent in children, who may be even born with it. The catoptric test, as it is called, is an ingenious method of distinguishing incipient C. from certain other deep affections of the eye. When a lighted candle is held before the eye of a person whose back is to the window, three candles are seen in the healthy eye. Two are erect-the large front one caused by the convex cornea, the smaller and fainter one behind by the convex front of the lens. The third, occasioned by the concave back of the lens, is in the middle; is small, bright, and turned upside down; No medical or other treatment has any influence in arresting the progress of C., nor can it be cured but by a surgical operation. A clever imposture used to be practised by quacks. By applying belladonna to the eye-as the surgeon does when he wishes to dilate the pupil for an examination or operation-some little light was temporarily admitted through the less opaque edge of the lens. The patient beginning to see somewhat better, after long and increasing dimness of vision, began to congratulate himself on a cure; the quack, of course, hastened to get his money without waiting for the further result, which was sure to be blank disappointment. So long as there is fair vision with one eye, the operation on the other may be delayed. It is a mistake to delay the operation in children on account of their tender age. The sooner it is done the better, both for the eye and the education of the child. Three methods of operation are practised. 1. For absorption or solution. This is suitable for children, in whom the C., like the natural lens, is soft, and in all other cases in which there is reason to suppose that the C. is soft. An appropriate needle is passed through the cornea; made to open and lacerate the front of the capsule, the rags of which curl out of the way behind the iris, so that their subsequent opacity does not obstruct the light; then the soft cataractous lens is punctured and picked so as more effectually to admit the aqueous humour, which naturally fills the space between the lens and the cornea, and which has the remarkable property of absorbing or dissolving the lens or cataract when admitted within the capsule. This operation may require to be repeated several times, at intervals of a few weeks, before the whole C. is dissolved. 2. Displacement. A needle is passed through the fore part of the white of the eye, until it is seen through the upper part of the pupil, lying across the front of the upper part of the lens. This is now pressed back, so as to make the lens sink down and back into the vitreous humour, when it is either slowly absorbed, or may in part permanently remain. The older method of displacement, termed couch. ing, in which the lens was pushed more directly downwards, is now abandoned, as more likely to press on the retina, and cause subsequent evil to the eye. 3. Extraction. Half the cornea, through nearly its whole breadth, is divided with Beer's knife, an operation requiring great skill; the front of the capsule is opened, and disposed of with a needle; and the lens is gently assisted out of its place, through the pupil, and out of the opening in the cornea, great care being taken not to allow the vitreous humour to follow. Displacement and extraction are both applicable to hard cataracts, the form it generally takes in old age, as the lens itself becomes naturally harder with age, as well as more flat and amber-tinted. Displacement is more likely to be followed by bad consequences, some time after, from the presence of the displaced lens, while the risk of extraction is greater at the operation. The surgeon must decide which is best for each case. Though not so simple and successful |