Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/404

 40,0 COTRONE COTTABUS sent forth from the crater ohscured the light of the sun, producing such darkness that the inhabitants of Tacunga and Hambato were obliged to grope their way with lanterns till 3 P. M. The ashes were carried through the air even to Guayaquil, 130 in. distant, and Po- payan. A deluge was produced in 1803. During this eruption Humboldt, who was at Guayaquil, heard day and night the explosions of the volcano, which resembled heavy dis- charges of artillery. From that time the vol- cano remained tranquil till 1851, when flames again appeared at its summit, dense clouds of smoke rolled forth from the crater, and small eruptions occurred on its eastern slope. In 1855 a greater eruption took place on the W. side, in which lava and burning stones were ejected, and water was poured down the sides of the mountain. Reiss found this lava stream. It was still warm, having a temperature of from 68 to 90, that of the surrounding air being 32. Its greatest width was about 3,000 ft. and the estimated thickness 150 ft. No fis- sure or accumulation of scoria indicated its source ; but its point of departure is by his observations 18, TOO ft. above the sea. In 1856 occurred another on the E. side. OTRONE (anc. Crotond), a town of S. Italy, in the province and 36 m. N. E. of the city of Catanzaro, on the Ionian sea, at the mouth of the river Esaro ; pop. about 6,000. It is a poor town, but is defended by a strong citadel erected by Charles V. The harbor is protect- ed by a tongue of land, on which the town is laid out, and by a mole built of the materials of the temple of Juno, on a promontory 6 m. S. E. It is the seat of a bishop, and contains a cathedral, five churches, and several convents, houses of refuge, and hospitals, including one for soldiers. Licorice root and orange and olive trees are extensively cultivated; the oranges, being sent to Taranto and thence ex- ported, are known in foreign markets under the latter name. The region is rich in cereals and wine. The town is on the railway which skirts the eastern coast of Italy. Steamers connect it with Naples and other ports. Co- trone surrendered to the English after the bat- tle of Maida (1806), and when they withdrew it was besieged and taken by the French under Massena. (See CEOTONA.) COTTA, a family of Italian origin, settled in Germany since the 15th century. I. Joliaim Georg about 1640 founded an establishment at Tubingen, which at present is one of the lead- ing publishing houses in Germany. II. Johann Friedrieh, an eminent theological writer, born May 12, 1701, died Dec. 31, 1779. His Kirchen- historie desNeuen Testaments (3 vols., 1768-'73) was highly esteemed. III. Johann Friedrieh, baron von Cottendorf, grandson of the prece- ding, born in Stuttgart, April 27, 1764, died Dec. 29, 1832. He studied law and natural philosophy, sojourned for some time in Paris, and settled in 1787 in Tubingen, where he assumed the management of the publishing house of his father. His energy in business, and his superior literary attainments, soon placed him in a prominent position. He be- came acquainted with Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Fichte, Schelling, Jean Paul, Tieck, Voss, A. W. von Schlegel, Humboldt, and others ; and many authors, in whose juvenile effusions Cotta recognized the marks of genius, were intro- duced by him to the public. In this respect his merits can scarcely be too highly appre- ciated. He established the Allgemeine Zeitung (1798), which to this day remains at the head of the daily press of Germany. He removed to Stuttgart in 1810, and in 1824 opened the Cotta'sche Verlags-expedition in Augsburg, as the publication office for the Allgemeine Zei- tung and several other literary and scientific periodicals. Among them were the Horen, a literary magazine, to which Schiller was one of the most active contributors ; the Politische Annalen, the Morgenblatt, the Flora, the Ausland, and the PolytecJiniscJies Journal. He was the first among the landholders in Wurtemberg to abolish servitude on his do- mains (1820). He was also an active promo- ter of scientific agriculture, and of steam navi- gation on the lake of Constance and the Rhine (1825-' 6), and introduced the first steam press in Germany (1824). IV. Georg, son of the pre- ceding, born July 19, 1796, died Feb. 1, 1863. He studied law, was chamberlain to the king of Bavaria and equerry to the king of Wurtem- berg, and held several public offices. On the death of his father in 1832, he took control of the publishing business, which he largely ex- tended. This business, which is still conducted by the Cotta family, comprises large establish- ments in Stuttgart, Augsburg, Munich, and Leipsic. V. Bernhard, a German geologist, only distantly connected with the family, born at Zillbach, Oct. 24, 1808. From 1827 to 1831 he studied at the mining academy of Freiberg, and afterward at Heidelberg, where he began the study of law, which he soon abandoned for the natural sciences, and in 1842 became professor in the school of mines at Freiberg. His works in the department of geology are numerous, many of them having passed through several editions. Among them are : Geognostische Wanderungen (2 parts, 1836- '8) ; Anleitung zum Studium der Geognosie und Geologic (1839) ; Briefe fiber Humboldfs Kosmos (1848-'51); Geologische Wilder (4th ed., 1861) ; GesteinleJire (2d ed., 1862) ; Ent- wiclcelungsgesetz der Erde (1867) ; and Geo- logie der Gegenwart (3d ed., 1871). COTTABUS, a social game, anciently a favorite amusement in Sicily and Greece. The simplest mode of playing it was as follows: A metal basin was produced, into which each person endeavored to cast a certain quantity of wine with his goblet from a certain distance, pro- nouncing as he threw, either aloud or to him- self, the name of his mistress. If all the wine thrown fell into the basin, or if that which fell extracted from the metal a pure and clear