Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/363

 CORMORANT CORNARO 359 them erectile; around the eye, the base of the bill, and the throat, the skin is bare. The bill is dusky, lighter at the base of the lower man- dible; the general plumage is black, glossed with greenish blue ; a white patch on the throat, with some white feathers on the sides over the thighs. The length is 37 inches, and the ex- tent of wings 62 inches ; weight Y Ibs. The female resembles the male, but the white feath- ers are wanting. Cormorants are common in the south of the United States in winter, going to Labrador and Newfoundland in the spring to breed. Their flight is strong and swift ; the gait on land is awkward and wad- dling. They procure their food by diving from the surface of the water, and not from on the wing. When they catch a fish in an inconve- nient position, they throw it up in the air, and receive it again as it descends head downward. This species is rarely seen further south than Maryland, whence northward it is quite com- mon in winter ; it is sometimes seen in north- ern markets, but the flesh is dark, tough, and fishy ; the eggs are seldom eaten, unless from necessity. This bird seems to be extensively distributed in both hemispheres, being common in England, France, and Holland, but rare in Germany and southern Europe; if not the same species in America, Europe, and Asia, it is extremely difficult to distinguish them by any specific characters. In China these birds are trained to fish for their masters ; at first a ring is put around the neck to prevent swal- lowing, but the bird soon learns to bring the fish to its owner, being allowed after he is satis- fied to fish on its own account. The double- crested cormorant (G. dilophus, Vieill.) differs from the Florida cormorant (G. Floridanus, Aud.) chiefly in its larger size, and its more numerous long feathers behind the eyes. The Double-crested Cormorant (Graculus dilophus). former measures 33 inches in length and 51 in extent of wings ; weight about 5 Ibs. ; the latter measures 30 inches in length, 46 in ex- tent of wings, and weighs only &| Ibs. The double-crested species also goes north to breed, and spends the winter on the eastern coasts, rarely going further south than the capes of North Carolina, where the domain of the Flori- da species begins. The Florida cormorant is a constant resident in the southern states, breed- ing on the keys of the peninsula of Florida ; like the others, it is gregarious, and is seldom found more than five miles from land ; accord- ing to Audubon, it nestles on trees, beginning to pair about April 1. Another American species is the Q. violaceus (Gmel.), the most beautiful of all, from the Columbia river. The shag (G. cristatus, Fabr. ; P. graculus, Du- mont ; G. graculus, Temm.) is a small species, a denizen of nearly the whole world, according to Nuttall. CORN, a hard, circumscribed tumor, formed of thickened cuticle, situated generally on the feet, on the joints, or between the toes, and sometimes in the sole of the foot ; but it may be formed over any projecting bony point sub- jected to frequent pressure or friction. It is hardly necessary to state that the usual cause of corns is the pressure of tight boots and shoes, or the friction of loose and unyielding ones. The common hard corn is simply a se- ries of epidermic unorganized laminse ; the soft corn, such as is usually found between the toes, is more properly a fungous, irritable growth from the true skin, extending often through the dermis to tendons, ligaments, and even to the periosteum. According to Sir Benjamin Brodie, when a corn is completely formed, there is a minute bursa between it and the true skin, to prevent injury to the subjacent parts.' In damp weather corns swell, like all hygrometric bodies ; the pain they cause is not in the corn itself, but in the parts compressed by it, and this, as most persons know, may be very severe. That pressure is the cause of these growths is evident from the fact that they do not occur in persons who go bare- footed, nor on the hands. To get rid of corns, the first requisite is to avoid the constantly acting cause of a too tight or ill-fitting shoe. The hard corn may generally be removed by the action of warm water, or softening lini- ments, assisted by a needle, 'blunt knife, or file of steel or pumice stone. The deep varieties require extirpation by the needle or knife, or by various plasters and caustics. The nos- trums advertised for their relief are in general worse than useless. Many devices are in use by sufferers to relieve the pressure on corns which they dare not have extirpated ; as pieces of soft leather or cloth pierced in the centre, and smeared with emollient and narcotic oint- ments. The operation for their removal is painless, bloodless, and of short duration, and effectual if the exciting causes be avoided. CORN, Indian. See MAIZE. CORNARO, a Venetian family, which furnished several doges in the 14th, IVth, and 18th cen- turies. The following are its best known members. I. Caterina, queen of Cyprus, bora