Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/480

 476 CREOSOTE CRESS at 17 below zero. At 68 its specific gravity is T037. It evaporates without residue, leav- ing upon paper a temporary greasy stain, and upon the skin a white spot. In concentrated form it acts as a caustic. It may be inflamed from a candle, and then burns with much smoke. It is but partially soluble in water, but is itself a powerful solvent of the resins, fats, indigo, camphor, &c. Its composition is variously stated. According to Ettling, it con- sists of carbon 77*42, hydrogen 8*12, and oxy- gen 14-46. Its most remarkable quality is that for which it was named. Meats are preserved by soaking them in a dilute solution of creosote for a quarter of an hour, and then draining off the water and drying. Hams and tongues ac- quire a very delicate flavor after being im- mersed for 24 hours in a mixture of 1 part of pure creosote with 100 of water or brine. A process has been patented in England for im- pregnating salt with the volatile products of wood tar; meats prepared with it are both smoked and salted. It is the creosote in pyro- ligneous acid and in the smoke from wood that gives to these the property of curing meat. Either crude pyroligneous acid or wood tar may be used to furnish creosote. The liquid distilled off the latter divides into three layers, the lowest containing the creosote. The acetic acid also present in it is removed, after sep- arating this layer from the other, by means of carbonate of potash. The oil which after some time collects upon the liquid is distilled, producing a heavy liquid, with other lighter fluids. The latter is agitated with phosphoric acid, and again distilled to remove ammonia. It is then mixed with solution of caustic pot- ash of specific gravity 1'12, which dissolves the creosote, but leaves the eupione insoluble. This is decanted off. The liquid is then left for some time exposed to the air till it acquires a brown color. Sulphuric acid is then added, which sets the creosote free, so that it may be decanted ; but it requires to be again treated with caustic potash and sulphuric acid, and the process repeated until the creosote, on expo- sure for some time to the air, ceases to turn brown. It still requires, after thorough wash- ing with water, to be distilled from hydrate of potash, or from a strong solution of caustic pot- ash. The first portions that come over are water, and are rejected. Creosote is known to be im- pure by turning brown on exposure to the air ; strong acetic acid also detects its usual impu- rities, dissolving with the creosote, and leaving them floating on the surface. As a medicine, creosote has been much used, but has recently been replaced to a great extent by carbolic acid. When undiluted it is an irritant and escharotic. In a weaker form it is an antiseptic of great efficacy, as shown above, and may be locally used as such in a great variety of dis- eases. When introduced into the cavity of an aching tooth, it relieves the pain by benumb- ing and to a limited depth destroying the nerve. In the dose of a fraction of a drop fre- quently repeated, it often proves useful in re- lieving nausea and vomiting, especially during pregnancy. It may also be applied as a has- mostatic. In an overdose it is a poison, giving rise, in addition to the symptoms dependent upon gastro-intestinal irritation, to giddiness, depressed action of the heart, convulsions, and coma, indicating a direct action upon the ner- vous centres. No antidote is known, and the only treatment is evacuation of the stomach and the use of stimulants. The poisonous ac- tion may arise from either its internal or ex- ternal application. CRESCENT (Lat. crescere, to increase), origi- nally an epithet applied to the moon in its first quarter, when its disk is enlarging and its horns are acute. Any figure or likeness of the new moon was afterward termed a crescent, which became a favorite form for ornaments. The Syrian Astarte and the Greek Artemis were often represented with it placed horizon- tally over their brows, having its horns turned upward. An ivory crescent was worn as a sort of buckle for the cothurnus by wealthy Athe- nians, and Roman matrons used it as a decora- tion for the hair. The crescent was especially a Byzantine symbol, and when the Turks became masters of Constantinople they adopted it as an emblem of their growing empire. In 1448 a military order of the crescent was instituted by King Rene" of Anjou. It was composed of 50 noble knights, each of whom wore an, en- amelled crescent on the right arm-, from which was suspended a number of small wooden columns equal to that of the combats in which he had been engaged. In 1799, after the bat- tle of the Nile, the sultan Selim III. presented to Nelson a splendid crescent adorned with diamonds, which became a favorite ornament of the English admiral, who often declared himself a knight of the. crescent. This circum- stance induced the sultan to found in 1801 the order of the crescent, to be conferred as an honor upon foreigners who had deserved well of Turkey. CRESCENTINI, Girolamo, a soprano singer, born near Urbino, Italy, about 1769, died at Naples in 1846. He was received with the utmost enthusiasm all over Europe, especially in Vienna. He was a favorite with Napoleon, who engaged him for his private chapel in Paris in 1806 ; but subsequently he returned to Naples, where he taught music, and pub- lished collections of exercises in musical vo- calization. CRESCENZI, Pietro de', an Italian writer on agriculture, born about 1230, died in 1320: He wrote Opus Ruralium Commodorum, con- taining not only his personal experiences and observations, but the best information that could be gained from the agriculturists of an- tiquity. It has been translated into several modern languages ; the best Latin edition is that of Gessner (2 vols., Leipsic, 1735). CRESS) the name of several species of plants, with acrid or pungent leaves, most of which