CKossr.oW 



CROTALARIA 



180 



captures the SIMM! from the loosened cone. In a 



similar \\ ,i\ , tin- crossbill can soon t-ar an ordinary 



i) Lit- ; in-, which is more iiii|Mirtnnt, may 



rapidly do great damage by cutting up tin- applet* 



in an orchard. 

 It is interest- 

 ing to compare 

 two common 

 species, L. 

 pttyopsitta- 

 at* ana L. cur- 

 virostra, since 

 in the former 

 the crossing of 

 the bill is seen 

 in a much less 

 emphasised de- 

 gree. The last- 

 named sj>ecie8 

 is of frequent, 

 though incon- 

 stant occur- 



Crossbill (Loxia curnrottra). 



rence in Britain, and two other species have been 

 recorded as visitors. Altogether, seven species are 

 known, from the northern regions of both hemi- 

 spheres, and always found gregariously in conifer 

 forests. The crossbill has become associated with a 

 sacred legend, familiar to many from Longfellow's 

 translation of a German poem on the subject. The 

 bird was fabled to have sought, by pecking at the 

 nails, to free Christ from the cross. 



Crossbow, or ARBALEST, a weapon used in 

 war and sport in medieval times. It consisted 

 of a wooden stock, with a bow made of wood, 

 iron, or steel, crossing it at right angles to 

 the end ; the bowstring was pulled down towards 

 the other end of the stock by a lever (which 



in the simpler 

 kinds was 

 worked by 

 hand or foot), 

 and retained 

 in position 

 sometimes in 

 a notch by a 

 catch or trig- 

 ger. The lx)lt 

 or 'quarrel' 

 was then laid 

 in a groove on 

 the top of the 

 stock, and the 

 trigger being 

 pulled, it was 

 shot with a 

 considerable 

 amount of 

 power. The 

 latter, of 

 course, d e- 

 pended on the 

 size of the 

 . _ , , , bow, some of 



A, Hand Crossbow ; B, Boiling-purchase t|, e weapons 

 Crossbow. being com . 



paratively 



small and easily handled, while others were of large 

 dimensions, and required a machine of the nature of 

 a windlass, called a 'moulinet' or 'gaffle,' to enable 

 the bow to be properly bent. The crossbows of the 

 14th century were almost all thus equipped. The 

 'quarrels' employed varied with the size of the 

 bow, but generally they were short stout shafts 

 about 18 inches long, winged with horn or leather, 

 and having a metal point, which was sometimes 

 sharp, but often lozenge-shaped, obtuse, and in- 

 dented at the sides. Some crossbows had a tule 

 or barrel, with a slit for the bowstring, and dis- 



charged balls of clay, marble, or lead with Mich 

 force that they were more formidable wi-ajMins than 

 the earliest firearm*. The larger crofhl>ow* were 

 really military engines, which required neveral 

 men to work them, and threw proportionally 

 heavy missiles (see BALLIHTA). The croHsbow waa 

 used in England chietly during the 13th century ; 

 after that it gave place to the longbow, which 

 was found to be the more convenient and easily 

 handled weapon of the two. Its use, however, 

 was general among the continental nations of 

 Europe after the 12th century ; though the Lateran 

 Council of 1139 forbade its use as being too murder- 

 ous a weapon for Christians to employ against one 

 another. 



Cross-breeding. See BREED. 



Cross-buns, a small cake specially prepared 

 for Good-Friday, and in many towns of England 

 cried about the streets on the morning of that day 

 as 'hot cross-buns.' Jinn is, according to Skeat, 

 ultimately of Scandinavian origin. There is an 

 Old Fr. word bugne, 'a swelling,' which may be 

 the immediate source of the English word. Good- 

 Friday buns were appropriately marked with the 

 cross, and hence the name. The origin of the 

 practice is obscure. Most probably it is a relic 

 of some heathen observance, to which the early 

 church gave a Christian significance. At Chelsea, 

 there were formerly two celebrated bun-houses, 

 besieged on Good-Friday from morning until night 

 by hundreds of eager purchasers, but they have 

 long since disappeared. 



Crosse, ANDREW, electrician, born at Fyne 

 Court, Somersetshire, 17th June 1784, was edu- 

 cated at Bristol and at Brasenose College, Oxford. 

 His principal researches in science were as to the 

 artificial formation of minerals by processes of 

 electrical deposition and the application of elec- 

 tricity as a means of improving wines, cider, &c. 

 In 1837 he announced that under certain circum- 

 stances, organisms (of the genus Acarus) appeared 

 in solutions of inorganic substances ; a discovery 

 which attracted much attention, but which ex- 

 posed him to the ridicule of opponents. He died 

 6th July 1855. See Memoir (1857) by his second 

 wife ; and her Red Letter Days of my Life ( 1893). 



Cross-examination. See EVIDENCE. 



Crossley, SIR FRANCIS, manufacturer and 

 philanthropist, was born at Halifax, October 26, 

 1817. His father was the founder of the Dean 

 Clough Carpet Mills. Sir Francis encouraged the 

 inventor George Collier to produce a greatly im- 

 proved carpet-loom ; the mills increased till 6000 

 hands were employed ; while carpets were much 

 cheapened in price, and their use greatly extended 

 at home and abroad. Amongst Sir Francis's bene- 

 factions to Halifax were a public park (1857) 

 at a cost of 40,000, almshouses, and orphan 

 homes, besides large donations to the London 

 Missionary Society and to the Congregationalists. 

 A baronetcy was conferred on him in 1863, and 

 from IS.VJtill his death on 5th Jan. 1S72 lien-pre- 

 sented Halifax and the West Riding as a 



Crossraguel ( ' Cross of St Regulus '), a ruined 

 abbey in Ayrshire, 2 miles SW. of Maybole. It 

 was a Clugniac foundation, a daughter of the 

 Paisley abbey, and dates from 1244. A notable 

 ' disputation took place in 1562 between John 

 Knox and the abl)ot, Quentin Kennedy ; and in 

 1570 the commendator was 'roasted' or severely 

 tortured by fire by the Karl of Cassilis, to force 

 him to resign certain lands. The charters of the 

 abbey have been edited by F. C. Hunter Blair 

 (2 vols. 1886). 



Crotalaria(Gr. krotalon, 'a rattle'), a tropical 

 genus of papilionaceous Leguminose, deriving iu 



