CUR 



CUR 



ra : antennae clavate, seated on the snout, 

 which is horny and prominent ; four feel- 

 ers, filiform. Of this genus there have been 

 from 800 to 1000 species enumerated, and 

 there are probably many more that have 

 not been observed by authors who have 

 treated on the subject. These have been 

 separated into three sections, viz. A. iaw 

 cylindrical, one-toothed B. lip bind ; 

 jaw bifid, short ; snout short. C. lip 

 rounded, horny ; feelers very short. Of 

 these the section A. is distinguished into 

 a, snout longer than the thorax ; thighs 

 unarmed : b, snout longer than the tho- 

 rax ; thighs toothed : c, snout longer 

 than the thorax ; hind thighs formed for 

 leaping : rf, snout shorter than the tho- 

 rax ; thighs unarmed : e, snout shorter 

 than the thorax ; thighs toothed. The 

 larvae of this most splendid tribe of in- 

 sects have six scaly legs, and a scaly 

 head; some of them infest granaries, 

 eating their way into grains of corn, and 

 leaving nothing but the husk ; some dwell 

 in other seeds, or are lodged in the in- 

 side of artichokes, thistles, and various 

 plants ; and others devour the leaves of 

 trees and herbs. C. salmarum, or palm 

 weevil, is two inches in length ; its larva 

 is large and white, and of an oval shape ; 

 it resides in the tenderest part of the 

 smaller palm-trees, and is considered in 

 the West Indies as one of the greatest 

 dainties. C. nucum, or nut weevil, is 

 the insect produced by the maggot resid- 

 ing in the hazel-nut. The insect makes 

 its appearance early in August, and may 

 be found creeping on hazel trees. The 

 female singles out a nut, which she pierc- 

 es with her proboscis, and then, turning 

 round, deposits an egg in the cavity, and 

 she thus proceeds till she has deposited 

 in different nuts her whole stock of eggs. 

 This is done while the nut is in its young 

 state, which, however, is not injured by 

 the process, but continues to grow and 

 gradually ripens. When the egg is 

 hatched, the young larva begins to feast 

 on the kernel. By the time that it has 

 arrived at its full growth, and has nearly 

 consumed the whole of the kernel, the 

 nut falls, and the inclosed larva, not in- 

 jured by the fall, continues in the nut 

 some time longer, and then creeps out at 

 the hole in the side, which it has previ- 

 ously made by gnawing in a circular direc- 

 tion, and immediately begins to burrow 

 or creep under the surface of the ground, 

 where it lies dormant about eight months, 

 and then, casting its skin, commences a 

 chrysalis, of the same general shape and 

 appearance with the rest of the beetle 



tribe ; and it is not till the beginning of 

 August that it arrives at its complete 

 form, at which period it casts off the skin 

 of the chrysalis, creeps to the surface, 

 and commences an inhabitant of the up- 

 per world. During this stale it breeds, 

 and enjoys for a short time the pleasures 

 of a more enlarged existence. To this 

 genus belongs the weevil, properly so call- 

 ed. Many of the exotic species are large 

 and of great beauty, but the most brilliant 

 and most beautiful is C. imperialis, or 

 diamond beetle, a native of Brazil, which, 

 when seen through a magnifying glass, 

 affords one of the finest sights that can 

 be imagined. 



CURCUMA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Monandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Scitaminex. Cannx, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character : stamens four, 

 barren, a fifth fertile ; corolla four-parted ; 

 nectary three-lobed : filament flat. There 

 are three species, of which C. rotundo, 

 round-rooted turmerick, has a perennial 

 root, with a large ovate bulb, frequently 

 as big as a goose's egg, covered with a 

 thin pelicle, that has parallel rooting rings 

 within, solid, fleshy, reddish yellow, of a 

 bitterish taste, and slightly aromatic 

 smell. Native of the East Indies, the 

 mountains of China, Cochinchina, &c. 



CURFEW, a signal given in cities tak- 

 en in war, &c. to the inhabitants to go to 

 bed, advertise the people to secure them- 

 selves from the robberies and debauche- 

 ries of the night. 



The most eminent curfew in England 

 was that established by William the Con- 

 queror, who appointed, under severe pe- 

 nalties, that at the ringing of a bell, at 

 eight o'clock in the evening, every one 

 should put out their lights and fires, and 

 go to bed : whence to this day, a bell 

 rung about that time is called a curfew- 

 bell. 



CURRANS, or CCIHIANTS. See GHOS- 



SULARIA. 



CURRENT, is a term used to express 

 the present time : thus, the year 1808 is 

 the current year ; the 20th current is the 

 20th day of the present month. The 

 price current is the known and ordinary 

 price accustomed to be given for it. 

 As applied to commerce, we* say, "cur- 

 rent coin," for the known and common 

 coin of the country. 



CI-HRKNT, in hydrography, a stream or 

 flux of waterin any direction. In the sea, 

 they are either natural, occasioned by the 

 diurnal motion of the earth round its axis, 

 or accidental, caused by the water's be- 

 ing driven against promontories, or into 



