roltNo 



CORNWALL 



189 



iii.-;-.M*.-.i ii\Huid i n 1885. See BRIGHT, and CODDEN, 

 uinl works tliero cited. 



Corno, MIINTK. See GRAN SASSO D'ITALIA. 



4 ornoiiaillr. a district forming part of Brit- 

 tanv. Included \\nliin the modern department of 

 Fini-.ti-1-e. It is one of the most barren and desolate 

 jMitsot France; the chief town in Quimper. The 

 i-li'iiiiiy of i In- name with Cornwall is obvious. 

 s.-e BRITTANY. 



4'orns (Lat. CO/VIM, 'horn,' through the French) 

 are small hard growths, resulting from an increase 

 in the thickness of the cuticle or epidermis, which 

 is generally caused by the irritation of some ex- 

 ri-.Mve pressure or friction on the part. They occur 

 most commonly on the feet as a result of tight or 

 ill-litting shoes. Corns are either hard or soft; 

 the structure of both classes is essentially the same. 

 A hard corn begins as an ill-defined thickening of 

 the epidermis at one point. As irritation con- 

 t imies. the excessive growth of epidermis increases, 

 ami the papillae (see SKIN) beneath also enlarge, 

 giving the deeper part of the" growth a fibrous 

 appearance, popularly described as the ' roots ' of 

 the corn. Pressure upon the sensitive nerves of 

 these papillae causes the usual pain of corns. Old 

 corns often have a bursa or sac developed beneath 

 them, which in part protects the underlying struc- 

 tures. Excessive irritation sometimes causes this 

 bursa, or in its absence the connective tissue 

 beneath a corn, to inflame and suppurate ; and the 

 little abscess thus formed, confined W the hardened 

 epidermis, gives rise to intense suffering. In so- 

 called fibrous corns, more allied to warts, the en- 

 largement of the papillae predominates, and the pain 

 is greater than in ordinary hard corns. Soft corns 

 occur between the toes, where the warmth and 

 moisture promote early separation of the epidermis, 

 and growth of the papillao ; they are therefore more 

 vascular than the other forms, and often extremely 

 painful. 



The treatment of corns consists in the removal of 

 all undue pressure or friction, either by removing 

 the shoe altogether, or protecting the corn by sur- 

 rounding it with a border of some soft material, as 

 Amadou (q.v. ) or soft leather; or the hardened 

 cuticle may be pared or filed away, the central part 

 most deeply. Of late years a simple and convenient 

 remedy has been introduced, now sold everywhere 

 as a 'certain and painless cure for corns.' It con- 

 sists of a solution of salicylic acid in collodion, one 

 drachm to one ounce, with a small proportion of 

 extract of Indian hemp. It is painted over the 

 corn once or twice daily, and allowed to dry, with 

 the effect of so softening the epidermis that, usually 

 after six or eight applications, it can readily be 

 peeled off with the aid of hot water. Soft corns 

 should be freely dusted with oxide of zinc powder, 

 and the affected toe isolated from its neighbours by 

 means of medicated cotton-wool. If suppuration 

 occur beneath a corn, the matter must be let out 

 bv a puncture, after the corn has been pared down. 

 Tliose subject to corns should avoid patent leather 

 boots, or even eschew leather altogether, and use 

 ' pannuscorium ' or some other more porous sub- 

 stitute. 



Corns affect horses as well as men. In the foot 

 of the horse they occur in the angle between the 

 bars and outer crust, and consist in a bruise of 

 the sensitive secreting sole. Some forms of feet 

 are especially subject to them. Corns constitute 

 unsoundness ; cause a short, careful, tripping 

 gait ; are the most frequent source of lameness 

 amongst roadsters ; abound in badly-shot! horses, 

 and usually occur in the inside heels of the fore-feet, 

 these being more especially subjected to weight, 

 and hence to pressure. The discoloured spot indi- 

 cating the recent corn must be carefully cut into 



with a fine drawing-knife ; any serum or blood U 

 thus allowed free vent. If the bruise 1m* \->-n 

 extensive, a poultice will have the twofold effect of 

 allaying irritation and relieving tin- wnhitive part* 

 by softening the hard unyielding horn. When the 

 injury has ueen of some standing, and Hoft faulty 

 horn in secreted, a drop of diluted nitric acid may lie 

 applied. On no account must the bars or outer 

 crust be removed ; they are required for I waring 

 weight, which may l>e further kept off the injured 

 part by the use of a bar-shoe. In horses subject to 

 corns, narden the feet by putting on tins or sfipjKTs 

 instead of full shoes, thus 1. ringing the heel into 

 contact with the ground ; this will cause a rapid and 

 strong growth of horn, not liable to be bruised. 



Corn Salad* or LAMB'S LETTUCE ( Valerian- 

 ella), a genus of Valerianacese, humble annual 

 weeds, of which some are used as spring salads, 

 especially in France and Germany. The commonest 

 species is V. olitoria, which is naturalised in the 

 L nited States, and often called Fetticus or Vetti- 

 cost. There are several native American species. 



Corns! OIK*, an arenaceous or siliceous lime- 

 stone, often mottled, and not infrequently concre- 

 tionary. It usually occurs in those systems which, 

 are largely composed of reddish sandstones. 



Cornucopia (Lat. cornu, 'a horn,' and copia, 

 ' plenty ' ), in classical antiquities, the horn or sym- 

 bol of plenty placed in the hands of emblematical 

 figures of Plenty, Liberality, and the like, who are 

 represented as pouring from it an abundance of 

 fruits or corn. It is frequently used in architecture, 

 sculpture, and heraldry. 



Cornwall, a maritime county, forming the 

 south-western extremity of England, and the 

 southernmost part of the British Isles. It is penin- 

 sular, tapering westward from Devonshire to the 

 Land's End, bounded on the E. by Devonshire, on 

 the N. by the Bristol Channel, on the \V. by the 

 Atlantic, and on the S. by the English Channel. 

 No part of the county is more than 20 miles from 

 the sea. The total length from Welcombe to the 

 Land's End is 81 miles, and the extreme breadth 

 from Morwenstow to the Rame Head 45 miles. The 

 Scilly Isles, 24 miles W. of the Land's End, form 

 part of the county. The area is 1365 sq. m., 

 of which 63 '4 per cent, is under cultivation. 

 There are very extensive stretches of moorland, 

 much rocky and barren, but a large proportion 

 useful as mountain pasture. The surface of the 

 county is very irregular, and a ridge of rugged, 

 bleak, rocky hills, interspersed with moors, 

 stretches from the Tamar to the Land's End, a con- 

 tinuation of the Dartmoor upland, and forming the 

 watershed. Brown Billy (1368 feet) is the loftie.-t 

 point in the county. As this range is nearer the 

 north of Cornwall than the south, the principal rivers 

 are on the southern side, and empty tnemselves into 

 the English Channel. With the exception of a few 

 unimportant creeks, there are only two harlx>urs on 

 the north coast the estuary 01 the Camel, on 

 which is Padstow, and the oay of St Ives. For 

 nearly the whole of its length this north coast i* 

 fonned of bold and picturesi|ue dills: but at Per- 

 ranzabuloe and Gwithian there are hills of blown 

 sea-sand, which have buried much good land. The 

 southern coast is also for the most part Itold and 

 rocky, but indented with many headlands and bays. 

 Between the Land's End (5 41' 31" W. ) and the 

 Lizard Point (49 57' 30" S.) is the deep indentation 

 named Mount's Bay, from St Michael's Mount, with 

 the harbour- works of Pen/ance. East of the Lixard 

 is Falmouth Bay, into which onens Falmouth Har- 

 bour, one of the finest in Britain. On the eastern 

 boundary of the county is another of the great 

 havens of the kingdom, Plvmouth Sound. The 

 estuary of the Fowey also affords a small but per- 



