Catechu. 



CAT 



one even mentioned the circumstance as ad extraordi- 

 nary occurrence ; nay more, the police of the place 

 , made no effort to apprehend the murderers, because, 

 as one of the senators sagely remarked, " it would 

 be fruitless, for a man always runs off when he assas- 

 sinates another." Such deeds make no other im- 

 pression than what arises from the dVead of their own 

 career being cut short in the same way. 



In digging through the lava some years ago, an 

 extensive theatre of Grecian architecture, built of 

 lava, and founded upon lava, was discovered. There 

 are remains of hot and vapour baths in several places. 

 The principal exports of this city, are the means 

 of producing heat and cold, the snow and fire wood 

 which Etna furnishes, to Malta and other places j 

 t.he various sorts of maccaroni, which are well manu- 

 factured here, and sold under the general term of 

 paste ; silk, which is also manufactured herei 



The amusements are, as in every Italian town, a 

 conversazione, which much more frequently signifies 

 a party assembled to play at faro, sharo, or other 

 games of chance, than for the purpose of -rational 

 conversation ; sometimes an opera, and a masquerade 

 en Sunday during carnival, in the prince of Biscari's 

 theatre ; an academia, wherein the professori meet 

 the virtuosi, not in the old-fashioned way of the 

 Greek philosophers, querere verum inter sylvas aca- 

 demi no, be it known to the reader, that academia 

 is neither more nor less than a concert, the professori 

 the performers, and the virtuosi the audience. 



The ancient Catina produced Carondas the legisla- 

 tor, so much commended by Plato ; and Stesichorus 

 the lyric -poet, who introduced singing with the ac- 

 companiment of the cithara into the chorus. 



The Semsstus, now the Giaratta, sung by Theo- 

 critus, flows through the plains of Catania at some 

 distance from the town. The Naphtha lake, the 

 seat of the oracle of the Palici, hardly second in re- 

 pute to that of Delphos for its responses, is in the 

 neighbourhood of Catania. 



From Catania, Adrian the emperor ascended Etna t 

 '" ut solis ortum videret." But this city is so often 

 mentioned by the ancient writers, and the natural 

 phenomena that characterise it are so intimately inter- 

 woven with the allegory and fable of ancient mytho 

 logy, that every stream and fountain in its neighbour- 

 hood bear record of its antiquity.* (w) 



CATAPULT A. See ARTILLERY and History 

 of GUNNERY. 



CATARACT. See SURGERY. 

 CATECHU. This is a substance which has been 

 long known under the name of terra japonica, being 

 believed to be an earth that came from Japan. It is, 

 however, now known, to be an inspissated vegetable 

 Juice, which its name is said to indicate, cate signify- 

 ing a tree, and dm juice. 



There are two varieties oieatechu, one comes from 

 Bengal, and the Other from Bombay. These differ 

 from each other very slightly in their chemical cha- 

 racters, but may be distinguished by the particular 

 appearance of each. In general, catechu has a pale 

 reddish brown colour, is friable, possesses a lamellar 



CAT 



structure and rough fracture; specific gravity about 

 1.39 ; taste bitterish and astringent, leaving a disa- 

 greeable sweetness 5 it is infusible, doerf not deliquesce, 

 and does not exhibit any sensible change in conse- 

 quence of exposure to the action of the atmosphere. 

 The Bengal catechu may be distinguished from that 

 which comes from Bombay, by being of a darker co- 

 lour, more nearly resembling chocolate on its exteri- 

 or surface, and by exhibiting a streaked appearance 

 of chocolate and reddish brown internally. The 

 texture is more uniform, and the fracture more resi- 

 nous and shining. Its specific gravity is somewhat 

 less, and it is also more friable. 



Sir Humphry Davy, at the suggestion of Sir Jo- 

 seph Banks, analysed both varieties, and the results 

 nearly correspond. We shall give a general state- 

 ment, which may be considered equally applicable to 

 both, previous to the details of the analyses. Cate- 

 chu is almost soluble in hot water ; the solution is of 

 a deep reddish brown, and reddens the infusion of 

 litmus. By long decoction a solution is formed, 

 which yields, by evaporation, about th of its whole 

 weight of solid matter. 



The presence of gallic acid and tannin were also dis- 

 tinctly proved, by the black colour produced by 

 sulphate of iron, and by the copious precipitate by 

 animal gelatine. 



Catechu contains a peculiar extractive, and a sub- 

 Stance resembling mucilage. The last is left pure by 

 the action of alcohol, which dissolves all the other 

 matters. The extractive, when completely freed by 

 washing from the tannin, is slightly astringent, and 

 very sweet when chewed for some time. It is solu- 

 ble both in water and alcohol, and acquires a deep 

 colour by exposure to the air* 



The following are the exact results of the analyses. 



CatecM, 



200 grains gave, Bengal 



Tannin 97 



Extractive 73 



Mucilage ..... 16 

 Residual sand and calca- 1 . , 

 reous matter . . J 



Bombay. 

 109 

 68 

 13 



10 



200 200 



It has been said to be derived from various trees ; 

 but it is certain, that it is most usually obtained from 

 the Acacia catechu of Willdenow, which grows abun- 

 dantly on the mountains of Hindostan, and which is 

 there called Coira.-^ It seldom exceeds twelve feet in 

 height, and one foot in diameter. It is covered with 

 a thick coarse bark, and divides into many branches 

 at its top. The leaves are alternate on the young 

 branches, and are composed of from 15 to 30 parts of 

 partial pinnae nearly two inches long, each having 

 about forty pairs of linear leaflets beset with short 

 hairs, with a small gland on the leaf stalk between 

 the bases of each pair of the pinnae. There are two 

 short recurved spines at the base of each leaf. 



The flowers are male and hermaphrodite, and 

 spring from the axillae of the leaves on close spikes 

 four or five inches long. The calyx is tubular, hairy, 

 dividing into five oval pointed segments. The corolla 



* The Editor has been indebted for this interesting article to a gentleman \vho resided a long time in Catania. ^ 



J- This tree belongs to the Linnaean class Polygamia, and order Monoeda. Natural order of Linnaeus, Lomentacea ; of J;js 

 sreu, Legumiitosce. See BOTANY for the generic characters. 



'5 



