Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/252

LEFT CROW 208 CROWN CROW, the crow family (Corvidse), order Insessores, comprises birds that have a strong bill, compressed toward the points, and covered at the base with stiff, bristly feathers, which advance so far as to conceal the nostrils. The plum- age is dense, soft, and lustrous, gener- ally dark, but sometimes of gay colors. They are very omnivorous, and remark- able for their intelligence. The family, widely diffused over the world, includes the common crow, type of the Corvidse, and the above, which will be described here; and the raven, the fish-crow, the rook, the jay, and the magpie. The com- mon crow of North America, Corvus Americanus (Audubon), is about 20 inches long, and the wings about 13 inches. It is remarkable for its grega- rious and predatory habits. The bill is straight, convex, and compressed. The nostrils are placed at the base of the bill, and are pantalous; the tongue short, and bifid at the tip; the toes are separated almost to the base, and the middle one is the longest. CROW-BLACKBIRD, the name of certain American birds of the genus Quiscalus, family Stumidse or starlings. The great crow-blackbird, Q. major, found in the Southern States, Mexico, and the West Indies, is 16 inches long, and of a glossy black plumage. The female is of a light brown above and whitish beneath. The purple grackle, lesser or common crow-blackbird, Q. versicolor, is similar in color to the preceding, but smaller. They reach the Middle States of the United States from the S. in flocks in the latter part of March, and build in April in the tall pines or cedars. In their first arrival they feed upon insects, but afterward commit great ravages upon the young com. In November they fly S. again. CROWDER, ENOCH HERBERT, an American soldier, bom in Missouri in 1859. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1881 and was commissioned 2d lieutenant of the 8th Cavalry in the same year. He became major and judge-advocate in 1895 and lieutenant-colonel and judge-advocate of volunteers in 1898. He was honorably discharged from volunteer service in 1901 and was made lieutenant-colonel and judge-advocate of the United States Army. He was promoted to be colonel and judge-advocate-general in 1903; brigadier-general and judge-advocate- general in 1911; and major-general and judge-advocate-general in 1917. He saw service in the Philippine Islands; in Man- churia with the Japanese Army; and in Cuba, where he was Secretarv of State and of Justice from 1906 to 1908. From May, 1917, to July, 1919, he was provost- marshal-general of the United States Army. In this capacity he had general charge of the carrying out of the draft laws and in this work performed distin- guished service. In March, 1919, he acted as advisor to the Cuban Government on the subject of changes in the election legislation. He was awarded the Dis- tinguished Service Medal "for especially meritorious and conspicious service" as provost-marshal-general during the war. CROWE, EYRE, an English historical and genre painter; born in London, in October, 1824; studied painting in the atelier of Paul Delaroche in Paris. He went with that artist to Rome in 1844, Acting as amanuensis to William M. Thackeray, he visited the United States in 1852-1853. He was elected an Asso- ciate of the Royal Academy in 1876. Among his paintings are "Goldsmith's Mourners" (1863); "Friends" (1871); "French Savants in Egypt" (1875); "The Rehearsal" (1876); "Marat: 13 July, 1793," "The Blind Beggar," and "The Queen of the May," in 1879; "Queen Eleanor's Tomb" and "For- feits," in 1880; and "Sir Roger de Cov- erley and the Spectator at Westminster Abbey" (1881) ; "'How Happy Could I be with Either!" and "The Defense of London in 1643" (1882); "Old Porch, Evesham," in 1884, etc. He wrote "With Thackeray in America" (1893) ; "Haunts and Homes of Thackeray" (1897). He died in 1910. CROWFOOT, a troublesome weed found in gardens and pastures. Many varieties, such as the spearwort, abound in moist places, bearing white flowers and spreading over ditches and ponds. The weed when eaten by cattle imparts a strong flavor to dairy products. CROWN, a wreath or garland for the head, given as the reward of victory or of some noble deed. Among the Roman.« they were of several kinds : Castrensis, or vallaris, given to the individual who first scaled the rampart in assaulting the camp of an enemy; muralis, to him who first mounted the breach in storming a town; navalis, to him who first boarded an enemy's ship; obsidionalis, given by soldiers who had been beleaguered to the commander by whom they had been re- lieved; and civica (the most honorable of all), bestowed on him who had saved the life of a citizen. The word is also applied to the orns- ment of the head, worn as a badge of sovereignty by emperors, kings and princes. Those worn by the nobility are called coronets. That worn by the Pope is more commojily called a tiara. The