producing a sweet and soft-shelled fruit.'
Chints, a fine printed calico first man- ufactured in the E. Indies, but imitated in other countries.
Chocolate, a kind of paste, or cake, prepared chiefly from the cacao-nut, a production of the W. Indies and S. America.
Chronometer, a timepiece of a peculiar construction, at present much used by navigators in determining the longitude at sea.
Cider, a liquor extracted from the Juice of apples, and forming a consider- able portion of agricultural produce in this country.
Cimolia, the name of the earth of which tobacco-pipes are made. It is round in different pans of England.
Cinnamon, tbe under bark of the branches of a tree ofthe bay tribe, which is chiefly found in the island of Ceylon, but which grows in Malabar and other parts of the E. Indies.
Citron, an agreeable fruit resembling a lemon in color, taste and smell. It comes to us preserved or candied from Madeira.
Civet, a perfume taken from the civet- cat.
Clove, the unexpanded flower-bud of an East Indian tree, somewhat resem- bling the laurel in its height, and in the shape of its leaves.
Coal, a combustible substance com- posed chiefly of carbon and bitumen. That which contains much bitumen is highly inflammable, and burns with a 1 right flame: the anthracite, in which the carbon predominates bums less vividly. Numerous varieties of coal exist: it abounds in almost every coun- try, and inexhaustible mines are found in different parts of the U. States.
Cohalt, a metal found in the form of an ore, in Saxony, Sweden, and some parts of England.
Cochineal, a drug, in many respects approaching to the nature of kermes. It s brought to us from Mexico, where it is collected in immense quantities, be- ing a species of insect which affords a deep crimson dye. Cochineal is also raised in Peru and several other parts of Spanish America, and becomes every year an article of greater importance to the commerce of that country.
Cocoa-Nut, a woody fruit, of an oval shape, covered with a fibrous husk, and lined internally with a white, firm and fleshy kernel. It is a native of Africa, the E. and W. Indies, and S. America.
Cod, a well known fish that is caught in immense quantities on the banks of Newfoundland, and the other sand- banks that lie off the coasts of Cape Bre- ton, Nova Scotia, and N. England.
Coffee, the berries of a shrub common in Arabia Felix. The best coffee is im- ported from Mocha in the Red Sea. That next in esteem is raised in Java and the E. Indies; and that of lowest price is raised in the W. Indies and Brazil.
Copal, a substance of great import- ance as a varnish, obtained from the rhjts copalinum, a tree in N. America, i Copper, a metal, next to iron in spe- cific gravity, but lighter than gold, sil- ver or lead. It is found in N. and S. America, in most European countries, and in Africa and Japan.
Copperas, a name given to the sul- phate of green vitriol, used in dying black.
Coral, a marine zoophyte that be- comes after removal from the water as hard as a stone, and of a fine red color. It is found in the Mediterranean and in the Ethiopic Ocean, about Cape Ne- gro.
Cordage, a term used in general for all sorts of cord, made use of in rigging ships.
pork, the bark of a species of oak |
**ich grows in Spain, Portugal and on the French side of the Pyrenean moun- tains.
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Cornelian, a precious stone of which there are three kinds, red, yellow and white. The finest cornelians are thos.e of the E. Indies; but very beautiful ones are found in many parts of Eu- rope.
Cotton, a soft downy substance found on the gossypium or cotton-tree. It is separated from the seeds of the plant by a mill, and then spun and prepared for all sorts of fine work, as stockings, quilts, &c. Cotton was found indigen- ous in America. North and S. Ameri- ca, Egypt and India produce most of the cotton consurped, and the greater part is manufactured in England and the U. States. The cotton-gin is a ma- chine invented by Mr. Whitney, an American, for the purpose of cleansing cotton.
Crape, a light, transparent stuff, like gauze, made of raw silk, gummed and twisted on the mill, and woven with- out crossing. It is manufactured in France and various parts of G. Britain.
Cream of Tartar, a combination of tartaric acid with potash. It. comes to us from Leghorn, and other parts of Italy.
Crystal, the name of a very large class of fossils, hard, pellucid, and naturally colorless.
Currants, a smaller kind of grapes, brought principally from Zante and Cephalonia.
Curcuma, a plant which i3 native of India. The root communicates a beau- tiful but perishable yellow dye, with alum.
Cypress, the cypress tree is a dark colored evergreen, which grows abun- dantly in the western parts of the U. States. The name of this tree is de- rived from the island of Cyprus, in the Mediterranean, where it still grows in great luxuriance.
DAMASK, an ingeniously manufac- tured stuff, the ground of which is bright and glossy, with vines, flowers, and figures interwoven. It is made in France and other countries of Europe ; and is also brought from India and Chi- na.
Dates, the fruit of the date palm, a tree inhabiting the north of Africa, and which is al*i cultivated in Italy and Spain. This fruit is an oval, soft, fleshy drupe, having a very hard stone, with a longitudinal furrow on one side, and when fresh, possesses a delicious per- fume and taste.
Diamond, a precious stone which has been known from the remotest ages, it is the hardest of all bodies; the best tempered steel makes no impression on it. The first water in diamonds means the greatest purity and perfection of their complexion, which ought to be that of the purest water. Diamond- mines are found chiefly in the E. Indies; and in Brazil, in S. America.
Diaper, a sort of fine flowered linen commonly used in table-cloths, nap- kins, &c.
Dimity, a species of cross-barred stuff entirely composed of cotton, similar in fabric to fustian.
Dock, in maritime affairs, is an artifi- cial basin, by the side of a harbor, made convenient either for the building or repairing of ships. It is of two sorts:
1. Dry dock, where the water is kept out by great flood-gates, till the ship is built or repaired, when the gates are opened, and the water let in to float and launch her. 2. Wet docks, a place into which the ship may be hauled, out of the tides way, and so dock herself, or sink for herself a place to lie in
Down, the fine feathers from the breasts of several birds, particularly that of the duck kind. That of the eider duck is the most valuable.
Drab, a sort of thick woollen eloth, woven purposely for great coats. |
Dragons Blood, a gummy resinous substance, which is brought from the E Indies. A soution of dragons blood in spirit ol wine is used for stainin marble, to which it gives u *.,d tinge.
Drawback, in commerce, an allow ance made to merchants on the reex portation of certain goods, which in some cases consists of the whole, in others of a part, of the duties which ha been paid upon the importation.
Drug, in a commercial sense, is ap plied to every article of a medicinal na ture, such as guins, jalap, senna, &c.
Duck, a sort of strong brown cloth used chiefly by sail-makers. The bes' comes from Russia.
EBONY WOOD, is brought from the Indies, exceedingly hard, and heavy, susceptible of a very fine polish. The best is a jet black, free of veins an rind, very massive, astringent, and an acrid, pungent taste.
Embargo, an arrest on ships or met chandise, by public authority.
Emerald, one of the most beautiful of all the class of colored gems; when perfect its color is a pure green. Em- eralds are found in the E. Indies and in many parts of America ; they are also met with in Silesia, Bohemia and other parts of Europe.
Emery, in natural history, a rich iron- ore found in large masses, fextremely hard and very heavy. It is imported from the island of Naxos, where it ex- ists in great abundance, and is also found in many parts of Europe.
Ermine, a valuable fur which is ob- tained from a species of weasel, abound- ing in all the cold countries, especially Russia, Norway and Lapland. The fur is short, soft, and silky, and is in great request. The common weasel of the United States is white in winter, and is the proper ermine of Europe.
Ether, a very volatile fluid produced by the distillation of alcohol with an acid.
FEATHERS, make a considerable article of commerce, being principally used for plumes, ornaments, filling of beds, writing-pens, &c. Eider down is imported from Denmark; the ducks that supply it being inhabitants of Hud- sons Bay, Greenland, Iceland, Nor- way and N. America.
Felucca, a little vessel with oars, fre- quent in the Mediterranean.
Figs, the best are those which come from Turkey, packed in cases. Many are brought from Faro of a small and inferior kind, also from the south of France. Vast quantities are exported from Spain and Portugal.
Flannel, a kind of slight, loose, wool- len stuff, composed of a woof and warp, and woven on a loom with two treadles, after the manner of baize. The flan- nels of England and of Wales are most esteemed.
Flax, a plant which Is cultivated prin- cipally for the fibres yielded by the bark, of which linen cloth is made. Th xe2x96xa0 seeds yield an oil well known in commerce, under the name of linseed oil. Flax is now extensively cultivated in the tf. States, and its various pro- ducts have become with us important articles of commerce.
Flour, the meal of wheat-eorn, finely ground and sifted.
Fossil, in chemistry, denotes, in gen- eral, all things dug out of the earth, ei- ther native or extraneous.
Fox-Skins, an article of considerable export from N. America, employed in the making of muffs, tippets, &c.
Fhillers Earth, a species of clay, of a grayish ash-colored brown, in all de- grees from very pale to almost black, and it has generally something of a greenish cast. It is used by fullers to take grease out of their eloth before they apply the soap.
Fur, the skins of quadrupeds, which are dressed with alum without de.priv
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