Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][subsumed][merged small][graphic][subsumed][subsumed][merged small]

1. Adult moth (Heliot his armigera). 2. Destructive larva (the boll-worm' or 'bud-worm'), with a small boll pierced by a young caterpillar. 3. Vertical section of a newly expanded cotton-flower, showing a young boll-worm at work. 4. Section of a large green boll, which contains a caterpillar that has devoured the contents of the cell. 5. A pupa within its earthen case.

The caterpillars visit earliest low alluvial lands where the plants are luxurious and thrifty. Moisture is favorable to their development, hot, dry weather unfavorable. The damages to the crop may reach 25 per cent. in the southern districts; but in the northern the worms may do more good than harm, by removing superabundant leaves, thus facilitating the ripening of the bolls.

For further and extensive information, and preventive measures, consult: Comstock, "Report on Cotton Insects," in U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (Washington, 1879), illustrated; Riley, U. S. Entomological Commission, 4th Report (Washington, 1885); Bulletin No. 18, New Series (Washington, 1898).

The bud-worm is scarcely second in its evil effects. (See BOLL-WORM.) It is hatched from eggs deposited singly on all parts of the plant, taking only three to five days to hatch in summer. The worm is much like the cottoncaterpillar, but larger. Its principal food is the flowers and bolls. The chrysalis is found a few inches underground. The chrysalis state lasts seven to ten days in midsummer, double that in cooler weather. The moth is in appearance and habits much like the Aletia, but seldom appears before July or August. Hibernation is in the chrysalis state only, and underground. Breeding continues until cold weather; but the first three generations of each year generally feed in the cornfields, the first lot seen on cotton being the fourth brood.

Other injurious moths infesting cotton and eating the foliage include the yellow bear (Spilosoma Virginico), the io (Saturnia Io), the basket-worm or bag-worm (q.v.), and several others. Cotton-culture in Egypt is afflicted by two very similar insects, viz., Prodenia littoralis and Earias insulana.

The cotton-stainer, or redbug (Dysdercus suturellus), is a small suctorial bug, "which drains the

or reddish, and very much depreciates its value in the market, the stains being indelible." It is also troublesome to orange-growers in cottongrowing districts. See Insect Life, vol. i. (Washington, 1888), illustrated. Several plantbugs, such as the capsid (Psallus delicatus), known in Texas as the cotton-flea, and certain small beetles, are also injurious to cotton. For a description of the weevil, see WEEVIL.

The natural enemies of the cotton-worm and of the boll-worm are domestic fowls, birds, spiders, beetles, wasps, ants, parasites, etc. As preventive measures, the free use of poisons is good for both, and fall plowing, which upturns the chrysalids of the boll-worm, exposes these to the attacks of fowls and the fatal influences of cold.

COTTON-MOUSE. A field-mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus), dark brown, with grayish feet, prevalent in the southern United States, and injurious to cotton-plants. Its habits are similar to those of the common white-footed mouse of the North. See MOUSE.

COTTONMOUTH (so named from the white, cotton-like streak about its mouth). Properly, the moccasin-snake (q.v.), but also a in the southern United States of the copperhead.

name

COTTONSEED AND ITS PRODUCTS. Cottonseed Oil.-Cotton, which is described in the article bearing that title, when it is picked consists of the seeds, and the lint or fibre adhering to and covering the seeds. The seeds constitute rather more than two-thirds of this product, so that a crop of 9,000,000 bales of cotton would yield about 4.500.000 tons of cotton-seed. It constitutes a very valuable part of the product, and is used for manufacturing cottonseed-oil, for feeding animals, and for fertilizer. The cottonseed, after the removal of the fibre, yields, upon pressure, a large amount of yellow oil, with a bland, nut-like taste. Even

before the invention of the cotton-gin in 1794, the utilization of cottonseed was attempted, and in 1770 samples of the oil were exhibited by the Moravians in Bethlehem, Pa. Previous to that time the seed had been allowed to rot on the ground by many of the planters, while others more intelligent had utilized it as food for cattle, sheep, and horses. Others dug furrow-trenches, and buried it in the rows on which the next crop of cotton would be planted. Some fed it raw to their stock, while others boiled it to make it possibly more palatable. In 1820 a patent was granted for a process for extracting the oil, but the construction of the mills was so slow that at the end of fifty years only twenty-six cottonseed-mills had been erected. In 1861 Mr. Edward Atkinson stated that if the cotton-plant produced no cotton it would still be well worth cultivating on account of the valuable products that can be extracted from the seed. This was fully realized toward the close of the nineteenth century, and the value of the cottonseed began to be more generally appreciated. Though much of it is still retained on the plantations as a fertilizing material, the amount manufactured in the United States was, in 1898, 5,594,602 tons, in 1899 4,450,000 tons, and in 1900 4,472,103 tons. The annual product is valued at $33,000,000.

In addition to the oil extracted from the cottonseed, it yields the following by-products: Linters, or short bits of lint that adhere to the seed in the ordinary process of ginning, and are stripped by a specially constructed gin. These short fibres are used for the manufacture of batting and wadding. Hulls, the outer casings of the seed, used extensively for cattle-food, whose properties are discussed below. Cottonseed-meal, the residue left after the oil is expressed from the meats. This is also used as a cattle-food and as a fertilizer. Sludge, which settles at the bottom of the oil-tanks, and is used in the making of soap, stearin, etc.

The process of manufacture is briefly as follows: The seed is shoveled from the cars into conveyors, which are spiral screens revolving in troughs with perforated bottoms through which any loose soil, sand, and stones are shaken. This process of cleaning is continued in a separator, where by means of different sized screens all dirt and impurities are removed. A strong magnet is

oil:

It may be expressed directly from the cold meats, this process making a high-grade oil; or the meats may first be heated in cookers. These cookers are steam-heated metal pans, covered with non-heat-conducting material and holding 700 pounds. The seeds are cooked from one-quarter to three-quarters of an hour, according to their condition as determined by the judgment of the operator, too little or too much cooking giving a smaller yield of oil. The cooked meats are dropped into a camel's-hair sheet, spread out on a steel plate. Wrapped in this sheet the meats are subjected to pressure, which is gradually increased till it reaches 3500 pounds per square inch. Under this pressure, a dark, murky oil flows out in streams and is received in reservoirs beneath the presses, whence it is pumped into settling-tanks. The cakes are now taken from their wrappings of camel's-hair, cooled, and dried. They are then cracked and ground into meal, which is shipped directly in sacks or pressed again into cakes. After the crude oil has settled it is drawn off and refined by treating it to a 10 or 15 per cent. solution of caustic soda and then allowed again to settle. As it settles the mucilaginous, albuminous, coloring matters and other impurities sink to the bottom, leaving a clear yellow oil, which may be still further filtered and purified if desired. The white oil of commerce is produced by shaking up the oil with a 2 or 3 per cent. mixture of fullers' earth and then allowing it to settle.

The commercial cottonseed-oils are classified as crude, summer yellow, summer white, winter yellow, and winter white. The winter oils are made by cooling the summer oils to the freezingpoint, when the palmitin crystallizes and the oil is pressed out of the remaining solidified material. Cottonseed-oil consists chiefly of palmatin and olein, the winter oils being almost entirely non-drying oils, its drying properties being inolein. It stands midway between the drying and ferior to those of linseed oil. (See OILS.) It solidifies at from 32° to 38° F., is almost odorless, and has a slight nutty taste. Its uses are constantly increasing. It is employed extensively in cooking and is also used as an adulterant of lard, olive in making oleomargarine (q.v.). It is used in oil, and other staples. Large quantities are used pharmacy, in making soap and paint, as a lubricator and an illuminant. Consult Brooks, Cotton (New York, 1898).

also used to draw out bits of nails and other iron. The seed being sifted and cleansed, it is now passed through the linter, a specially constructed gin for removing these short fibres. The lint is ginned twice, the second process removing the shorter fibres, so that two brands or qualities are thus obtained. The next process is to crack the hulls in a machine between revolving blades and PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF WHOLE COTTONSEED

Feeding and Fertilizing Value.-Brief mention has already been made of the use of cottonseed products for feeding cattle and for fertilizer. Whole cottonseed has been shown by a large number of analyses to range in composition as follows:

[blocks in formation]

because the seed is disposed of to better advantage to the millers or can be exchanged for cottonseedmeal. There are also the further reasons that the lint on the seed and the dust it collects are likely to be injurious, while at the same time it is not easy to mix the seed itself thoroughly with other coarse feeds. It is a very rich feeding stuff, and animals must be accustomed to it gradually. The whole seed is sometimes used for fertilizer, and then it is partially rolled.

Cottonseed-meal is the ground residue left in the manufacture of oil from the seed. It is sometimes called cottonseed cake and belongs to the class of feeding stuff's known as oil cakes. Cottonseed cake is of two kinds—undecorticated, or that from the whole seed, and decorticated, or made from the kernels after the hulls have been removed. Undecorticated cake was formerly largely used, but most of the mills now remove the hulls before expressing the oil. Cottonseed-meal is bright-yellow in color, with a sweet, nutty flavor. It deteriorates and becomes discolored with age. The following summary of over 400 analyses shows its range in composition, which is due to differences in the composition of the seed and the completeness with which the hulls are separated and the oil expressed:

half of the weight of the ginned seed. They contain about 11 per cent. of water, 4 of protein, 46 of fibre, 33 of nitrogen-free extract, and 2 per cent. of fat. Their digestibility is low, less than 40 per cent. of the total dry matter being assimilated. They are hard and dry, usually covered with a fuzzy lint, and very bulky. They are used principally as a cheap substitute for hay, and for the purpose of giving bulk to the ration. Large numbers of cattle are fattened in the Southern States of the United States on cottonseed-meal and hulls exclusively, in proportions varying from two to six pounds of hulls to one pound of meal. The practice is claimed to be economical and profitable. Quantities of the hulls are ground very fine and mixed with cottonseed-meal as an adulterant, or to form "cottonseed feed.” Cottonseed-meal is rich in fertilizing materials, as shown by the following average of over 200 analyses: Water, 7.8; ash, 7; nitrogen, 6.8; phosphoric acid, 2.9; and potash, 1.8 per cent. . It is chiefly used as a source of nitrogen, and finds quite extensive use for that purpose through the Southern portion of the United States. It has given excellent results with sugar-cane, cotton, and corn, and has been successfully substituted for barnyard manure in the culture of tobacco.

PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF COTTONSEED-MEAL (DECORTICATED)

[blocks in formation]

This material is one of the richest feeding stuffs in use, considerably exceeding in protein and fat such materials as linseed-meal, but, in spite of this, it is quite well digested when fed in moderation. On an average, 88.8 per cent. of the protein, 57 per cent. of the fibre, 77.6 per cent. of the nitrogen-free extract, and 88.6 per cent. of the fat has been found to be digested by ruminants. It is fed extensively in the United States to cows, cattle, sheep, and nearly all kinds of farm stock, with the exception of pigs. The latter do not seem, for some reason, to be able to eat the meal for any considerable length of time without injurious effects. Young animals, like calves, have also often been injured by cottonseed-meal, and its use with them is attended with danger. All experience goes to show that the fresh meal can be fed to other kinds of animals without danger and in large quantities after they become accustomed to it. Six, eight, and even ten pounds of cottonseed-meal per head is often fed to steers, with good results, using no other kind of grain. It is undoubtedly best to mix some material like corn meal with it. For cows about two pounds a day seems to be a safe limit for continued feeding, although three and often four pounds are often fed. It tends to give a firmer, harder butter, which will stand shipment better. Larger quantities can be fed with safety in winter than in summer. It is one of the cheapest of the highly nitrogenous feeding stuffs, and is therefore one of the most economical for balancing rations.

Cottonseed-hulls, which are removed at the mills by means of crushers, screens, and shakers, also possess some feeding value, and are much used with the meal. They constitute nearly one

But its use as a fertilizer is of course wasteful, as the food constituents are not utilized in that case. A more rational practice in many cases is to feed the meal and apply the resulting manure to the soil, since from 80 to 90 per cent. of the fertilizing materials would be recovered in the manure, and additional benefit would be secured in the production of meat, milk, etc. Cottonseedhulls were formerly burned at the oil mills as fuel, the resulting cotton-hull ashes being rich in potash and much used as a fertilizer. (See ASHES.) Consult Roper, "Cottonseed Products," in Twelfth United States Census, vol. ix., part iii. (Washington, 1902); Tompkins, Cotton and Cotton Oil (Charlotte, N. C., 1901); Tamborn, Cottonseed Products (New York, 1905).

COTTON STATE. Alabama. See STATES, POPULAR NAMES OF.

COTTONTAIL. Any of the smaller American hares, especially the common wood-hare or gray rabbit. The name refers to the fluffy white scut, and is often personified as 'Molly Cottontail.' See HARE, and Plate of HARES AND Pika.

COTTON WHIGS. See CONSCIENCE WHIGS. COTTONWOOD. A name applied to a number of species of Populus on account of the abundant white cottony hairs surrounding the seed. The trees are widely distributed. Some attain large size and are valuable for many purposes.

See POPLAR.

COT YLE DON (Gk. KоTVλпdúv, kotyledon, cup-shaped hollow socket, from Korvλn, kotylė, hollow cup). The first leaf or leaves of an embryo. În seed-plants the cotyledons are usually formed within the seed, and in most cases

they escape during germination, but are usually very different in appearance from the later leaves. See SEED.

COT'YLOSAURIA (Neo-Lat. nom. pl., from GK. KOTVAη, kotyle, hollow cup oaûpos, sauros, lizard). The order which includes the most ancient reptiles, fossil in rocks of the Carboniferous Age, which, according to E. D. Cope, gave rise to the Theromorpha (q.v.), whence sprang the saurian and serpentine forms, and also to the lines leading to the fish-reptiles (Ichthyopterygia) and the turtles (Chelonia). The cotylosaurians are thus characterized by Cope: "Quadrate bone united with adjacent elements by suture; temporal regions with roof of a few symmetrical segments. No distinct post-orbital bars; vertebræ amphicœlous; ilium narrow, vertical; feet ambulatory."-Report United States National Museum, 1898 (Washington, 1900).

CO'TYS, or COTYT TO (Lat., from Gk. Kórus, Kotys, KоTUTTO, Kotyttö). A Thracian goddess, whose festival, the Cotyttia, was held at night and was notorious for its debaucheries. Her worship was adopted by some of the Greek States.

COUCAL, kooʻkål (probably an African word, although according to Cuvier it was coined in 1796 by Le Vaillant in his Oiseaux d'Afrique, from Fr. couc-ou, cuckoo + al-ouette, sparrow). A kind of cuckoo, many species of which are widely distributed throughout Africa and southeastern Asia to Australia, constituting the subfamily Centropodina, especially characterized by having the hind toe terminated by a straight, spine-like claw, whence they have been called 'lark-heeled.' They are large, ground-keeping birds, generally red and black, more or less glossed, and sometimes banded with brown, and are known generally as 'ground-cuckoos.' A species of the Philippines has a rounded crest and black, horny appendages to the feathers of the head and throat. Some other Asiatic species mimic pheasants in appearance and gait and are called 'pheasant-cuckoos.' The best-known one is the very common Indian 'crow-pheasant' (Centropus Sinensis), is nearly two feet long, black, with the mantle and wings chestnut, and utters a curious howling cry, followed by a series of rattling exclamations. All these birds make their own nests, sometimes elaborate roofed structures in thorny bushes, and lay white eggs incrusted like those of an ani. They are closely allied to the American road-runner. See Сискоо.

COUCH, DARIUS NASH (1822-97). An American soldier. He was born at South East, N. Y., graduated at West Point in 1846, served in the Mexican War (1846-47), and was brevetted first lieutenant in 1847 for gallant and meritorious conduct' at Buena Vista. In 1849-50 he served against the Seminoles, and in 1853 made an important exploring expedition into northern Mexico. In 1855 he resigned from the army to be come a merchant in New York, but in June, 1861, reëntered the service as a colonel of volunteers, and in August became brigadier-general. served in 1861-62 with the Army of the Potomac, rendering valuable services at Fair Oaks, Williamsburg, and Malvern Hill: was promoted to be major-general in July, 1862; commanded the Second Army Corps at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville; was in command of the Department

He

of Susquehanna in 1863 and 1864; and was at the head of a division at the battle of Nashville. He resigned in 1865, and in the same year was an unsuccessful candidate on the Democratic ticket for the Governorship of Massachusetts. He was subsequently Collector of the Port of Boston in 1866-67, was quartermaster-general of Connecticut in 1877-78, and was adjutant-general of that State in 1883-84.

COUCHANT, kou'chant (Fr., pres. part. of coucher, to lie down). In heraldry, a beast lying down, with his head up, is couchant. If the head is down, he is dormant. See HERALDRY.

COUCH-GRASS (corrupted from quitchgrowth), Agropyron repens. grass, quick-grass; so called from its rapid

Also called wheatgrass, dog-grass, quickens, and squich or quitch. A grass chiefly known as a troublesome weed. It is common in most parts of Europe and North America. See AGROPYRON.

His

COUCY, koo'se', THE CHÂTELAIN DE. A French troubadour, whose name was Raoul or Renaud. He became Châtelain of Coucy in 1186, took part in the Third Crusade (1189-91), and was killed by the Saracens about 1203. work consists of about sixteen songs, in the troubadour style, but with more sincerity and originality than the usual chansons courtoises of the time. They were published by Rath as Die Lieder des Castellan von Coucy (Heidelberg, 1883). The legend connected with his name is one of great age, and is found in the literature of many countries, though it is most likely of Breton origin. About the end of the thirteenth century there appeared a story or roman in verse by a certain Jakemon Sakesep, of whom nothing is known, and whose name is taken from an acrostic given in his work, Roman d'aventure. He tells of the loves of the Châtelain de Coucy and the Dame de Fayel. Falling ill on his way from the Holy Land, the Châtelain ordered that after his death his heart be taken to his lady. But the husband of the lady intercepted the messenger, took the sacred souvenir, and forced his wife to eat it. Thereupon the Dame for horror starved herself to death. The story was published with a modern version by Crapelet (Paris, 1829).

COUCY-LE-CHÂTEAU, köō'sê'le-sha'to'. A small village and cantonal seat (population, in 1901, 683) in the Department of Aisne, France, 10 miles north of Soissons. It is celebrated for the remains of its medieval castle, standing on an acclivity, accessible on one side alone, and one of the most formidable fortresses of its period. The castle covers an area of 10,000 square yards, and is surrounded by lofty walls and a moat. Four towers flank the donjon, which is 210 feet high, 100 feet in diameter, and has walls 34 feet thick. It is public property and is classed among the historical monuments of France. Built by Enguerrand III., who died in 1242, it was purchased in 1396 by Louis of Orléans, and in 1498 became Crown property. It was dismantled by Mazarin's order in 1652.

COUDER, koo'dar', LOUIS CHARLES AUGUSTE (1789-1873). A French painter, born in London. He studied in Paris under David and Regnault and exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1817 until his death. Although he painted both religious and historical subjects, he is better known by his large historical compositions at

Versailles and in the Louvre, namely "The Siege of Yorktown" and "The Battle of Lawfeld." He was a member of the conseil supérieur of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and wrote some critical works on art.

COUDERSPORT, kou'dĕrz-pōrt. A borough and the county-seat of Potter County, Pa., 110 miles (direct) east by south of Erie; on the Allegheny River, and on the Coudersport and Port Allegheny Railroad (Map: Pennsylvania, C 2). It contains a public library. The borough has flour-mills, a foundry, a tannery, glass-factories, and manufactures of clothes-pins, baskets, furniture, barrels, hubs, etc. Population, in 1890, 1530; in 1900, 3217.

COUDERT, koo-dĕr', FREDERIC RENE (18321903). An American lawyer, born of French parents in New York. He graduated at Columbia University in 1850, and was admitted to the New York bar three years later. In 1877 he was a delegate of the New York Chamber of Commerce to the Antwerp Congress, which was held for the purpose of establishing a universal system of general average. He was counsel for the United States before the International Bering Sea Commission (Paris, 1893-95); a member of President Cleveland's Venezuela Boundary Commission (1896-98); and president of numerous societies and clubs. He received the Cross of the Legion of Honor and also decorations from Italy and Venezuela.

COUDREAU, koo'dro', HENRI ANATOLE (1859 -). A French explorer, born in the Department of Charente-Inférieure, and educated at Cluny, In 1881 he explored French Guiana and the adjacent territory, and in 1895 he was commissioned by the Government of Pará to explore the Tapajos, Xingu, and other branches of the Amazon. These explorations are described in several interesting volumes published in 1897. His other publications include: Voyage au rio Branco et aux Montagnes de la Lune (1886); Etudes sur les Guyanes et l'Amazonie (1887); Chez nos Indiens (1892); and three volumes on his voyages along

the before-mentioned affluents of the Amazon (1897).

COUES, kouz, ELLIOTT (1842-99). An American naturalist, particularly distinguished for his researches in ornithology. He was born at Portsmouth, N. H., graduated at Columbian University in 1861, from the medical department of that institution in 1863, became an assistant surgeon in the United States Army, and made extensive studies of the flora and fauna in the vicinity of the various posts at which he chanced to be stationed. In 1873-76 he was attached as surgeon and naturalist to the United States Northern Boundary Commission, and from 1876 to 1880 as secretary and naturalist to the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, directed by Dr. F. V. Hayden. He resigned his commission in 1880, and thenceforth was occupied wholly with scientific pursuits. From 1877 to 1887 he was professor of anatomy at the National Medical College at Washington, D. C. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1877, was a founder of the American Ornithologists' Union, and an editor of the Auk, the journal of that society. About 1880 he became interested in spiritualism, theosophy, and allied matters, and for a time was affiliated with the Theosophical Society. He was known as a

VOL. V.-32.

student of comparative anatomy and general biology, and for seven years was connected with the Century Dictionary as editor and contributor in the departments of general zoology, biology, and comparative anatomy. But while his field of activity was wide, he was prominent chiefly as a writer on ornithology, and in particular on that of North American birds. His Key to North American Birds (1872; rewritten 1884; again, 1901) has perhaps had a greater influence on American ornithology than any other work. With this should be named his Field Ornithology (1874); Birds of the Northwest (1874); Birds of the Colorado Valley (1878); an incomplete Bibliography of Ornithology (1878-80); New England Bird-Life (1881; with W. A. Stearns); and a Dictionary and Check-List of North American Birds (1882). He also made investigations regarding the early exploration of the transMississippi region, and edited (1893) the Journals of Lewis and Clark. the technical advance of ornithology in America he ranked as not greatly inferior to Spencer Baird (q.v.), and as a popular expositor of the subject probably had no equal.

As a contributor to

COUGAR, kooʻger (Fr. couguar, Sp. cuguardo, from native South American cuguaçuara, cuguaçuarana). One of the names of the American panther (Felis concolor), described in this work under PUMA (q.v.). Although widely in use, the name should be abandoned, because it Cuvier perpetrates an error of identification. explained its origin in his Règne Animal (Griffith's version, The Animal Kingdom, vol. ii., London, 1827). as follows, speaking of the puma: "It is called by the Mexicans Mixtli; in Peru, Puma; in Brazil, Cuguaçuarana (the word Cougoua is contracted by Buffon from this latter barbarous appellation); and in Paraguay Gua

zuara...

The name Cougoua, by which it

is most commonly known in Europe, particularly in France, appears, probably, to have been borrowed from that proper to another animal;

where it appears that the 'other animal' was the but puma is its native name." Elseeyra (q.v.). A drawing of this cat brought to Europe by John Maurice, Count of Nassau, when Governor of Dutch Guiana in the seventeenth century, was labeled çuguaçuarana and çuguacguarana. This was copied by Marcgrave and Piso and applied by Buffon, in the contracted form above noted, probably under the belief that animal as the puma. the eyra (which is concolorous) was the same

Con

COUGHING (AS. cohhetan, Dutch kugchen, to cough, MHG, küchen, kichen, Ger. keuchen, keichen, to gasp; imitative of the sound). sidered physiologically, coughing consists, first, in a long inspiration which fills the lungs to a greater extent than usual; second, in a closure of the glottis, or narrow opening in the organ of voice (see LARYNX), at the commencement of the act of expiration; and third, in a sudden forcing open of the glottis by the violence of the expiratory movement. In this way, a blast of air is driven upward from the lungs through the mouth, which carries with it anything that may be present and cause irritation in the air-passages. Coughing may occur from irritation in the back of the throat, in the larynx, trachea, or bronchial tubes, and may be excited by irritant gases, or by articles of food or drink-such as

« AnteriorContinuar »