44S 



CONVOLVULUS 



CONVULSION 



cation fell into abeyance in 1717, being indefinitely 

 prorogued as a punishment for the synodical 

 condemnation of a book by Bishop Hoadly, who 

 was high in favour with the government. They 

 have been revived (in 1852 for the province of 

 Canterbury, in 1856 for York) with considerable 

 advantage to the church, but their action has been 

 and is greatly restricted. In Ireland the convoca- 

 tions of the four provinces assembled at Dublin, all 

 together, and were on the model of those in Eng- 

 land. From the Union downwards, the Irish con- 

 vocations never assembled. Since the disestablish- 

 ment the legislative assembly of the Protestant 

 Episcopal Church is called the General Synod. 

 An act of parliament was passed in 1663 for regu- 

 lating the meetings of convocation in Scotland ; but 

 ;shortly after the Revolution of 1688, the Episcopal 

 Church ceased to be the national establishment ; 

 :and ever since the meetings of the Presbyterian 

 Church, embracing clergy and laity, have been 

 called General Assemblies. See ASSEMBLY, SYNOD. 

 The position of the Church of England as respects 

 its convocations is exceedingly anomalous, but is 

 incidental to certain circumstances in the constitu- 

 tion and polity of the country. As practically 

 interwoven with the state, the church possesses 

 little independent action ; its articles, liturgy, 

 organisation as to benefices, &c., are all affected 

 by civil statutes ; while its discipline falls within 

 the scope of the ecclesiastical courts, a class of 

 tribunals apart from the ministering clergy. The 

 church, therefore, in its capacity as an institution 

 to teach certain doctrines of religion, is left little 

 to do in the way of jurisdiction. It is further 

 urged, as a reason for restricting the power of con- 

 vocation, that being purely sacerdotal, it might be 

 apt to run into excesses, and put forth claims 

 adverse to the prevailing tone of sentiment on 

 religious matters ; that, in short, as things stand, it 

 is safer for the public to be under the authority of 

 parliament than to be subject to the ordinances of 

 a body of ecclesiastics. At the same time it is 

 generally allowed that some kind of reform is 

 desirable, though how this should be effected in a 

 manner satisfactory to all parties it would be 



difficult to say. 

 The convoca- 

 tions of Can- 

 terbury and 

 York assemble 

 annually at the 

 opening of par- 

 liament, each 

 keeping up its 

 own distinctive 

 customs. See 

 Trevor's Convo- 

 cations of the 

 Two Provinces; 

 Cardwell's Syn- 

 odalia, and 

 Documentary 

 Annals ; Lath- 

 bury's History 

 of the, Convoca- 

 tion of the 

 Church of Eng- 

 land. 



Convol'vu- 



Ins ( Lat. con- 

 volvere, ' to twine 

 together'), a 



genus of plants, the type of the order Convol- 

 vulacere. This order contains about 800 known 

 pecies, herbaceous and shrubby ; generally with 

 & twining stem and milky juice, chiefly tropi- 

 cal. Many are cultivated as ornamental plants, 

 particularly species of Convolvulus and Ipomoaa. 



Convolvulus ( Calystegia sepium ). 



The acrid milky juice is often strongly purga- 

 tive ; and jalap and scammony are products of 

 this order. Some species, however, nave large 

 farinaceous roots, capable of being used as food, of 

 which the Batatas or Sweet Potato (q.v.) is the 

 most important. A few are natives of Britain, and 

 are known by the name of Bindweed. A common 

 name in the United States is Morning Glory. C. 

 arvensis is a troublesome weed in some sandy soils 

 in England, and Calystegia sepium in richer soils. 

 The wood of C. scoparius, a shrubby species, native 

 of the Canary Isles, called ' Rosewood,' or Lignum 

 Rhodii by apothecaries, has so strong a smell of 

 roses that the essential oil it yields on distillation is 

 employed to adulterate the attar of roses. 



Convoy (Fr. convoi) is the name given to one 

 or more ships of war appointed to protect a fleet of 

 merchant- vessels against the attacks of an enemy 

 or of pirates. If a merchant-ship parts company 

 with the convoy, or neglects to obey the convoy's 

 instructions or signals, all claims of insurance are 

 forfeited. The name is sometimes applied to the 

 merchant- vessels so escorted. In the military ser- 

 vice a convoy is a train of wagons or canal boats 

 laden with provisions, treasure, or warlike stores, 

 and escorted by a detachment of troops. 



Convulsion, in Medicine, is sometimes used 

 of any involuntary contraction of the voluntary 

 muscles of the body ; but especially of seizures in 

 which the body is thrown into violent spasmodic 

 contractions, the sensibility and voluntary motion 

 being for a time suspended. In adults convulsions 

 almost always indicate the presence of grave 

 disease, either of the brain (particularly Epilepsy, 

 q.v.) or of the kidneys. In children, especially 

 before the age of three years, they are of much more 

 common occurrence, and, though serious in them- 

 selves, may be due to temporary and comparatively 

 trifling causes. The following description applies 

 chiefly to the convulsions of children. A fit of 

 convulsions may last from a few minutes to some 

 hours, and may readily prove fatal, if not relieved 

 within a short period. The first symptom ob- 

 served is often a twitching of particular muscles 

 or groups of muscles, and a change in the habitual 

 expression or colour of the face, with distension of 

 the features, and turning of the globes of the eyes 

 suddenly upwards. The fingers are sometimes 

 clenched in the palm, and the feet turned inwards ; 

 sometimes, however, convulsions occur absolutely 

 without warnings of this kind, and even in the 

 midst of perfect apparent health. Their cause is 

 usually to be found in some source of irritation, 

 especially in the digestive organs ; as, for instance, 

 disordered dentition, worms in the intestine, in- 

 digestible or unsuitable food, &c. Most epidemic 

 fevers are also apt to be attended, in children, by 

 convulsions in their early stages, and if severe, 

 particularly in the case of whooping-cough, during 

 their progress as well ; and diseases of the brain 

 and its membranes at every stage. Convulsions 

 are greatly promoted by bad ventilation and in- 

 judicious feeding, with deficient exercise ; and a 

 great part of the cure consists in discovering and 

 removing the causes of the disease. 



When a child is suddenly seized with a tend- 

 ency to spasm, such as twitching of the features, or 

 contractions of the fingers and toes, it should be 



E laced at once in a very free current of air, with its 

 jet towards the fire ; the extremities should be 

 kept warm, and a cold lotion may be applied to 

 the head, especially if there is much flushing of 

 the face ; a little castor-oil may be given unless the 

 bowels are loose ; and if there is flatulence, the 

 belly may be rubbed with a warm hand, or with some 

 simple stimulating liniment, such as camphorated 

 oil. If an actual convulsion occur, the feet, or if 



