690 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



against the sides of the solid, and its surface, in- 

 stead of being horizontal, becomes slightly con- 

 cave. If, instead of a solid rod, a hollow tube 

 be immersed in the water, not merely is the 

 liquid raised around the tube, but it rises in the 

 inside to a height which is greater the narrower 

 the tube, and the surface of the liquid inside 

 the tube also assumes a concave form. If a 

 ube, however, be immersed in mercury 

 instead of water, the liquid in the tube is de- 

 pressed instead of being raised, and the surface. 

 which was previously concave, now becomes 

 convex. The reason for this difference of action 

 resides in the fact that mercury will not wet the 

 tube as water does, for, if a metallic tube, such 

 as one of copper, be substituted for the glass 

 tube, the mercury in it will rise and have a con- 

 cave surface, because it is able to wet the sides 

 of the tube. Hence, whenever a liquid is able 

 to adhere to a solid, it rises in contact with it. 

 It is from capillarity that sap rises in plants, 

 and that oil rises in the wicks of lamps. If the 

 end of a towel be left in a basin of water, it is 

 through capillarity that the basin is soon emp- 

 tied of its contents. The phenomenon of capil- 

 larity is intimately connected with what is 

 known as the surface tension of liquids, and its 

 amount varies with the chemical nature of the 

 particular liquid. The word is derived from the 

 Latin capillus, a hair, because these phenomena 

 are best seen in narrow hair-like tubes. 



Carbon. One of the elements, existing un- 

 combined in three forms, charcoal, graphite, or 

 plumbago, and the diamond; chemical symbol 

 C, atomic weight twelve. The diamond is the 

 purest form of carbon; in the different varieties 

 of charcoal, in coal, anthracite, etc., it is more 

 or less mixed with other substances. Pure char- 

 coal is a black, brittle, light, and inordorous 

 substance. It is usually the remains of some 

 vegetable body from which all the volatile matter 

 has been expelled by heat; but it may be ob- 

 tained from most organic matters, animal as 

 well as vegetable, by ignition in close vessels. 

 Carbon being one of those elements which exist 

 in various distinct forms is art example of what 

 is called allotropy. The compounds of this ele- 

 ment are more numerous than those of all the 

 other elements taken together. With hydrogen 

 especially it forms a very large number of com- 

 pounds, called hydrocarbons, which are pos- 

 sessed of the most diverse properties, chemical 

 and physical. With oxygen, again, carbon 

 forms only two compounds, but union between 

 the two elements is easily effected. It is one of 

 the regular and most characteristic constituents 

 of both animals and plants. 



Cardinal. An ecclesiastical prince in the 

 Roman Catholic Church, who has a voice in the 

 conclave at the election of a pope, the popes 

 being taken from the cardinals. The cardinals 

 are appointed by the pope, and are divided into 

 three classes or orders, comprising six bishops, 

 fifty priests, and fourteen deacons, making sev- 

 enty at most. These constitute the Sacred Col- 

 lege and compose the pope's council. Originally 

 they were subordinate in rank to bishops; but 

 they now have the precedence. The chief sym- 

 bol of the dignity of cardinal is a low-crowned, 

 broad-brimmed red hat, with two cords depend- 



ing from it, one from either side, each having 

 fifteen tassels at its extremity. Other insignia 

 are a red biretta, a purple cassock, a sapphire 

 ring, etc. 



Carnegie Institution. An educational 

 body incorporated January 4, 1902, in Wash- 

 ington, D. C., by John Hay, Secretary of 

 State; Edwin D. White, Justice of the Supreme 

 Court; Daniel C. Oilman, ex-president of Johns 

 Hopkins University; Charles D. W^alcott. su- 

 perintendent of the United States Geological 

 Survey; Dr. John S. Billings, director of the 

 New York Public Library; and Carroll D. 

 Wright, United States Commissioner of Labor. 

 The aims of the institution, as expressed by the 

 founder are: (1) To increase the efficiency of 

 the universities and other institutions of learning 

 throughout the country by utilizing and adding 

 to their existing facilities, and by aiding teachers 

 in the various institutions for the experimental 

 and other work in these institutions as far as 

 may be advisable. (2) To discover the excep- 

 tional man in every department of study, when- 

 ever and wherever found to enable him by fi- 

 nancial aid to make the work for which he seems 

 especially designed his life work. (3) To pro- 

 mote original research, paying great attention 

 thereto as being one of the chief purposes of this 

 institution. (4) To increase the facilities for 

 higher education. (5) To enable such students 

 as may find Washington the best point for their 

 special studies to avail themselves of such ad- 

 vantages as may be open to them in the muse- 

 ums, libraries, laboratories, observatory, me- 

 teorological, piscicultural, and forestry schools 

 and kindred institutions of the several depart- 

 ments of the government. (6) To insure the 

 prompt publication and distribution of the re- 

 sults of scientific investigation, a field considered 

 to be highly important. 



On January 29, 1902, the institution received 

 from Mr. Carnegie a deed of gift of $10,000.000. 

 In 1907, the foundation was increased to $12,- 

 000,000. 



Carnivora. In Zoology, the name applied 

 to the order of mammals which feed mainly upon 

 flesh, and the majority of which are commonly 

 known as Beasts of Prey. They are distin- 

 guished by the adaptation of their teeth to an 

 animal diet. The incisors or front teeth are 

 generally six in each jaw; the canines or eye- 

 teeth are two in each jaw, and are always long 

 and pointed; the grinders are mostly furnished 

 with sharp cutting edges, adapted for dividing 

 flesh, but one or more of the hinder ones are 

 generally furnished with a simple crown, adapted 

 for bruising rather than for cutting. The feet 

 in the Carnivora are always furnished with 

 strong curved claws, and the collar-bones are 

 quite rudimentary, or are altogether wanting. 

 The order Carnivora is divided into the following 

 three sections: (1) Digitigrades, in which the 

 heel is raised from the ground, and the animal 

 walks upon tiptoe: to this section belong the 

 dogs, the hyaenas, and the cats. (2) Pin nil- 

 grades, in which the whole or nearly the whole 

 of the foot is applied to the ground, so that the 

 animal walks upon the soles of the feet : to this 

 section belong the bears. (3) Pinnigrades, in 

 which the both fore and hind legs are short, and 



