CUPULE 



619 



with u finds Around rim, which adheres closely to 

 the Miriare i.i' the skin. 



Tin- principal improvement* have been in the 

 m'!hod>of incising the skin. This used to hceU'ectcd 

 uitli a eiimmon lancet nr narrow knife, with a short 

 Made ami convex edge, set in a long elastic handle, 

 which tin- operator struck rapidly with his linger, 

 in drive the Made -JO or 30 times into the skin. 

 Tlii> was so tedious an operation, that a number of 

 Mmil.tr blades came to ! used at once. These are 

 contained in a ln>\, which has slits pierced in it 

 corresponding to the iiuinlier of blades; the latter 

 can lie caused to emerge by setting free a spring, 

 which causes them to revolve suddenly, and in 

 doing so they protrude at the slits more or less, 



:ii rding to the regulation of the instrument 



by the operator. This apparatus is known as a 

 ' scarificator. ' A scarilicator, glasses, a torch, 

 some spirits of wine, and a lighted candle are 

 placed ready at hand ; the part is sponged with 

 not water, so as to cause an increased now of blood 

 into it ; then dried with a warm towel ; the torch, 

 previously saturated with the spirits of wine and 

 lighted, is held for an instant in one of the glasses. 

 By this means the air in the glass is quickly ex- 

 panded, and when the glass is then rapidly applied 

 to the smooth damp surface of the skin, the rapid 

 rarefaction of its contained air causes it to adhere 

 tightly, and gives rise to determination of blood to 

 the part to which it is applied. When the skin 

 uinler the glass has become red and swollen, the 

 c\ipper removes it, applies the scarih'cator, and as 

 rapidly as possible again exhausts the air from the 

 glass, which he re-applies. The blood will now 

 Bow into it ; and when enough has been taken, 

 the gloss is removed, and some lint applied to the 

 wounds. The number of glasses applied depends on 

 the quantity of blood it is thought desirable to 

 abstract ; each one will probably withdraw from 3 to 

 5 ounces. This apparently simple proceeding re- 

 quires considerable skill. The difficulties consist 

 in regulating the depth of the cuts ; for should they 

 be either too deep or too shallow, the blood will 

 not flow ; in the one case, because the deeper 

 vessels of the true skin are not opened ; in the 

 other, because the skin being completely cut 

 through, the fat which lies beneath it is drawn up 

 into the wounds, which it plugs, and stops the flow 

 of blood. If, on the other hand, the glasses be 

 completely exhausted of air, their rims press so 

 firmly on the surface as to prevent the flow of 

 blooa to the part from surrounding areas of the 

 skin, and as a result, very little blood flows from 

 the wounds. 



There are many modifications of the ordinary 

 cupping apparatus, but all act on the same principle ; 

 and it need scarcely be added that extempore cups 

 may be found in tumblers, finger-glasses, or any 

 air-tight vessel with a smooth rim. 



Dry Cupping is simply applying the cups as de- 

 scribed, but not wounding the skin. A hard mass 

 of extravasated blood is found occupying the skin 

 at the site of this operation. The moss, at first 

 cherry-red, becomes in a few days a dead black 

 colour, then greenish, and finally yellow, following 

 the usual course observed in the healing of a 

 bruise. 



ll pule (Ciijt/n) in Botany, a shortened axis 

 with a number of more or less cohering bracts, 

 numerous and crowded in the acorn, or three in 

 the beech-nut, which more or less completely in- 

 close the ripening fruit. The husk of the hazel- 

 nut may be regarded as an incipient cupule. 



Cupuli'ferae ( i. e. ' cupule-taaring ' ), an old order 

 of dicotyledonous trees and shrubs, more naturally 

 separated into ( 1 ) Betulaceipor Corylaceie, the birch 

 and hazel family, including (a) the birch and alder, 



( 6 ) the hornbeam and hazel ; and ( 2 ) the Fagar e*r> or 

 ( 'upulifera- proper, including (a) the beeche*, (6) 

 the chestnuts and oaks. See the article** on tiiene 

 separate trees. 



Cur. a name sometimes applied indiscriminately 

 to small dogs of any kind not highly valued, and 

 in this way often particularly appropriated to dogs 

 of mongrel breed, but also used by naturalists an 

 the common designation of many races, of which 

 the Terrier (q.v.) may be considered as the type. 

 See DOG. 



4 'lira. CIUDAD DE, a town in the state of 

 Miranda, in Venezuela, lies 60 miles SW. of 

 Caracas, to the south of Lake Valencia, has a good 

 deal of industry, and extensive cotton plantations, 

 and a pop. of 12,200. 



Cnraca'o (also spelt Cvracwt and Curagtnu) 

 is the most important of the Dutch West India 

 Islands. It lies about 40 miles from the const of 

 Venezuela, is 36 miles long by 8 broad, and has a 

 population (1890) of 26,245. The capital of Cura- 

 900 is Willemstad, a very handsome town, situated 

 on the bay of St. Anna, with 10,000 inhabitants. 

 The soil of Curacao and its dependent islands is 

 less productive than that of other tropical lands. 

 The chief produce is salt, and a rock rich in 

 valuable phosphates, but careful cultivation pro- 

 duces sugar, tobacco, maize, figs, cocoa, cocoa- 

 nuts, lemons, and oranges. The Curacao orange, 

 Citrus Aurantium curassuvieiisis, is a peculiar 

 variety. Willemstad is the headquarters of the 

 colonial government, which has authority not 

 merely over the neighbouring islands of Aruba and 

 Bonaire, but also over St Eustache, Saba, and the 

 Dutch part of St Martin. Altogether the Dutch 

 West Indies have a population of about 120,000. 

 The trade is mainly with the United States. 

 Curacao was discovered by Spain in 1527, taken 

 by the Dutch in 1634, conquered by the English 

 in 1807, and restored to Holland in 1815. 



4'n r;i<;o;i is a well-known and esteemed liqueur, 

 usually made in Holland with the dried peel of the 

 Curacao orange, the peel being macerated with 

 water, and then distilled with spirit and water. 

 The result is sweetened with sugar, and a little 

 Jamaica rum is often added. A palatable imitation 

 can be made from the fresh peel of bitter oranges 

 and whisky. 



Cnrari, URARI, WOORALI, or WOORARA, is a 

 celebrated poison used by some tribes of South 

 American Indians for poisoning their arrows. 

 It is by means of this poison that the small 

 arrows shot from the Blowpipe (q.v.) become 

 so deadly. It is brought to Europe as a black, 

 brittle extract, resinous in appearance, and en- 

 crusting the sides of little gourds containing it. 

 The source of this deadly poison was for long 

 unknown, owing to the natives jealously guard- 

 ing the secret. The process of manufacture has 

 now, however, been witnessed and described by 

 several travellers, and in each cose some species 

 or other of Strychnos has been recognised as 

 the source of the poison. There seem to be 

 four distinct varieties of curari, each character- 

 istic of a different tract of country, and prolwxbly 

 varying in their physiological action ; but for our 

 purpose we may confine ourselves to that kind 

 which is used in physiological experiments. Curari 

 is one of those poisons which have little action 

 when taken into the stomach, owing to the diffi- 

 culty with which they are absorbed, but when 

 introduced into a wound it acts with great prompt- 

 ness. The symptoms caused are loss of muscular 

 power, feeble respiration, and death \>\ suffocation. 

 By means of artificial respiration it is possible to 

 sustain life for a lengthened period, although the 

 animal is apparently insensible to pain. In this 



