Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/779

* CURLING. 671 CURRAN. ia Inches t^' HOG SCORE MIDDLE LINE off, as he cm. The next man of the opposite side then projects one of his stones still nearer, if possible, and so the fiaiiic procpods until each has c.Tst his two stones, after which the end, or 'head,' is counted. A stone is of no use iinless it reaches the mark called the 'hog score,' and of no value if it passes out of the parish, which is a seven- foot ring drawn round the tee. All the stones that stay within the parish are counted, and that side wins which has the greatest number of stones nearest the tee. It is permitted during the game for one side to aim at its opponents' stones, and to knock them out of the circle if ])ossible. The sweeping of the ice, an important feature of the game, is under the di- rection of one player of each side called the 'skip.' The player's party may sweep the ice from the hog score next the player to the tee ; but 'when snow is fall- ing the ice may be swept from tee to tee. In the 'point' game there are no sides : each player has two stones to throw, and other stones are placed round the tee for him to make his points by placing his ball, or displaeing the other balls from the positions in which they have been placed. Originally, the stones were simpl.y rounded stones, taken from the channel of a river ; but about the middle of the eighteenth century they ■were improved by chiseling, and later han- dles were introduced. Xow each stone has usually two sides; one so curved that it runs as on a pivot and highly polished for use on dull ice, and the other less polished, but with a larger ■ concave or hollow, to give it a better catch or hold on keen, clean ice. A .set of matches is called a 'bonspiel.' There are international bonspiels between the Uni- ted States and Canada, and interstate matches yearly at -Montreal, Winnipeg. Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto, Saint Paul. Minneapolis, Duluth, Chicago. Buffalo, and Hoboken, X. J. Numerous trophies are contested for, among ^vhieh are the International Trophy, the Quebec Challenge Cup, the Grand Challenge Cup of ^Manitoba, the Caledonian Tankard, the Vice- regal Tankard, the ]Merrian Trophy, and the Gordon-Mitchell and Smith medals. Consult: Eamsay, An Accoiiiii of the flnmr of VurUnq (the earliest history of the game, Edinburgh, 1811); Taylor. Curling, the Ancient Game (Edinburgh, 18^7) ; Kerr, History of Curling (Edinburgh, 1890). SCORE CURLL, EuMUXD (1675-1747). An English bookseller. From 170(i at the sign of the Pea- cock, outside Tem|)le liar, and from 173.") at that of the Pope's Head, Kose Street, Covent tJarden, he dispensed literature and — its concomitant in those days — patent medicine. He seems continu- ally to have been involved in quarrels, and many of his publications were of the character of vindications and explanations. His most memor- able contentions were with Pope, who devoted to him some of the least complimentary lines of ilie Dunviud. Xumerous standard works dis- played his imprint, and many volumes were edited hy him. CITRRACH, COURACH, kfir'ri or ki.ir'rak, or COR'ACLE (Gael., Ir. cnrarh. Welsh corwc, boat). The name given in the British Islands to a canoe or boat, made of a slender frame of wood, covered with skins. Skiffs of this sort, as well as canoes hollowed out of the trunks of oaks, were in use among the Britons in the earliest times of which we have record. .Julius Csesar, who built some of them after the British model, tells us that the keel and gunwales were of light wood, and the sides of wicker, covered with hides. Similar descriptions of the Currach are given by Pliny. Lucan, Solinus, Festus Avie- nus, Sidonius Apollinaris, and others. The first occurrence of the name seems to be in Gildas, w ho wrote in the sixth century : he speaks of the currach as in use among the Scots and the Piets. A long voyage in the North Sea, made in a curracli during the same century, by one of the companions of Saint Columba, is com- niemorated by Adamnan, who died in 704. In 878 three Irish missionaries sailed in a currach from Ireland to Cornwall ; the voyage occupied seven days, and the size of the currach is indi- cated by the remark that it was one of two skins and a half. An old life of Saint Patrick speaks of a currach "of one skin. Ayith neither helm nor oar." The currach of a larger size had a mast and sail. The currach still continues to be used on the Severn, and on many parts of the Irish coast, especially on the shores of Clare and Donegal. The last one known to have been used in Scotland is in the museum at Elgin. It was employed on the Spey, toward the end of the nineteenth century-. CURRAGH OF KILDARE', The. A fa- mous race-track and the seat of a military school in County Kildare, Ireland. The plain is about six miles long. CUR'RAN, CnABi.ES Couktjtet (1861—). An American painter, born at Frankfort. Ky. He studied in New Tork at the Art Students' League, and in Paris under Ducet, Lef&bvre. and Benjamin-Constant. In 1888 he won the third Haligarten prize, and in 1800 honorable men- tion at the Paris Salon. He became a member of the Society of American Artists and of the National Academy in 1888. There are pictures by him in the Chicago Art Institiite and at Vas- sar College. His work is skillful, refined, and soft in color. Several of his pietures are highly imaginative, especially "The Dream." CURRAN, .Toiix "Piin.P0T (1750-1817). An Irish judce and orator. He was born at New- market, Cork Counly, July 24, 17.50, and ed>i- cated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was more dissipated than studious. In 177-3 he went to Ijondon and studied law assiduously at the