Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/107

 CATALYSIS CATAMENIA 99 es, and the fine pule green of its very large heart-shaped leaves. Its showy flowers are white, slightly tinged with violet, and dotted with purple and violet in the throat. They are succeeded by pods, often a foot in length, which hang till the next spring. In its natural locality, this tree frequently exceeds 50 ft. in height, with a trunk from 18 to 24 in. in diame- ter ; but in Massachusetts it dwindles to a mere shrub, and is often killed by the frost. It is cultivated in gardens in England, and on the continent of Europe. One of the oldest and largest catalpas in England is in Gray's Inn gardens, and is said to have been planted there by Lord Bacon. In parts of Italy and in the south of France the catalpa is planted as a wayside tree, and along the avenues to country villas. It may be propagated either by seeds or from cuttings of the root. It usually reach- es the height of 20 ft. in 10 years, soon after which it begins to blossom. The wood is light, of a very fine texture, susceptible of a brilliant polish, and often used in cabinet-making. CATALYSIS (Gr. narakveiv, to resolve), in chem- istry, a name given by Berzelius to an obscure class of phenomena of which little is positive- ly known. He says : " Certain bodies exert, by their contact with others, such an influence upon these bodies, that chemical action is ex- cited; compounds are destroyed or new ones are formed, although the substance by which these actions are induced does not take the slightest part in their changes." It is now thought that this catalytic force is purely imaginary; most of the phenomena which have hitherto been referred to its agency being occasioned by several different causes, which often admit of being distinguished from each other, and which may be explained by the ac- tive operation of other known forces. CATAMARCA. I. A province of the Argen- tine Republic, lying between lat. 25 and 29 S., and Ion. 66 and 69 W., and bounded 1ST. by the province of Salta, E. by Tucuman and Santiago, S. by Rioja, and W. by the Chilian Andes ; area, 35,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1869, 79,551, most of whom, with the exception of 411 foreigners, are mestizos and Indians of pure blood, descendants of the once numerous and formidable tribe of the Calchaquis. Catamar- ca, the most picturesque of all the Andine provinces, is intersected by lofty mountain chains, the highest and most generally known of which is the Sierra de Aconquija, nearly 17,000 feet high. Watercourses are very nu- merous, but the only one deserving the name of river is the Santa Maria. Most of the streams become dry in summer, but in winter they swell to enormous proportions and com- mit great ravages. Some of the elevated plains are entirely deprived of water and all moisture, being sandy deserts ; while others are periodi- cally inundated, and when the water subsides are covered with immense crystallized cakes of salt, which are cut into blocks of about 24 inches square, and transported on llamas to the neighboring provinces. The principal other minerals are gold and silver, rich mines of which were formerly worked, but afterward abandoned, and copper, which is extracted in large quantities. The vegetable productions comprise nearly all the grains, fruits, and vege- tables of tropical and temperate climates, ap- ples being especially plentiful. Cotton, said to be the finest in the world, is raised, though much less extensively than formerly ; and there are vast forests yielding many kinds of valuable timber. The inhabitants are mainly occupied in agriculture, the manufacture of earthenware, weaving of ponchos and horse covers, and other fabrics of llama, vicufia, and sheep's wool, and also of alpaca. Large herds of these animals, and likewise of horned cattle, asses, and mules, are raised for export. Ca- tamarca also exports raisins, tolerable wine, brandy, hides, leather, tobacco, red pepper, anise and cummin seeds, cochineal, copper in bars, &c. II. A city, capital of the province, situated in its centre, in a valley formed by the Ambato mountains, 725 m. N. W. of Buenos Ayres; pop. about 6,000. The streets are well laid out, and the houses, although extremely diverse in size, are strongly built and nearly all whitewashed, and surrounded by orange trees. The country immediately surrounding it is highly cultivated. The chief occupation of the inhabitants is the manufacture of woollen and silk hats. There are several flour mills and some other industrial establishments. CATAMENIA (Gr. Kara, according to, and fifjv, month), or Menses, a monthly flowing of san- guineous fluid, which occurs in the female economy. The function of menstruation gen- erally commences at the age of puberty, and terminates at the " critical period," or " change of life," including a period of some 30 years, between the ages of 14 and 45. The blood of the catamenial flux is exuded from the vessels of the uterus, and escapes through the vagina; the flow generally returns every 28 days, and continues from 3 to 6 days. The amount dis- charged varies from 4 to 8 oz. in most cases. The first menstrual flow is generally preceded by languor, pains in the back, headache, chil- liness, &c., which usually disappear when the discharge takes place. The after occurrences are often unaccompanied in healthy females by any premonitory or attendant symptoms. Du- ring the whole of a woman's menstrual life she is capable of bearing children. After it is clos- ed, she ceases child-bearing. The influence of climate in advancing or retarding the period of puberty and menstruation has been shown by recent observation to have been formerly much overrated, the average period being much the same all over the world, and exceptional cases about as numerous in one region as in another. Mr. Robertson has shown, from sta- tistical evidence, that menstruation does not occur more early in the negress than in the white female, and Dr. Vaigas affirms that pre- cocious menstruation is more common in the