572 



CUSTOMS CUTLERY. 



great celebrity, and was generally supposed to exert 

 a much greater influence in affairs than lie actually 

 did. This circumstance led doctor Johnson, in his 

 pamphlet Taxation no Tyranny, to make this foolish 

 remark " One object of the Americans is said to be, 

 to adorn the brows of Mr Cushing with a diadem." 

 Though decidedly patriotic in his principles, Mr 

 Cushing was moderate and conciliatory in his con- 

 duct, by which he was enabled to effect a great deal 

 of good as a mediator between the two contending 

 )irties. He was an active and efficient member of 

 tin- two first continental congresses, and, on his 

 return to his state, was chosen a member of the 

 council. He was also appointed judge of the courts 

 of common pleas and of probate in the county of 

 Suffolk, which stations he occupied until the present 

 constitution was adopted, when he was elected lieu- 

 tenant-governor of the state, and continued so until 

 his death, which took place, Feb. 19, 1788, in the 

 63d year of his age, in consequence of gout. 



CUSTOMS. See Revenue. 



CUSTOS ROTULORUM ; an officer, in England, 

 who has the custody of the rolls and records of the 

 sessions of the peace, and also of the commission of the 

 peace itself. He is usually a nobleman, and always 

 a justice of the peace, of the quorum in the county 

 where he is appointed. He may execute his office 

 by a deputy, and is empowered to appoint the clerk 

 of the peace ; but he is prohibited from selling his 

 office under divers penalties. 



CUSTRIN (in German, Kuestrin) ; a fortress in 

 the province of Brandenburg, Prussia, at the conflu- 

 ence, of the Warte and Oder, containing 460 houses 

 and 6000 inhabitants. In 1806, it was disgracefully 

 surrendered to the French, and garrisoned by them 

 until 1814, when it surrendered to the Prussians. 



CUTICLE ( from cuticula, the Latin diminutive 

 of cults, skin) is a thin, pellucid, insensible membrane, 

 of a white colour, that covers and defends the true 

 skin, with which it is connected by the hairs, exhal- 

 ing and inhaling vessels, and the rete mucosum. 



CUTLASS ; a short sword used by seamen. The 

 art of fencing with it is different from that with the 

 small sword or broad sword. A guard over the 

 hand is an advantage. It is, if welt understood, a 

 very effectual weapon in close contest : on account 

 of its shortness, it can be handled easily, and yet is 

 long enough to protect a skilful swordsman. 



CUTLERY, is a term applied to all cutting in- 

 struments made of steel. Particular cities and 

 countries have been famous at different periods for 

 the manufacture of good cutlery. Thus Toledo in 

 Spain, Ferrara in Italy, and Damascus in Asia, for the 

 exquisite temper and beauty of their sword blades ; 

 and London, and Salisbury, and Sheffield, at the pre- 

 sent time, for exquisitely tempered penknives, and 

 surgical instruments. The sword blades of Damas- 

 cus are remarkable, as much for their hardness and 

 strength, as for a beautiful waving appearance called 

 the water, and are said to be made from the inter- 

 lacing of very minute wires of steel and iron welded 

 together in alternate wormings, while the waving is 

 caused by washing or quenching the blade in a solu- 

 tion of common alum. 



To give the reader some idea of the mode of ma- 

 nufacturing cutlery, we shall describe the way in 

 which a common razor is made. The workman, 

 being furnished with a bar of cast steel, forges his 

 blade from it, using a forge similar to that of a 

 smith. The brow of his anvil and his hammer being 

 convex, enable him to give to the blade a degree of 

 convexity which greatly facilitates and accelerates 

 the subsequent work of grinding. The blade is then 

 brought rnqre exactly into shape by a file. It is 

 again exposed to a cherry-red heat, and instantly 



quenched in cold water. In this state the blade is 

 extremely hard and requires to be tempered a pro- 

 cess generally performed by first brightening one 

 side and then heating it over a fire free from flame 

 and smoke, until the bright surface acquires a straw 

 colour. It is again quenched, and is then ready for 

 being ground. This method being liable, however, to 

 several objections, a tempering bath with a thermo- 

 meter has been lately suggested, and is used in this 

 manner: a plate of steel finely polished, is to be 

 laid so as to float upon the. surface of a bath of quick- 

 silver, or of the fusible alloy of tin, lead, and bismuth ; 

 the bulb of a thermometer, graduated up to 600 

 degrees of Fahrenheit, is then to be plunged into the 

 bath, which may be heated by the flame of a good 

 argand lamp. No change of colour will be visible 

 on the polished steel, until the mercury shall have 

 risen to 430 degrees, and it will then be so faint as only 

 to be perceptible, when compared with a plate that 

 has not been heated. At 450 degrees the colour 

 will be a fine pale straw ; this, as the heat increases, 

 will become deeper, and succeeding changes will 

 take place till heated up to the boiling point of mer- 

 cury. In this way one blade or ten thousand blades 

 may be heated in the same bath, and after the first 

 experiment it is unnecessary tliat the bath be me- 

 tallic, as oil will answer the purpose equally well. 

 As to the best cooling fluid, water, about 40 degrees 

 of Fahrenheit, is found to answer as well as any 

 other. 



As to grinding and polishing the blade, this hardly 

 requires much explanation. The diameter of the 

 stone is chosen according to the degree of concavity 

 required, and in polishing care is necessary to avoid 

 heating the blade by friction, which would destroy 

 its temper and render it useless. In preserving the 

 surface from rust, the common blue mercurial oint- 

 ment is sometimes used or goose grease, or a solu- 

 tion of elastic gum caouchouc in ether, which last is 

 employed by the engravers on steel to preserve their 

 plates. Etherial solutions of gold and muriate of 

 platina have been also used for the same purpose. 



A species of steel, brought from India, and called 

 Wootz, has been lately brought into use by the cut- 

 lers, on the suggestion of the late Sir Joseph Banks, 

 and is found to answer very well, but requires to be 

 fused first ; as, in the state in which it is brought to 

 this country, the metal is found to be unequal Li 

 quality. The test steel of England requires 570 of 

 heat to give it temper, but Wootz cannot be tem- 

 pered with less than 600 ; or the full boiling heat of 

 mercury. The edge is given to surgical instruments 

 by rubbing them on a fine German hone, moistened 

 with oil. 



As to lancets, it is necessary to finish their edge 

 by rubbing them on a beautiful green stone, found in 

 some parts of the old pavement of London ; which is 

 found to be the only material capable of giving per- 

 fect smoothness to these and other very delicate sur- 

 gical instruments. The way of putting their points 

 to the proof is to push them through a fine piece of 

 leather ; and if they pass through it with the most 

 perfect facility, without the least resistance or sound 

 being imparted to the senses of the operator, the 

 edge is considered perfect. A minute alloy of nickel 

 has been used, also, in making surgical instruments, 

 that metal having been found to prevent the steel 

 from being so very susceptible of rust as it otherwise 

 is. 



The beauty and elegance of polished steel is no- 

 where displayed to more advantage than in the ma- 

 nufacture of the finer kinds of scissors. The steel 

 employed for the more valuable scissors should be 

 cast steel of the choicest qualities : it must possess 

 hardness and uniformity of texture, for the sake of 



