COD-LIVER OIL 



COKHOOltN 



lish are at once cleaned, and the livers re- 

 moved. These may be treated in different ways, 

 the various qualities of rod livrr oil being the 

 result. Tin- lim-si oil, known as 'non-freezing 

 pale oil, 1 is obtained by warming the livers by 

 means of steam heat, when the oil separates, and is 

 either removed by straining or by allowing it to 

 Hoat to the surface. It is then cooled to 14 ( - 10 

 C. ), and filtered, either by mechanical pre-Mm- 

 or in the usual way. A white tallow-like sub- 

 stance remain* in tne flannel filter, and a bright 

 cod -liver oil passes through, which is now capable 

 of being exposed to frost without turning turbid. 



In the case of those fisheries which are situated 

 at some distance from the shore, the livers are 

 placed in tanks, till a sufficient quantity has been 

 collected, with the result that partial putrefaction 

 takes place. The oil obtained in this way is of 

 a dark-brown colour, and possesses a nauseous 

 empyreumatic taste. 



A still coarser variety is manufactured for use in 

 leather-making. In it the livers of the cod, herring, 

 haddock, &c. are indiscriminately used, a very 

 fishy-tasted oil being the result. 



It will be seen from the above that the different 

 varieties of cod-liver oil may be produced from the 

 same livers. Thus, that obtained by pressure or 

 steam heat from fresh livers is the freest from taste 

 and colour, while the oil becomes darker and darker 

 as the livers become less fresh. It has been sup- 

 posed by some authorities that the dark-brown oil 

 is the more efficacious, but others find no difference 

 in actual practice, while the pale oil can alone be 

 tolerated by delicate stomachs. Cod-liver oil mainly 

 consists of oleic, stearic, and palmitic acids, in com- 

 bination with glycerine. In addition to these, 

 yaduin, a substance of biliary origin, but possess- 

 ing no recognised medicinal virtues, is present 

 along with iodine and bromine. Some have 

 ascribed the virtues of cod-liver oil to the iodine or 

 bromine, but as the iodine is only present in the 

 proportion of 1 part in 2000 parts of the oil, this 

 view seems untenable. Sometimes the oil is adul- 

 terated with spurious oils, to which iodine has been 

 adtled, and this may be assumed if the proportion 

 of iodine exceeds that stated above. There are 

 unfortunately no chemical tests that can with 

 certainty detect the presence of other oils, although 

 there are tests which distinguish liver-oils from 

 those of other origin. Thus with nitric acid, cod- 

 liver oil yields a purple colour, changing to a 

 brown ; while a drop or sulphuric acid produces a 

 violet colour, soon changing to brownish red. In 

 order to prevent it from becoming rancid and fishy- 

 tasted, it is well to keep it secluded from the air. 



Cod-liver oil is at present one of the most import- 

 ant remedies in the Materia Medica. Although 

 possessing a high reputation on the Continent, it 

 was not till 1841, when Professor Hughes Bennett 

 (q.v.) of Edinburgh wrote a treatise on it, that 

 it came into general use in Britain. It is most 

 valued in cases of pulmonary consumption, chronic 

 rheumatism, and gout, besides all diseases of a 

 scrofulous nature. In all these it is, however, 

 useless to expect good results unless the remedy 

 has been regularly taken for several weeks. 

 Its mode of action is uncertain. While some 

 hold that it merely acts as a nutrient, it is 

 certain that pork-fat, butter, and other digestible 

 oils, do not have the same specific action that 

 characterises cod-liver oil. It is given in doses of 

 from half a teaspoonful to one tablespoonful three 

 or four times a day, and it does not seem that 

 excessive doses, such as a cupful or more, are of 

 any real benefit, while they are a severe strain on 

 the digestive organs. 



As its peculiar flavour is very repulsive to many 

 patients, various devices have been adopted to 



render it more palatable. The addition of a trace 

 of sulphuric rider, while rendering it more easily 

 digested, does not improve the flavour. It mav, 

 however, be made into a jelly with iinglaH, or be 

 taken floating on the surface of porter ; while in 

 the form of Emulsion, of which many varieties are 

 in the market, the flavour is more or lens skilfully 

 disguised. Most druggist* also keep gelatin 

 capsules, containing from one to one and a half, 

 teaspoonful, which are easily swallowed. 



Codogno, a town of Northern Italy, 17 miles 

 8E. of Lodi by rail. Pop. 8935. 



Codrington, SIR EDWARD, a British admiral, 

 was Ixrni ofa good old Gloucestershire family, 27th 

 April 1770, and entered the navy in 1783. In 1794 

 he was lieutenant of Lord Howe's flagship, and 

 took a prominent part in the action off Ushant 

 on the glorious 1st of June. At Trafalgar, in 

 1805, he was captain of the Orion, and leader of 

 a squadron. He afterwards served in the North 

 Sea, in Spanish waters, and in North America, *> 

 and rose to the rank of vice-admiral in 1821. In 

 1826 he was appointed cominander-in-cliief of the 

 Mediterranean squadron, and in that capacity 

 took the leading part in the battle of Navarino' 

 (q.v.), which destroyed the Turkish navy. In 

 reward for this victory he received the 'Grand 

 Cross of the Bath, with Russian and French 

 orders ; but the battle being considered an ' un- 

 toward event,' Codrington was recalled. He 

 attained the full rank of admiral of the red in 

 1837, and in 1839 was appointed commander-in- 

 chief at Portsmouth, He was M.P. for Devon- 

 port from 1832 to 1839. He died April 28, 1851. 

 The ' Narrative ' written to prove that at Navarino 

 he had not exceeded his instructions, is printed in 

 the Memoir by his daughter, Lady Bourchier ( 2 vols. 

 1873). His son, GENERAL SIR WILLIAM JOHN 

 CODRINGTON, G.C.B. (1804-84), was commander- 

 in-chief in the Crimea from llth November 1855. 

 Another son, ADMIRAL SIR HENRY JOHN COD- 

 RINGTON, K.C.B. (1808-77), took part in the 

 destruction of St Jean d'Acre, and served in the 

 Baltic in 1854-55. 



CodrilS, the last king of Athens, was the son 

 of Melanthus, and according to Greek legend, 

 sacrificed his life for his country about the year 

 1068 B.C. A war raging between the Athenians 

 and Dorians, the oracle declared that the victory 

 should belong to those whose king was slain by the 

 enemy ; whereupon Codrus, attiring himself *as a 

 peasant, entered the Dorian camp, and having 

 picked a quarrel with some of the soldiers, con- 

 trived to have himself slain. See ARCHON. 



Coefficient, the numerical or literal factor 

 prefixed to an unknown quantity in any algebraic 

 term. Thus in the expression ax - 2by* + \ 3 a~ - 

 (a + 5)y there are four^erms, and the coefficients 

 are, in order, a, 26, \ 3, and (a + 5). A special 

 and very important instance is found in the 

 phrase Differential Coefficient of a given function 

 with reference to one or more of the variables 

 involved. In the theory of equations, also, coetli- 

 cients play an important part : thus, in the cubic 

 x 3 + ax* + bx + c = o, we know that (supposing 

 the 3 roots are p, q, r)p + q + r=-a, pq + qr 

 + rp = b, and pqr = - c. 



Coehoorn, or COHORN, MENNO, BARON v.\\. 

 called the Dutch Vauban, was the son of a captain 

 of infantry, and born near Leeuwarden in 1641. 

 He studied fortification and mathematics at 

 Franeker, and already captain of a company in his 

 sixteenth year, he greatly distinguished himself at 

 the siege of Maestricht, and in various battles. At 

 the siege of Grave, in 1673, he demonstrated that 

 the small portable mortare named after him might 



