Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/499

* CORNFLOWER. 427 CORNIFICIUS. terminal (lowpr-Iieiids about one and onc-lialf inches in diameter during summer ami autumn. These flower-heads have a wreath-like appear- ance, due to the neutral ray florets, and from early times have been favorites for raalcing gar- lands. Being hardy and of easiest culture, the cornflower has liecome one of the most popular annuals in American flower-gardens, and has developed many varieties, which range through various shades from deepest l)lue to white. In the United States it has at least flftt-en names, the commonest of which is perhaps bachelor's- button, a name also applied to two other plants — Eanunculus aeris and Gomphrena globosa. CORNHILL. An important London street, named from a corn market formerly held there. The Tun, a prison, and the Standard, a water- tonduit, stood upon it in mediceval times. CORNIANI, kOr'ne-ii'ne, Giambattista, Conte di (1742-1813). An Italian literarj' his- torian, born at Orzi-Nuovi (Brescia). In his youth he studied law and wrote for the theatre ; but afterwards he became' connected with the College of Brescia and published some works on agriculture. In 1797 he was made one of the Tribunal of Cassation for the Cisalpine Republic. The work for which Corniani is best known is a literary history of Italy, / secoli dcUa lettera- tura Haliana- (1804-13; new edition by Predari, 1854-56). CORNICE (OF., It. cornice. ML. coniij:, bor- der, from Gk. Kopuvif, korOnis, garland, from Kopuvuq, koronos, curved ; connected with Lat. ■corona, crown. Ir. cor, circle). In architecture, either the crowning member of a wall or a projection from it, such as a coping, or the <!rown of a minor division, as a colonnade. It lias been used in nearly every st3de. The usual Egyptian cornice consists of a fillet and cavetto molding, as the upper member of a simple en- tablature crowning all the main walls. Ancient Oriental architecture did not develop any style of cornice. It was reserved for Greek architec- ture to establish a type of cornice as the upper member of the entablature of the different orders, immediately above the frieze, as is more fully explained under Entablature (q.v.). The slant- ing cornice of a gable is called raking cor- nice, to distinguish it from the horizontal cor- nice. The Doric cornice is crowned b_y a strong- ly projecting corona, the upper part of which is the cymatium or cyma ; the lower part is usually the tenia. The corona rests on a thin bed-mold of one or two simple moldings. Along its horizontal edges are placed autefixes (q.v.). The uiuler surface, or soffit, of the cornice is decorated with nuitules (q.v.). In the more ■decorative Ionic cornice there is no very pro- jecting broad, flat tenia, but a group of richer moldings graduallj' projecting. The corona is very high, the ogee cyma being richly decorated between two fillets, and connected with the tenia by a smaller regular c^Tiia : the lower part of the cornice consists of a flat denticulated pro- jection immediately above the frieze. The Co-, rinthian cornice is both richer and more varied, its principal variation being the addition, in its central section, of volute-like mutules (q.v.) and modillions (q.v.), and the adornment of the tenia with egg-and-dart and other ornamenta- tion. It was not fully developed until Roman times, when it was also used in the Composite Vol. v.— 28. order, and the characteristic forms of the dif- ferent Greek orders were mingled. In early Christian and mediaeval architecture the variety of forms of cornice is too great to allow of classification or description. Some resemblance to the classic cornice is preserved in the rich cliurches of the fifth and sixth centuries in Syria, and the classic typi^ is even more closely followed in the medi:Tval churches of some parts of Italy, especially Rome and its neighborhood: and it was. of course, revived by the Renaissance. JIedi:Tval cornices are often supported on foliage and lines of small, blind arches; simple in the Romanesque, freer and richer in the Gothic style. The mediaeval surface decoration was usuall.y in very high relief, often in part de- tached from the ground. The imitation of every kind of foliage and flower, as well as the use of traditional and new geometric and schematic forms, gives great scope to this architectural member. In its simplest fonn it consists often of a projecting table supported on corbels, with or without arches. The term is also used in modern terminology for the upper termination of a piece of furni- ture, a window or door casing, or anything that acts as a frame, of whatever material it may be. Consult the works cited under Column; Entab- L.TUEE; which also discuss cornice. CORNICHE, kOr'nesh', Route de la (Fr.. cornice road). A renowned carriage road fol- lowing the coast line of the Riviera between Nice and Genoa. It is noted for its striking views, particularly between Xice and Mentone, and is much traveled in preference to the railway. CORNIDES, kor'ne-des, Daniel von (1732- 87). An Hungarian historian, born at Szent- Miklos. He studied philosophy and theologi,- at Erlangen, Germany. As the companion of Count Joseph Teleki he' visited Italy, Germany, and France, and while in Germany contributed greatly to the enlargement of the Hungarian department in the University of Gottingen and other institutions. In 1784 he was appointed librarian and professor of heraldry and diplo- macy at the University of Pest. His princi])al works include: Regum Huiigaria', qui l^a'cuto XI. Regnavere. Genealogia (1778); Bibliothcra JIungarica (1702); Commentatio de Religione Veterum Euyigarorum (1791); Tindicics Anon- yini Betw Regis yofnrii (1802). CORNIF'EROXJS SERIES (from Lat. cornn. horn + fcrre. to bear). In American geology, the second of the four great divisions of the Devonian system. It includes the Schoharie and Corniferous stages. The rocks of the Cornif- erous series — mostly sandstones — are found along the Appalachians, in Ohio, and in Canada, where they inclose valuable deposits of petroleum. See Devonian System. CORNIFICIUS, kor'nc-fish'i-us, Quintus ( ?-c.40 B.C. ) . A Roman general and writer on rhetoric; a contemporary of Cicero. During the Civil War he sujiported the party of Ca>sa_r, by whom he was a)ipointed Governor of Syria and afterwards of Africa. Aft^-r Cesar's death he maintained the latter province for the Senate; Init on the establishment of the Second Trium- virate was defeated and slain in battle by T. Sextius. Cornificius appears to have been almo.st equally distinguished for his literary abilities, ^hicll are frequently mentioned by Quinlilian.