Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/205

Rh and for burning in lamps. It was for many years employed In British light-houses, having been favourably reported on for that purpose in 1845 by Professor Faraday, but mineral oils are now more generally used.  COMACCHIO, a town of Italy, in the province of Ferrara, at the head of a circondario, is situated on a long island near the seaward side of an extensive lagoon in the Adriatic, known as the Valli diComacchio, in 44 41 36&quot; N. lat. and 29 51 23&quot; E. long. It is the seat of a bishop, and possesses a Capuchin convent and several fine churches. It was at one time strongly fortified, and still has remains of the citadel, which, in accordance with the treaty of Vienna, was held by the Austrians till 1859. The inhabi tants are mainly engaged in the manufacture of salt and the prosecution of the fisheries in the lagoon, which, with its shallow area of 41,600 acres, affords a rich feeding ground for eels and grey mullets. The seaward entrance is carefully guarded by a system of nets, so that the fish, once within the lagoon, cannot find their way out again. The eels are exported to all parts of Italy, sometimes alive, cut more usually in a pickle ; and they are greatly esteemed for their delicate flavour. The average annual production is 1,800,000 lt, and the value about 40,000. Population, 8900  COMANA (frequently called, or, i.e., the golden, to distinguish it from Comana in Poutus), a city of Cappadocia, in a deep valley of the Anti-Taurus range, through which the River Sarus (Sihun) flows. This city was celebrated in ancient times as the place where the rites of the goddess Ma, the Greek Enyo, were celebrated with much solemnity. The service was carried on in a sumptuous temple and with great magnificence. To defray expenses, large estates had been set apart, which yielded a more than royal revenue. The city of Comana, which was a mere apanage of the temple, was governed immediately by the chief priest, who was always a member of the reigning family, and took rank next to the king. The number of persons engaged in the service of the temple, even in Strabo s time, was upwards of 6000. Under Caracalla, Comana became a Roman colony. Its site has not been identified.  COMANA, an ancient city of Pontus in Asia Minor, said to have been colonized from Comana in Cappadocia. It stood on the River Iris (or Tocat-su), not far from its source, and from its central position was a favourite emporium of the Armenian and other merchants. The moon-goddess was worshipped in the city with a pomp and ceremony in all respects analogous to those employed in the Cappadociau city. Large multitudes were attracted to the place by the great annual processions, and the permanent population was increased by the influx of devotees. The slaves attached to the temple alone numbered not less than 6000. Remains of Comana are still to be seen near a village called Gumenek on the Tocat-su, seven miles from the city of Tocat. &quot; They consist,&quot; says Van Lennep, &quot; of a low hill upon which are scattered fragments of brick and hewn-stone, with here and there the remains of a wall or a partly fallen vault.&quot; The bridge that crosses the river at the spot is largely composed of fragments of ancient structures, and several sepulchral inscriptions can be deciphered on the blocks beneath the arches. Still nearer the modern village of Gumenek than these ruins lies a large boulder of marble iu which tombs or cells have been excavated. One of these is reputed to have been the abode of Chrysostom during his first exile from Constantinople.  COMANCHES, a tribe of North American Indians, so called by the Spaniards, but known to the French as Padouques, and among themselves as Naiini. They belong to the Shohone family, and when first met by Europeans occupied the regions between the upper waters of the Brazos and Colorado on the one hand and the Arkansas and Missouri on the other. They were brought to nominal submission in 1783 by the Spanish general Anza, who killed thirty of their chiefs ; but they again became troublesome, and continued to harass the district of Texas till they were settled in a reservation in the Indian Territory. In 1872 a portion of the tribe, called the Quanhada or Staked Plain Comanches, had to be reduced by military measures. Their total numbers, estimated by President Burnet in 1847 as 10,000 or 12,000, are now reduced to little more than 3000 or 4000.  COMAYAGUA, a city of Central America, capital of the republic of Honduras, and of the department of Comayagua, is situated in 14 28 N. lat. and 87 39 W. long., about half way between the Pacific and the Atlantic, on the right bank of the Humuya or Ulua River, and near the southern edge of a wide and fertile valley to which it gives its name. It lies 2060 feet above the level of the sea; and the valley is shut in by mountains varying in height from 5000 to 6000 feet, so that it enjoys a com paratively temperate and equable climate. It is the resid ence of the president and the seat of the only bishop in Honduras; but* the political disturbances of the country have reduced it to a very poor condition. The houses are mainly of one story and built of suu-dried bricks ; and the fine fountains, monuments, and public buildings, of which it once could boast, have for the most part fallen into ruins or decay. Of those still left the principal is the cathedral, a rather imposing building, with cupolas and towers dating from the beginning of the 18th century. The university, founded in 1678, and more than once nominally restored in the present century, does not prac tically exist. The trade of the city is very small, in spite of the fertility of the neighbouring district; but a railway is in course of construction, which will put it in direct communication with both sides of the continent. In the neighbourhood, Mr Squier informs us, &quot;hardly a step can be taken without encountering evidences of aboriginal occupa tion; but the only relic mentioned in the city itself is a d;&amp;gt;g- shaped figure built into the walls of the church of Out* Lady of Dolores.&quot; The present city, originally designated Valladolid la Nueva, was founded in 1540 by Alonzo Caceres, who had been instructed to find out an eligible site for a town midway between the oceans. In 1557 it received the rights of a city, and in 1561 was made a bishop s see. Its prosperity is shown by the fact that at the great revolution of 1827 it had about 18,000 inhabi tants. Burned in that year by the monarchical party of Guatemala, it has since sufi ered during successive contests, more especially in 1872, when it witnessed the defeat of General Medina s army by the allied forces of San Salvador and Guatemala, and in 1873, when it was besieged for about two months. In 1854 Scherzer estimated the population at only 2000 ; but it is believed now to number between 7000 and 8000.  COMB, a toothed implement for arranging and dressing hair and other fibrous substances. Worsted wools, waste silk, and other long fibres are dressed and prepared for spinning by a process called combing, performed formerly by hand-combs, but now by an elaborate combing machine. This process of combing will be described in connection with the manufactures to which it belongs. Here we have only to do with the implement so well known in domestic economy. Comb-making is necessarily a prominent and extensive industry, in which a considerable vaiicty of materials are employed, the most common being the horns and hoofs of cattle, tortoise-shell, ivory, boxwood, vulcanite or hardened Indian-rubber, and to a small extent German silver and other metals. Of these materials horn is by far the most extensively employed, and the working of that sub-