Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/575

 CUR

CUOGOLO, in natural hiftory, the name of a ftone, much ufed by the Venetians in glafs -making, and found in the river Fefino. It is a frnall ftone, of an impure white, of a mattery texture, and is of the fhape of the pebble.

CUP, among botanifts, the fame with what is otherwife called calyx. See the article Calyx.

Cuv-galts, in natural hiftory, a name given by authors to a very fingular kind of galls found on the leaves of the oak, and fome other trees. They are of the figure of a cup, or drinking glafs, without its foot, being regular cones, adhering by their point or apex to the leaf; and the top or broad part is 'hollowed a little way, fo that it appears like a drinking- glafs with a cover, which was made fo fmall, as not to dofe it at the mouth, but to fall -a little way into it. This cover is flat, and has in the center a very fmall protuberance, re- fembling the nipple of a woman's breaft. This is of a pale green, as is alfo the whole gall, excepting only its rim that runs round the top ; this is of a fcarlet colour, and that very beautitul. Befide this fpecies of gall, the oak leaves furniih us with feveral others, fome of which are oblong, fome round, and others flatted ; thefe are of various fizes, and ap- pear on the leaves at various feafons of the year. They all contain the worm of fome fmall fly; and this creature paries all its changes in this its habitation, being fometimes found in the worm, fometimes in the nymph, and fometimes in the fly ftate, in the cavity of it. See Tab. of Infects, N° 25.

CUPA, among the antients, a kind of boats, ufed in laying bridges over rivers, being broad below, and narrow above. Hoffm. Lex. in voc.

CUPPING (Cycl.)—Se& T)vly -cupping.

CUPRESSUS, the cyprefs-tree, in botany, the name of a genus of trees, the characters of which are thefe. The flowers are of the amentaceous kind, being compofed of a great num- ber of fcales, or little leaves, and furnifhed with a great number of apices in the alae of them. Thefe flowers, how- ever, are barren, and the embryo feeds firft appear as fmall protuberances on different parts of the tree. Thefe finally ripen into a roundifh fruit, which fplits into feveral parts, and en- clofes an angular fhaped feed. See Tab. 1. of Botany, Clafs 19. The fpecies of cyprefs enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are three. 1 . The headed cyprefs, or clofe topped cyprefs, called the female fpecies by authors. 2. The fpreading or open topped cyprefs, commonly called the male kind. 3. The fpreading Portugal cyprefs, with fmall fruit. Tourn. Jnft. p. 586.

CURA avenacea, a diet drink of oats, much recommended by fome authors in various diftempers. See Oats.

CURCAS, a name given in Egypt to an efculent root, ap- proaching to the tafte and virtues of the cohcafia. It is alfo a name ufed in Malabar, for a fmall fruit of the fhape and ftze of a hazel nut. Both thefe things have the credit of being great provocatives; and it is very probable, that the , curcas of the Eaft- Indies may be the fruit called be) by Avi- fenna, and faid to poflefs the fame famous virtues. Garcias has been led into a very great error by this fimiliarity of names and virtues, and fuppofes the curcas of Egypt the fame with the curcas of the Eaft-Indies.

CURCUM, in the materia medica of the Arabians, the name of the large celandine, the roots of which, when dryed, was ufed by the dyers of thofe times as a yellow colour, and by the phyficians as deobftruents.

CURCUMA, turmeric. See Turmeric, Cycl. and Supph

CUREMA, in zoology, the name of a fifh of the mullet kind, but of a remarkable ftze, growing to two foot long, and having a very large moveable upper lip ; the under one being fmall, triangular in figure, and fcarce vifible, being fome- thing fhorter than the upper. Its eyes are large, and its fins of a fine filvery white; in all other refpects it refembles the common mullet. Marggrave's Hift. Braf.

CURIA, in Roman antiquity, was ufed for the fenate-houfe. See the article Senate.

There were feveral curia in Rome as the curia caJabra, faid to be built by Romulus ; the curia hofiilia, by Tullus Hofti- lius ; and the curia pompeia, by Pompey the great. Macr. Sat. 1. 1 5. Ltv. 5. 55. Suet. J. Caef. Ho.

Cu r 1 a alfo denoted the places where the curia ufed to affemble. See Curia, Cycl.

Each of the thirty curia of old Rome had a temple or chapel affigned to them, for the common performance of their facrifices, and other offices of religion; fo that they were not unlike our parifhes. Some remains of which little temples, feem to have fubfifted many ages after on the pala- tine hill, where Romulus firft built the city, and always re- fided. Tacit. Annal. iz, 24. Middkt. of Rom. Senate, p. 25.

CURIASSIERS, in war, horfemen that wear armour. Thefe have fometimes only breaft plates.

CURIATA comitia. See CoMitia curiata.

CURICACA, in zoology, the name of a Brafilian bird, called mafarirw by the Portuguefe. It is a very large bird, approach- ing to the fize of a goofe, but in fhape relembling the cur- lew. Its beak is fix fingers breadth long ; its head and neck are covered with white and yellow feathers^ and its whole body if black, except that on the back, the head, and the lower part of the belly it has a greyifh caft. It is much efteemed at table. There is another fpecies of it final-

CUR

ler than the former, not exceeding the fize of a pulier, arid called matriSicl. It is common about the rivers, Mxrr- ^WsHift. ofBrafil.

CURIMATA, in zoology, a name by which Tome authors have called the lavarctus, a fmall fifh, of a fort of middle nature, between trultaceous and the herring kind, and caught m the American and German lakes, milugtifs Hift. Pifc. p. 103. Sec LaVarf.tus.

CURING, is ufed for the preferving fifh, flefn, and other animal fubftances, by means of certain additions of things, to prevent putrefaflion. One great method of doing this, is by fmoak- lrig the bodies; that is, the making them imbibe a great quantity of vegetable fumes; for this is ufuallv done where wood is burnt. The reafon of this fort of p'refefvation is eahly feen by the curious enquirer, fince wherever wood, or any vegetable of the acid tribe is burnt, the acid parti- cles go off with the fmoak, and in this form penetrate in- to, and lodge themfelves in animal fubftances expofed there- to; by which means this fmoak afls upon them in the fame manner that the fumes of fpirit of nitre would do, and whether it be not a nitrous acid that tinges hams, herrings, &c. to a rednefs in the drying, is a fubjeel worthy enquiry. Shaw's Lectures, p. 152.

CURLEW, the Englilh name of the SrfuaU or mnmius. See Arquata.

CURMI, a name given by the antients to a fort of malt li- quor or ale. It was made of barley, and was drank by the people of many nations inftead of wine, according to Diof- corides's account ; he accufes it of caufing pains in the head, generating bad juices, and difordering tbe nervous fy- ftem. He alfo fays, that in the weftern part of Iberia, and in Britain, fuch a fort of liquor was in his time prepared from wheat inftead of barley. Dkfcor'ulcs L. 2. c. no.

CURRANTS (Cycl.)— For the botanical charaaers of currants) fee the article Grossularia.

The feveral fpecies of currants are very eafily propagated, by planting their cuttings any time from September to March.up- onafpotof frefh earth, which muft be carefully kept clear from weeds in the fpring ; and in the dry weather, the younre plants muft be frequently watered. When they have flood about two years in this place, they will be fit to tranfplant to the places where they are to remain ; and this fhould be done when the leaves are juft decayed, that they may have time to be rooted before winter. If they are for ftandards, they fhould be planted in rows of ten foot diftance from one another, and the trees in each row four foot from each otherj but the much better way is to train them in efpaliers, in which ftate they take up much lefs room, and their fruit is much the finer. They fhould be placed at eight feet diftant in efpaliers, and all their branches trained horizontally. They are to be allowed the fame diftance when fet againft walls or pales. Thofe againft a fouth wall ripen their fruit near three weeks fooner then thofe in the open air, and thofe againft a north wall, near as much later ; fo that, by a little manage- ment of this kind, they may be kept a long time in feafon. Miller's Gardner's Dift.

Currant trees produce their fruit on the former years wood, and alfo on fmall fnags that come out of the old wood. This may give a caution as to the manner in which they are to be pruned.

They will thrive in any foil, or fituation ; but this fruit is al- ways beft taftcd when they grow in a dry fpoil, and an open fpot of ground.

The jelly of black currants is faid to be very efficacious in cu- ing inflammations in the throat. Sec Phil. Tranf. N° acq Seft. 27. n

CURRE, an Englifh name for the fifh called by authors cucu- lus, and by us more frequently named the red gurnard. IVtl- lughby's Hift. Pifc. p. 282. See the article Cuculus.

CURRENTS {Cycl.)— See the Appendix.

CURRUCA, in zoology, the name of a fmall bird, common- ly known in England by the name of the hedge-fparrow, and called by fome maguanhia.

It is of the fize of the red-breaft, or of the titlark ; its beak is longifh, (lender and black. Its back is variegated with black and a duflcy redifh brown; the middle of all the fea- thers being black, the edges brownifh. The head and neck are fomewhat greyifh, but are variegated with dufky fpots; and the rump is fomewhat of a greenifh hue, and not fpotted at all ; its wings are variegated with a redifh brown, and a little white ; its tail is two fingers breadth long, and is all over brown, without any variegation. Ray's Ornithol. It is in the neft of this bird that the cuckow hatcbe her eggs for the moft part, though not always, the nefts of turtle and wood pidgeons being fometimes ufed by her for that purpofe. Hence it was that the afitients made the cuc- kow an emblem of fuch men as made bold with the marriage bed of others, who. on that account, were called curruas. Thus Juvenal ridicules the ftupid fondnefs of a hufband, com- forting his falfe wife, bv calling him curruca.

Tutibinunc, currttca, f laces, fictumqm labellis exfirbes, £sV. Sat. 6. v. 276.

CURTEYN, curtana, a name given to king Edward the con- feflbr's fword, which is the firft fword that is carried before

the