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to the amount of about 250,000 barrels per annum. Iron and copper ores exist, but are not worked. The total imports are valued at $1,000,000 annually, and the exports at $1,125,000. The principal harbor is that of Santa Anna on the S. W. coast, one side of the narrow entrance to which is defended by Fort Amsterdam, while on the other stands Willemstad or Curaçoa, the capital of the island and of a government which includes this and the neighboring islands of Buen Ayre, Oruba (or Aruba), and Little Curaçoa, and presided over since 1855 by R. F. van Lansberge. Curaçoa was settled by the Spaniards in the 16th century, taken by the Dutch in the 17th, captured by the British in 1798, restored to Holland at the peace of Amiens, again seized by England in 1806, and finally given up to the Dutch in 1814.

CURASSOW, a name given to two genera of birds of the order gallinæ, and the family cracida; the two genera are crax and pauri, both peculiar to America. The curassows have the bill moderately long, strong, generally elevated at the base, with the culmen curved, and the sides compressed to the obtuse tip; the nostrils are lateral and large, with an opening partly closed by a crescentic or rounded membrane; the hind toe is long, and on the same plane with the others. In the genus crax the bill is moderate; the wings short and rounded, with the 6th to the 8th quills equal and the longest; the tail long and rounded; the tarsi robust, longer than the middle toe, and covered in front by broad scales; the toes long, strong, and covered with prominent scales, the lateral toes being equal; the claws are moderate, compressed, and curved. Six species are described, of which the most interesting are: 1. The crested curassow (C. alector, Linn.), of a general black color, with the lower belly white, and the cere yellow; the head is ornamented with a crest of recurved and frizzled feathers, radiated, alternately white and black; the sides of the head and base of the bill are bare; at certain ages the body, wings, and tail are banded with white. It is 3 feet long, about as large as a turkey. This species has frequently been carried to Europe from Guiana, and is the one generally seen in collections; in addition to its pleasing appearance, it is mild and social in its manners, and affords a savory and nutritious article of food. It inhabits the forests of tropical America in large flocks, whose peaceable members seem not to fear man unless in the neighborhood of dwellings. The nest is of very rude construction, placed upon dry branches on trees, and lined with leaves; the eggs are from 2 to 6 in number, white, resembling those of the turkey. Though living in the wildest localities, it exhibits a remarkable disposition to become tame, and flocks of them are frequently domesticated; they perch in elevated situations, on roofs and high trees; they are easily reared, as almost any kind of vegetable food agrees with them; maize, rice, bread, potatoes, and all kinds of fruits, are eagerly eaten by them. There is no

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doubt that these and the allied species could be introduced with advantage into the list of domesticated birds, both in this country and in Europe. 2. The globose curassow (C. globicera, Linn.) is distinguished by a callous globular tubercle at the base of the bill, inclining backward, covered, like the base of the mandibles, with a bright yellow cere; the general color is black, with the vent and tip of the tail white. This bird unites with the preceding and the next species, producing hybrids, which may be more or less continued by intermixture of the primitive stocks, presenting a very great variety of colors; from this has arisen many a supposed new species. 3. The red curassow (C. rubra, Linn.) has no tubercle on the bill, and has the region of the eyes feathered; the color of the under parts is a bright chestnut, with the head, neck, and tail banded with black and white, and occasionally with yellow. 4. The wattled curassow (C. carunculata, Temm.) has the head black, the belly chestnut, and the cere and naked parts red, with a black crest. The other species are C. globulosa (Spix), and C. urumutum (Spix).—In the genus pauxi the bill is short, and the culmen is elevated and much curved; the 6th and 7th quills are equal and the longest; the greater part of the head is covered with short velvety feathers. Three species are described: 1. The cushew curassow (P. galeata, Lath.), with a hard and thick oval tubercle, of a blue color, at the base of the bill; general color black, but about the vent and the end of the tail white; it is about the size of a turkey, and, like the other curassows, is readily domesticated. 2. The razor-billed curassow (P. mitu, Linn.) is smaller than the preceding, being about 2 feet long; of a black color, with the belly chestnut. 3. The P. tomentosa (Spix).—The curassows (or hoccos, as they are sometimes called) and the pauxis, with the penelope or guan, are to South America what the turkey is to North America; in the state of domestication they exhibit the same traits and habits as ordinary poultry; they are polygamous, many females being attached to a single male; they are easily acclimated in Europe, and of course would be in the United States; they live in peace with other gallinaceous birds, and rarely utter any discordant cries-qualifications of which many of our domestic fowls are destitute. The flight of the curassows is heavy and ill sustained; but they run with great rapidity, carrying the tail in a pendant position. According to Sonnini, their cry may be represented by the syllables "pohic;" in addition to this they make a dull humming sound, as does the turkey, variously modified by the remarkable sinuosities of the windpipe. The trachea in the cracida differs from that of other gallinaceous birds in its remarkable circumvolutions. In the curassows proper they take place at the lower part of the neck, or in the thoracic cavity; in the pauxis they are directed on the muscles of the breast, immediately under the integuments; but in none of them does the trachea form its con

volutions in the interior of the breast bone, as in the swans. In the crested curassow the trachea is flattened, chiefly membranous, with the rings entire and very distant from each other; it describes a broad curve between the bones of the furca, goes back 2 inches over the muscles of the neck, and then makes a second circumvolution, from which it takes the usual form as far as the lower larynx, where it is suddenly dilated. In the pauxi, the trachea at the opening of the thorax ascends over the right great pectoral muscle at a distance from the crest of the breast bone, continues along this muscle, and forms a curve passing somewhat behind this bone; it then proceeds over the left pectoral muscle, making a turn on the side of the breast bone, passing behind it above the first curve; then it turns again to the right, and passes over the right clavicle into the cavity of the chest. The windpipe may be shortened or lengthened by muscular action. This conformation is doubtless connected with the loud and sonorous voices of these birds. The curassows are extensively distributed over America, being found in the Guianas, Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, Central America, and probably in some of the West India islands. It would be worthy of, trial to introduce this family of birds into our southern and middle states; they would in course of time add an important article of food, and afford a new source of profitable industry.

CURATE (Lat. curare, to take care), the lowest degree of clerical rank in the church of England, so called from having the care of souls. The curate is the substitute or assistant of the actual incumbent. Perpetual curacies are those where there is neither rector nor vicar, but the tithes having been appropriated, the lay appropriator is obliged to appoint a curate at a stipend. In large parishes it is usual to appoint more than one curate to officiate in the parish church, and to assist the incumbent in his duties. There are also curates in chapels of ease, and in the modern foundations known as district churches, which belong to ecclesiastical subdivisions within parishes, and subordinate to the rector or vicar in some matters, though independent in others. By act 1 and 2 Victoria, the lowest stipend to be paid to a curate is £80; the sum rising, in proportion to the population of the cure, to £150, as a maximum.

CURATII, in Roman legendary history, a celebrated family of Alba. Three brothers of this family, in the reign of Tullus Hostilius, fought with 3 Roman brothers, the Horatii, and were conquered, and the consequence of their defeat was the subjection of Alba to Rome.

CURCULIO, or PLUM WEEVIL, a small beetle of the family curculionida, and genus rhynchanus (Fabr.), R. nenuphar (Herbst). The perfect insect is about of an inch long, of a dark brown color, variegated with white, yellow, and black spots; it looks like a dried bud when shaken from a tree, and remains motionless

when disturbed, feigning death. The head is furnished with a long curved snout, bent under the thorax when at rest, which is used to make the crescent-shaped cut in which the egg is deposited; the jaws are at the end of the snout; the thorax is uneven, and the wing cases are ridged and humped, covering 2 transparent wings by which the insect flies from tree to tree; behind the humps there is a yellowish white spot; each thigh has 2 small teeth on the under side. These beetles appear between the first of April and the middle of June, according to the forwardness of vegetation. When the plums are about the size of peas, the female begins to sting the fruit, making an incision in the skin, in which she deposits a single egg; she goes from plum to plum, placing an egg in each until her store is exhausted, hardly a fruit escaping when these insects are abundant. The grubs, resembling whitish, footless maggots, with a rounded, distinct, light brown head, are hatched by the heat of the sun, and immediately burrow obliquely to the stone; the fruit, weakened by the gnawing of the grub, becomes gummy, and falls to the ground before it is ripe; by this time the grub has attained its full size, quits the fruit, and enters the ground between the middle of June and the middle of August in New England; it there becomes a pupa, and comes forth a perfect insect in about 3 weeks. Several broods may be hatched in a season, the latest ones remaining as pupa in the ground all winter; some good authorities believe that the curculio passes the winter above ground in the perfect state, and therefore that any operations in the soil at this season can be of no advantage in guarding against its ravages. Not only plums, but nectarines, apricots, peaches, cherries, apples, pears, and quinces, are attacked by the curculio. The grubs are sometimes found in excrescences on plum trees, in which the beetle, finding in them an acid resembling that of the fruit, has deposited the eggs, and hence has often been wrongfully accused of producing these swellings. As the curculio is a good flier, any efforts to prevent its ascending the trunks of trees must be of no avail. Among remedies which have been found successful on a small scale, the following deserve mention: sudden jars of the limbs in the morning and evening in June, when they are depositing their eggs, will cause many to fall upon sheets spread beneath the trees, from which they may be collected and destroyed; scattering air-slacked lime in damp days on the trees once a week for 6 weeks, beginning soon after the fruit is discoverable; sprinkling flour of sulphur over them about the time the fruit is setting, and once or twice afterward; applying by means of a syringe a whitewash solution, rendered sticky by a little glue. All fallen fruit should be destroyed by heat, that the grubs may not escape into the ground, and give rise to a new generation; diseased excrescences should be cut out; the admission of swine and poultry about the trees will cause many of the larvæ to

be devoured before they can enter the ground. The gray-sided curculio is pale brown, from to of an inch long; the larvæ live in the trunks of the white oak, on which the beetles may be found about the beginning of June. Other curculionida destroy pine trees, and infest various kinds of nuts in this country. In Europe there are many species which as yet are not found here. The most destructive of the family are those which attack wheat and other grains. (See WEEVIL.)

CURES, in ancient geography, a town of the Sabines, 25 m. from Rome, near the left bank of the Tiber. In the time of Romulus, according to tradition, the people of Cures were united with the inhabitants of Rome, whence the latter were afterward designated Quirites. The colleague of Romulus, Tatius, and Numa Pompilius, the 2d king of Rome, were both natives of Cures. The city fell into decay at a very early period, was revived by Sylla, and was at last destroyed by the Lombards in the 6th century. The modern village of Correse occupies its site.

CURETES, priests and ministers of Cybele or Rhea. The rites and orgies with which they celebrated the worship of their deity were almost identical with those of the Corybantes.

CURFEW, the evening bell (spelled also curfeu, carfou, and courfeu, a corruption of Fr. couvre feu), so called from the evening bell having been the signal to extinguish fire on the hearth and remain within doors. The practice was common in the middle ages. Polydore Virgil states that William the Conqueror introduced it into England as a measure of police. The obligation of extinguishing fire and light on the ringing of the curfew was abolished in England by Henry I. in 1100, but the evening bell itself was continued. We find entries in the municipal records of "ryngyng ye curfewe," a man to ring the curfew," "new rope for the curfew bell," and so on, as late as the beginning of the 16th century. The evening bell and. prayer bell, still tolled at stated hours in some places, had their origin in the couvre feu.

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CURIÆ, the name of certain divisions of the people of ancient Rome. Romulus divided the whole population into 3 tribes, and each tribe into 10 curiæ. Although there were afterward 35 tribes, yet the number of the curiæ remain ed always the same. At first these curiæ possessed considerable political importance, but from the time when Servius Tullius instituted the centuries, their influence became slight. The place where a curia met was also called curia, and the place where the senate met was designated by the same name. In the Roman provincial cities, the name was applied to the body which administered the affairs of the town, and was responsible to the Roman government for the taxes. In the middle ages the name was also given to a solemn assembly of the counts and prelates of the empire. In modern Europe curia is used to designate a court.

CURIO, C. SCRIBONIUS. I. A Roman publi

cist, a son of C. Scribonius the orator, died in 53 B. C. He was tribune of the people in 90 B. C., prætor in 82, and consul in 76. On the expiration of his consulship, he obtained the province of Macedonia, where he distinguished himself by waging successful war against the barbarians dwelling north toward the Danube. In 57 he returned to Rome and was appointed pontifex maximus, which office he held till his death. He had some reputation as an orator, and was at once a virulent enemy of Cæsar and an intimate friend of Cicero. II. A son of the preceding, was made tribune of the people in 50 B. C. On the outbreak of the civil war Cæsar sent him to act against the party of Pompey in Sicily. He succeeded in driving Cato out of that island, but venturing to cross over to Africa, he was defeated and slain.

CURLEW, a bird of the order grallæ, family scolopacida, subfamily limosina (which includes both curlews and godwits), and genus numenius (Lath.). The bill is long, slender, curved from the base, with sides compressed and grooved; the upper mandible projecting over the lower, and obtuse; wings long and pointed, the 1st quill the longest; tail short and even; tarsi long and slender; toes moderate, lateral ones unequal and united at their bases; hind toe long, slender, and partly resting on the ground; claws short and dull. There are nearly 20 species described, scattered over the temperate regions of the world in the winter, and going north in summer; they frequent the borders of the sea, and muddy and sandy shores, sometimes visiting moors and marshy plains, in search of worms, larvæ, crustacea, and mollusks, which they extract from the moist ground, often from under water, with their long bills; they also eat berries from the fields and woodlands. The nests are formed on the ground in holes, lined with grass, and the eggs are generally 4 in number. The long-billed curlew, or sickle-bill (N. longirostris, Wils.), is the largest of the American species, and may readily be distinguished from all others by the length of the bill, which is from 7 to 9 inches; the total length to end of claws is 29 inches, the extent of wings 40 inches, and the weight about 14 lbs. The general color of the plumage is pale reddish brown, the head and neck streaked with dusky; the upper part of the throat, and a band from the bill to the eye, light buff; above marked with blackish brown, tail barred with the same; abdomen plain yellowish red; feet bluish. Though found in the north, it is most abundant at the south, where it resides all the year and breeds; it feeds during the day in the marshes, retiring to the shores in large flocks at night; the favorite food is small fiddler crabs. They are easily shot, though rather tenacious of life, frequenting for some time the same resting place; they answer readily the fowler's call. The flesh is tough and fishy, and decidedly inferior to the smaller species. They are occasionally seen as far north as Boston. The Esquimaux curlew,

sometimes called dough-bird (N. borealis, Lath.), has a bill about 24 inches long, and tarsi 14 inches; the length to end of claws about 17 inches, extent of wings 28 inches; weight lb. The upper plumage is dusky brown, marked with numerous spots of light brownish yellow; a line of white from the bill to the eye; upper part of head brownish black, with streaks and a median line of grayish or yellowish white; throat white; neck and breast yellowish gray, with longitudinal marks and spots of dusky; abdomen dull yellowish white; flanks with brown bars; tail and its upper coverts pale grayish brown, with deep brown bars, and brownish white tip; primaries dark brown, the first shaft white with dusky tip. The females very closely resemble the males. In the New England and middle states this bird arrives from the north in the latter part of August, remaining through October, when it moves off to the south in flocks, going north again to breed in the spring. In Labrador its favorite food is the curlew berry, a small black fruit growing on a creeping shrub an inch or two high; in the open grounds in the vicinity of the sea, it feeds on insects, especially grasshoppers, seeds, worms, and berries. In the autumn they are very fat, hence their common name, and are considered great delicacies. They are not shy, running, squatting, and flying very much like a snipe. The Hudsonian or short-billed curlew (N. Hudsonicus, Lath.) is considerably larger than the last named species. Its bill is about 4 inches long; the total length to end of claws 21 inches, extent of wings 33 inches, and weight a little over a pound. The upper part of the head is deep brown, with a central and 2 latéral whitish lines; between the bill and eye, and behind the latter, brownish; the neck pale yellowish gray, with longitudinal brown streaks; chin grayish white; upper parts generally blackish brown, with numerous brownish white spots; wings and rump lighter; tail and its upper coverts with brown and yellowish gray bars, the former white-tipped; primaries brownish black; lower parts grayish white, the sides cream-colored and barred with grayish brown; shaft of first quill white. This species often associates with the sickle-bill, and arrives in large flocks on the New Jersey shore in May from the south; they soon move northward to breed; they return toward the last of August, remain a few weeks, and then proceed to the south to spend the winter. The habits and food are about the same as in the other species. The flight is high and rapid, and in their migrations accompanied by a constant whistling; they fly steadily, answer the sportsman's whistle readily, and are easily shot; they are considered excellent eating. Like the long-billed curlew, this species will linger around its wounded companions until many of a flock are killed; the latter, however, is much the rarest bird in most parts of the northern states. The largest of the European curlews is the N. arquatus,

(Linn.), of the size of a capon; the general color is brown, with the edges of the feathers whitish; the rump is white, and the tail barred with white and brown. It is a well-flavored species. The whimbrel (N. phaopus, Linn.) is about half the size of the preceding, which it resembles in its plumage.

· CURLING, a favorite Scottish game, played on the ice with large stones of a spherical form, flattened so that their length shall be equal to twice their thickness. They are carefully selected, so that they shall not be liable to break, have their under side polished, and vary in weight from 30 to 60 lbs. They have handles of wood or iron by which they are impelled over the ice. The path in which the stones move is called the rink, and may be from 30 to 50 yards long. At each end of the rink a mark or hole is made in the ice, called the tee. The players are divided into two parties, and each person endeavors either to leave his own stone as near the tee as possible, to remove those of the opposite party, or to guard those of his own side. When all have played, the one nearest the tee counts one, and the second, third, &c., if of the same side, count each one more. The side which first scores 31 wins.

CURRAN, JOHN PHILРот, an Irish_orator, born at Newmarket, county of Cork, July 24, 1750, died at his residence in Brompton, a suburb of London, Oct. 14, 1817. His father was officer to a manorial court, and a person of great cultivation of mind, and his mother an accomplished woman, who made great efforts to procure for her son every possible advantage of education. After having been under the instruction of Nathaniel Boyse, the resident clergyman, who, as he himself says, made a man of him, and through a preparatory course at the free grammar school of Middleton, he entered Trinity college, Dublin, with a view of preparing himself for the church, but afterward determined to adopt the profession of the law, and in 1773 became a student of the Middle Temple, London, the Rev. Mr. Boyse having advanced him funds for that purpose. The succeeding year he married the daughter of Dr. Creagh, of Dublin, and in 1775 was called to the Irish bar. For some time he gave the rein to his generous social disposition. A club which he formed, under the name of the monks of St. Patrick, gathered together the leading liberals of the Irish metropolis. Here Curran shone in all his brilliancy. At the same time he was often in great pecuniary straits. He relates that one day, unable to pay his rent, he returned to the house in a state of despondency, when he found a brief awaiting him with 20 guineas. This brief was the commencement of his fortune, and was put in his way through the kindness of Lord Kilwarden, who, although differing with him in politics, continued his friend through life. His clients became so numerous that he was soon in easy circumstances. In 1782 he was returned to the Irish parliament as member for Kilbeggan. His attacks on the gov

ernment soon led to duels, first with Mr. Fitzgibbon (afterward earl of Clare), then attorneygeneral, and next with Major Hobart, both ending without injury to either party. Step by step he rose in his profession, till he became the most popular barrister of his time. He had a dashing, fearless way that suited his auditory. His eloquence was thoroughly Irish. Rarely attempting to convince by argument, he always addressed himself successfully to the feelings. His style of metaphor was bold and original-often extravagant. In the cross-examination of witnesses he exceeded the recognized limits of forbearance, and was frequently bullying and insolent. On one occasion he so goaded Mr. St. Leger, a witness in the case of an assault by an Irish nobleman upon an aged priest, that he had to fight him. În persuasive powers Curran had no rival. His diction was fluent and charming, and he not unfrequently wound up his address by some solemn adjuration from Scripture. His voice was not naturally good, but he improved it by careful training. Personally he was the reverse of prepossessing, having a soft and boyish look. In the height of his prosperity he met with a severe domestic blow in the elopement of his wife. He obtained a verdict against the seducer, but would not touch the damages awarded. He even allowed the faithless wife a stipend, and went to London to see her when she was supposed to be on the point of death. Ireland was at that period in an excited political condition. The question of Catholic emancipation especially agitated the people. Curran advocated liberal principles in the house of commons, and defended liberal politicians in the courts of law. Although his talents in parliament were conspicuous, it was in the courts that he shone preeminent. There he made his finest political orations. His defence of the leaders of the rebellion of 1798 was his crowning effort; his most noted speeches being those in defence of Theobald Wolfe Tone, Major Rowan, Oliver Bond, the brothers Sheares, Jackson Finney, and Finnerty-in the latter of which he made a powerful appeal for the liberty of the press. During the sympathy excited for the French revolution Curran remained faithful to England, even while exhausting every element of opposition against her government. In 1800 the union of Ireland with Britain was accomplished. Curran, who had opposed it, viewed the event with despondency. Indeed, he had at one time decided to abandon the country and seek a new home in America; but other events, which followed rapidly, dispelled this idea. The peace of Amiens, in 1802, permitted him to visit the continent. On July 23, 1803, the rising under Robert Emmet took place. Curran had a deeper interest in this event than he himself was aware of, for an affection subsisted between Emmet and his daughter Sarah. The young man was executed, Sept. 20, 1803. During this year he made his celebrated speech in defence of Owen Kirwan. Political matters continued in much the same state until 1806,

when the death of Pitt threw the power into the hands of Fox and the liberals. Curran was offered the post of master of the rolls in Ireland, which he accepted, although more desirous of the office of attorney-general. The duties of the office were unworthy of his abilities, and were hampered by petty jealousies. From this time his genius declined, and he sank into a state of hypochondria from which he never recovered. Occasionally the influence of travel or of music, in which he had some skill, would revive him, but only temporarily. In 1814 he exchanged his place for a pension of £2,700 per annum. He resided chiefly in his mansion at Brompton, where he enjoyed the acquaintance of Sheridan, Horne Tooke, Lord Erskine, the prince regent, and other notables. Godwin the novelist, and Moore the poet, were his devoted friends. In Sept. 1817, he wrote that he had "closed his accounts with hope." Afterward he complained of "a mountain of lead at his heart." Occasional flashes of his former wit lit up his decline. Speaking of a passing attack of apoplexy, he described it as "a runaway knock at. death's door." On Oct. 8 he was seized with a second fit, of which he died in the following week. His "Speeches on the late very interesting State Trials " appeared in Dublin in 1808, and his "Speeches, with Memoirs by a Barris ter," in London, 1817 (new edition, with memoir by Davis, 1845). His "Letter to the Rev. H. Weston" was published in 1819.-See also "Memoirs of the Life of Curran," by Alex. Stephens (1817); "Memoirs of the Legal, Literary, and Political Life of the late Rt. Hon. John Philpot Curran," by William O'Regan (1817); "Recollections of J. P. Curran and some of his Contemporaries," by C. Phillips (1818); "The Life of the Right Hon. John Philpot Curran," by his son William Henry Curran (1819).

CURRANT (ribes, Linn.), the name of a small, valuable, and well-known garden fruit, of which there are numerous varieties. Two principal species are commonly known, but there are several beside. The R. rubrum (Willd.), according to Persoon, grows spontaneously in Sweden, and in the northern parts of England, and is the origin of the garden kinds. It bears abundance of semi-transparent red berries in racemes, which diminish in size at the apex of the bunch. There is a white-fruited variety, more esteemed by some on account of its less acid juice. Great improvements have been made on these fruits by repeated experiments, and not only the plant has been rendered more robust, but the size of the berries has been increased. The London horticultural society's catalogue for 1842 gives a list of 10 sorts of the red and 3 sorts of the white currant, of which the red Dutch and the white Dutch, known also under many synonymes, have stood high in the estimation of practical gardeners. Knight succeeded in raising some improved kinds from seed, favorably known and bearing his name. Several lately introduced from France bear fruit of remarkable size and flavor; scarce

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