657 



CURAgOA. 



CUTCH. 



658 



parliamentary burgh was 5686. Coujointly with St. Andrews, Crail, 

 Anstruther Easter and Wester, Kilrenny, and Pittenweem, Cupar Fife 

 returns one member to the Imperial Parliament. Cupar was made a 

 royal burgh by David II., in 1363 : it is now governed by 3 bailies and 

 15 councillors, of whom one is provost. 



The site of the town is about 25 feet above the level of the sea, 

 from which the distance is about 6 miles ; the climate is comparatively 

 mild. The burgh consists principally of one long street, extending 

 from west to east, with a cross street leading north and south. The 

 public buildings, of which the most noticeable are the town hall and 

 the county hall, are neat and convenient. Besides the parish church 

 and St. Michael's church, there are a Free church, two chapels for 

 United Presbyterians, and one for Scottish Episcopalians. The town 

 has a respectable appearance, and the vicinity is ornamented with 

 some neat villas. A good supply of water is obtained from springs 

 and wells. The streets are lighted with gas and well-paved. There 

 are two reading-rooms and a subscription library. A large Grammar 

 school on the Castle Hill was formed by the union of the ancient 

 burgh schools with one of Dr. Bell's foundation. There are weekly 

 corn markets ; and several annual fairs for grain and agricultural stock, 

 produce, and utensils, which are well attended. The chief manufac- 

 tures re of coarse linens ; leather, candles, and snuff are made. On 

 the river Eden are breweries and flax-mills. Bricks and coarse 

 earthenware are made from clay beds in the vicinity of the town ; and 

 there are several quarries of white sandstone. 



On the mound called the Castle Hill, there formerly stood the 

 fortress of the chiefs of the family of Macdufl', the feudal earls or 

 thanes of Fife. At the foot of the Castle Hill was a convent of 

 Dominican monks, or Black friars. A green esplanade before the 

 castle, still called the Play Field, was in ancient times used for the 

 performance of the religious shows called 'mysteries' and 'moralities:' 

 and here was acted the famous drama of ' Sir David Lindsay of the 

 Mount,' called the ' Three Estates,' a popular satire on the priesthood, 

 which is believed to have promoted the subsequent religious revolution. 

 Cupar was represented in the Scottish Parliament by Sir David Lindsay, 

 whose estate is not far from the town. 



(New Statistical Account of Scotland.) 



CURACOA, or CURACAO, an island in the Caribbean Sea, lying 

 to the east of the peninsula of Paraguana, the most northern point of 

 Venezuela, in 12 6' N. lat, and 69 3' W. long. Its length from 

 north-west to south-east is 35 miles, and its breadth 6 miles. The 

 surface is hilly. The hills on the west side are seen from a consi- 

 derable distance at sea. The island is wholly dependent upon rain 

 for water, and the soil so wanting in fertility that the inhabitants are 

 partly supplied with provisions imported from other places. Sugar, 

 indigo, tobacco, and maize are the chief products. The shores are so 

 bold that vessels of considerable size may sail round the island within 

 a cable's length. There are several harbours; the principal one, 

 Santa Anna, is on the south-west side of the island. The entrance is 

 very narrow ; on the eastern side of it is Fort Amsterdam, and on the 

 opposite side of the harbour is the town of Cura^oa or Willemstad, 

 said to be one of the handsomest in the West Indies. 



Curacoa was settled by the Spaniards early in the 16th century; 

 it was taken in 1632 by the Dutch, and was captured by the English 

 in 1798, but restored to Holland at the peace of Amiens. It was 

 again taken by the English in 1806, and finally given up to Holland at 

 the general peace in 1814. 



CURDISTAN. [KURDISTAN.] 



CURIA MURIA ISLANDS are situated on the southern coast 

 of Arabia, and afford protection to a bay called Curia Muria Bay, 

 which is extensive, and has good soundings throughout. They 

 lie in the direction of the eastern continuation of Ras Noss, a very 

 elevated headland, and between 55 20' and 66 10' E. long., and 

 near 17 30' N. lat. They are five in number, called from west to 

 cast Hasik, Soda, Hallanny. Karzawet, and Jebeliya. A long reef is 

 said to extend from Hallanny to Soda, so as to render it very 

 dangerous, if not impossible, for any vessel to pass between them ; 

 but between Soda, Hasik, and the mainland, the channels are good. 

 Hallanny is the only one of the islands that is inhabited : the 

 anchorage and village are at the northern extremity, where water 

 may be obtained, but it is brackish. Its mountains are high, and 

 apparently of volcanic origin. (Captain Owen, Voyages; London 

 /ihifnl Journal, xi. xv.) 



CURISCHES HAFF, a lagoon, or shore-lake, of the Baltic, on the 

 coast of East Prussia, supposed to have originated from the throwing 

 up of the sand and the retiring of the waters of the Baltic. From 

 Labiau, in the south, to its opening into the Baltic at Memel, it is 

 about 60 miles in length; at its greatest breadth, between Cranz- 

 kukren and Juwendt, nearly 28 miles : it contains altogether 588 

 square miles. Its confluence with the Baltic is formed by what is 

 called the ' Mcmel Deeps," which are from 800 to 1200 feet hi width, 

 and 12 ."cot deep. It cannot properly be called a part of the sea, 

 inasmuch as it* waters are fresh, like those of the other Haffs in 

 this quarter. It is separated from the Baltic by a very narrow neck 

 of land, called the ' Curische Nehrung,' formed by a series of low 

 nand banks, almost destitute of vegetation, about one to two miles in 

 breadth except where they taper to a point an they approach Memel 

 and about 70 miles in length. On this neck of land there are a 



ooo. DIV. VOL. II. 



few villages. The bed of the Haff is unequal and variable, and the 

 navigation is therefore very precarious ; hence the only description of 

 vessels used here is a peculiar kind of large flat boats, and even 

 these are unable to land along many parts of the coast. In stormy 

 weather the navigation is very dangerous. The Dange, the Minge, 

 and the Memel, or Niemen, discharge their waters into this Haff. 



CURNOU'L, a principality formerly governed by an independent 

 chief, and now forming one of the subdivisions of the Balaghaut 

 ceded districts. It came into possession of the English in 1841, 

 previous to which the country had been subdivided into a great 

 number of petty jaghires, and the government of the principality 

 was so badly administered, that a great part of the lands were 

 allowed to revert to a state of nature, and were overgrown with rank 

 weeds and jungle. It has since been much improved. 



CURNOU'L, the capital of the province of the same name, is a 

 populous town on the south side of the Toombuddra, in 15 44' 

 N. lat., 78 2' E. long., about 279 miles N.W. by N. from Madras, 

 and 127 miles S.S.W. from Hyderabad. It is surrounded on all sides 

 by the rivers Toombuddra and Henday, which at the town are from 

 700 to 800 yards wide. Some strong works have been erected on the 

 western side of the town; but in 1815 the place held out against 

 the assaults of the English only one day, after which it was sur- 

 rendered at discretion. The buildings in the town are partly of stone 

 and partly of mud. (Rennell, Memoir of a Map of Hindustan; 

 Parliamentary Papers.) 



CU'RZOLA, in Slavonic Karkar, the ancient Corcyra Nigra, or 

 Black Corcyra, so called from the dark colour of its pine woods, is 

 an island in the Adriatic, comprised in the circle of Ragusa 

 in the Austrian crownlnnd of Dalmatia. The channel of Curzola 

 separates it from the peninsula of Sabioncello. Curzola contains 

 one town, a market-town, and about 6500 inhabitants. The total 

 area is 57,130 acres, of which 43,471 acres are covered with woods, 

 which furnish good ship-timber ; the vineyards annually yield about 

 80,000 hogsheads of wine, and the fisheries on the coast are productive ; 

 but little grain is raised, and the fresh-water is scarcely fit for use. 

 Curzola, the chief town, is situated on a neck of land upon the 

 channel or canal of Curzola, in 42 57' N. lat., 16 50' E. long. ; it is 

 surrounded by walls, and has a cathedral, two monasteries, and about 

 800 houses. It gives title to a bishop : its inhabitants build vessels, 

 and traffic in the produce of the island. 



CUSHENDALL. [ANTRIM.] 



CUSSETT. [ALLIER.] 



COSTRIN, properly K.OSTRIN. [BRANDENBURG.] 



CUTCH, a principality lying between 22 and 25 N. lat., and 

 between 68 and 72 E. long., is bounded N. by the Great Sandy 

 Desert, E. and S. by the Gulf of Cutch, and W. by the Koree or 

 eastern outlet of the Indus. The country is naturally divided into 

 two portions, of which that towards the south is an irregular liilly 

 tract ; the northern part, called the Runn, is an extensive salt morass, 

 1 60 miles long from east to west, and varying in breadth from 4 to 

 60 miles. During the rainy season the Runu is completely covered 

 with water, and the country to the south is quite insulated. During 

 the dry monsoon the waters retire, and the Runn assumes a diversified 

 appearance. In some parts it is still an impassable salt swamp ; in 

 other parts there are great banks of dry unproductive sand covered 

 occasionally with saline incrustations, while other parts afford tolerable 

 pasture. During the rainy season the Rumf cau be traversed with 

 difficulty, and only in certain parts by horsemen. 



The soil of the habitable part of the country is for the most part 

 clay covered with about five inches of deep sand. Towards the east 

 the soil is loamy, and near the hills the surface is covered with 

 volcanic- matter, and abounds with specimens of metallic scoria. A 

 range of hills named the Lakhi, running east and west through the 

 centre of this part of Cutch, divides it into two nearly equal portions. 

 These hills are one continuous mass of rock, destitute of soil and of 

 water except during the rainy season, when the water forms channels 

 for itself, through which it rushes to the plain on each side. A high 

 bank of sand extends along the shore the whole distance from the 

 Indus to the Gulf of Cutch. But little wood is found in the princi- 

 pality. A few common trees have been planted about the villages, 

 and among them are date-trees, which yield fruit of good quality. 

 The cultivation of cotton is carried on extensively, and the produce 

 is exported in return for grain, which is procured from Gujerat and 

 Sinde. Iron-ore occurs throughout the country, and coal of an 

 inferior quality is found in abundance. 



The horses of Cutch are much esteemed ; the oxen are not reckoned 

 of much value. Goats and sheep are numerous. The wool of the 

 sheep is of long staple but coarse, answering well for the manufacture 

 of blankets and carpeting : the weight of the fleece averages from 

 four and a half to five pounds. Coarse woollen cloths are made by the 

 inhabitants for home use. Towards the north, and near the Runn, wild 

 asses are very numerous, and are met with in herds of sixty or seventy 

 together. This animal is larger and stronger than the tame ass. It 

 is fierce and untameable in its nature, and when unable to procure 

 pasturage in the desert lands advances into the inclosed country, and 

 does much damage to the grain crops : the flesh is said to be good 

 eating. 



The principal towns of Cutch are ANJAU, Ehooj the modem capital, 



2 u 



