Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/173

* CANIS MINOK. 139 CANKERWORM. is near Canis Major and just below Gemini. Profvon, of the first magnitude, is its princi- pal star, and lies in a direct line between Sirius and Pollux, so that the position of the constella- tion may be found by means of this star. CANISTER (hat. caiiistnim, reed basket. Gk. fdvtarpov, Ixiinistron, wicker basket, from Kinwa, fcoHHo, reed). A form of projectile. For smooth- bore guns and for the earlier rifles, canister consisted of a cylindrical tin or sheet-iron ease filled with small cast-iron balls half an inch to one inch in diameter. The ends were usually wooden disks over which the tin or iron was crimped and tacked down; the intei-stices be- tween the balls were either filled with sawdust or like material, or the balls were sunk in holes in soft wooden disks, which were piled one upon the other. Canister is little used in modern high-power guns, but there is now a tendency toward supplying it for the close-range opera- tions of gunboats in rivers and contracted wa- ters, as well as for field pieces. See Artillery; Field Artillery; Gv>"s, Xav.l; Projectiles; ^;IIRA^^•EL; Ordnance, etc. CANITZ, ka'nits, Friedhich Ridolf Lid- wig, Baron von (1654-99). A Prussian poet and statesman. He was born in Berlin, and be- longed to an ancient Brandenburg family. In l(i97 he was made councilor of State; iu 1098, a baron; and, after serving in various diplo- matic missions, was ilinister Plenipotentiary to The Hague during the formation of the Grand Alliance (q.v., and see SrccES.siON Wars). His poems, consisting of odes, satires, and ele- gies, in imitation of Boileau, were published after his death by J. Lange, under the title of yehenal timlen nnlerschicdoter Gedicltie (1700, without the author's name; with Canitz's name, 1719). Although cold and without originality, his verses had the merit of being simple and natural, and thus assisted in the reaction against the bombast prevalent among his contemporaries. His most popular poem is his elegy written on the death of his wife, Dorothea or Doris von Arnim, who died in 1695. Consult: Konig, Des Frcihcrni von Canitz Ocdichte, with a biographi- cal sketch (I^ipzig. 1727); selections from his works in the Bihiiothrk deutscher Dichter des 11. Jrihrkundertu, Vol. XIV. (Leipzig. 1838) ; Varn- hagen von Ense, Biographische Denkmale, Vol. IV. (Berlin, 1824-45); and Lutz, CaiiHz und sein IVWi«7fH!s sii dem fnnizosischen Klassicismus (Munich. 1SS7). CANKER (Lat. cancer, cancer). A disease attfcting the hoof of a horse. An obstinate in- flammation of the frog and sole of the foot of the horse may follow an attack of thrush. This malady occurs in two dilTerent forms — in the acute stage, when the malady is chiefly local; and in the chronic stage, when the constitution sutlers, and all local reinedies fail to restore a healthy function of the striictures of the foot. St/niiitonis. — It usually commences by dis- charge from the heels or the cleft of the frog of the horse's foot. The horn becomes soft and disintegrated, the vascular structures beneath become inflanied, and the pain which the animal endures is severe, making it very lame. Though there is no constitutional fever, the horse be- comes emaciated and unfit for work. During wet weather, and on damp soil, the symptoms Vol.. iv— lu. increase in severity. The sore structures bleed on the least touch, and considerable fungoid granulations, connnonly called proud tlesh, form rapidly. Dirt, cold, and wet favor the produc- tion of the disease, and there is always a ten- dency to relapse when once an animal has been allected. Treatment. — Pare away detached portions of horn, and, in mild cases, sprinkle powdered ace- tate of copper over the sore; applj' over this pledgets of tow, fixed over the foot by strips of iron or wood passed between shoe and foot. In severe eases, tar and nitric acid, creosote and turpentine, chloride of zinc paste, and other ac- tive caustics have to be used for a time, with the regular employment of pressure on the diseased surface. The animal requires to be treated con- stitutionally by periodical purgatives and altera- tives. Good food, fresh air. and exercise often aid nuich in the treatment of the disease. CANKER. A disease of plants, especially fatal to fruit-trees, as well as a number of forest trees, as the larch. It is caused by the fvuigus Xeclria ditissinia, and usually begins in the young shoots and branches, and, gradually pro- ceeding toward the trunk, kills the tree in the course of a few years. The attack of the fungus begins most readily in shoots that have been im- perfectly ripened and injured by frost, or which have received some accidental wound. Those varieties of fruit-trees which have been long ])ropagated by grafting and budding are most liable to it. It is sometimes cured by heading down the tree, and causing it to throw out new branches. See Apple Diseases, under Apple. CANKER-SORE. A small, yellow, round or linear sore, very tender, and forming a de- pression on the under side of the tongue or on the inner surface of the lips or cheeks. It is tem- ])orary and only local, and may be removed by the application of solid or dissolved silver ni- trate, or of pure carbolic acid. It is developed chiefly among children, and is generally caused by digestive derangements. CANKERWORM. A gregarious caterpillar of either of two moths of the geometrid family ilonoeteniidiP. One is on the wing in the aii- tunm and the other in the spring. The moths of the spring cankerworm ( Paleacrita rcriKilu) come forth from the chrysalis in the spring, but a few of then a])pear in the fall or on warm days of winter. The moths of the autunm can- kerworm (Alsophila pometaria) emerge during October. Some few may delay coming out until warm days in winter. The moths of both se.xes of the autumn cankerworm diff'er from those of the spring form in the absence of abdominal spines. The autimm form pupates in the ground in well-spun cocoons, while the cells of the spring forms are lined with only a few threads of silk. The body of the caterpillar of the au- tunm form is marked by six light longitudinal bands, and those of the spring form by eight. The eggs of the autumn form are laid iu regu- lar rows or masses, and aie truncated in form, while those of the spring brood are ovoid and are laid in irregular bunches. Both forms agree in that the caterpillars feed on the leaves of fruit and shade trees, and descend to the ground to pupate. The female moths of both forms are wingless. The caterpillars are so voracious that