C O A 



[51 ] 



COL 



from ferruginous mud that was lodged at 

 the bottom of the primeval waters, we 

 derive our chief supplies of coal and iron ; 

 those two fundamental elements of art and 

 industry, which contribute more than any 

 other mineral productions of the earth, to 

 increase the riches, and multiply the com- 

 forts, and ameliorate the condition of 

 mankind." 



COA'RCTATE. (coarctatus, Lat.) Pressed 

 together. A term used in entomology, to 

 express that state wherein the larva is. 

 CO'BALT. (The word cobalt seems to be 

 derived from cobalus, or kobold, the name 

 of a spirit, or goblin, that, according to 

 the superstitious notions of the times, 

 haunted mines, destroyed the works of 

 the miners, and often gave them much 

 unnecessary trouble. It was once cus- 

 tomary in Germany to introduce into the 

 church service a prayer that God would 

 preserve miners and their works from 

 kobalts and spirits.) 



This metal is of a gray colour, with a 

 shade of red, with but little lustre ; its 

 texture is fibrous ; specific gravity 8*6. 

 Fusible only at a temperature of 16-677 

 of Fahrenheit. When heated, cobalt is 

 partly malleable ; it is permanently mag- 

 netic. The fine blue mineral called zaffre 

 is an impure oxide of this metal. The 

 colour of this oxide is so intense that a 

 single grain of it will impart a full blue to 

 240 grains of glass. An oxide of cobalt, 

 dissolved in muriatic acid, forms a sym- 

 pathetic ink ; the characters written with 

 it being invisible when cold, but on expo- 

 sure to heat assuming a bright green co- 

 lour, which on cooling they again lose 

 The principal use of cobalt is to give to 

 glass and porcelain a beautiful blue colour, 

 CO'BBLE. 1 A pebble. This word is 



CO'BBLE-STONE. $ given by Ray as be- 

 longing to the northern counties. Cob- 

 ble has the same signification as boulder. 

 COCCI'FEROUS. (from KOKKOQ, a berry, anc 

 fero, to bear.) Any plant or tree bearing 

 berries. 



CO'CCOLITE. (from KOKKOQ and Xi'0oc., Gr.} 

 A mineral of a green colour, a variety o 

 augite : called also Granular Augite. 

 CO'CHLE^S. (cochlea, Lat.) Univalves 



shells of one piece. 



CO'CHLEATE. i Twisted like a screw, or the 

 CO'CHLEATED $ shell of a snail ; of i 



screwed or turbinated form. 

 CO'CKLE. See Cardium. 

 Co'cos. Petrifactions resembling nuts o 



that genus. 

 COETA'NEOUS. (from con and atas, Lat. 



Of the same age with another. 

 COE'VAL. \ (coavus, Lat.) Of the sam 

 COE'VOUS. 5 age. The word coeval re 

 quires to be followed by with, coetaneou 

 by to. 



COS'J.IAC. Relating or pertaining to the 

 abdominal cavity, or belly. 

 OHE'RE. (cohcereo, Lat.) To stick to- 

 gether ; to hold fast one to another, as 

 parts of the same mass. Particles of clay 

 are said to cohere. 



OHE'RENCE. } That state of bodies in which, 

 ^OHE'RENCY. $ their parts are joined to- 

 gether, so that they resist divulsion or 

 separation. 



^OHE'SION. (cohesion, Fr. coesione, It.) 

 The act of sticking together, or being 

 united, by natural attraction ; one of the 

 different kinds of attraction. 

 ?OHE'SIVE. That has the property of uni- 

 ting in a mass so as to resist separation. 

 >OHE'SIVENESS. The quality of being 

 cohesive ; the property of resisting sepa- 

 ration. 



HOLEO'PTERA. (from fcoXsoc, a sheath, 

 and TTTtpbv, Gr. awing.) An order of 

 insects, according to the arrangement of 

 Linnaeus, having four wings, the two 

 upper being crustaceous, and forming a 

 shield. In this order are included Sea- 

 rabseus, Lucanus, Dermestes, Coccinella, 

 Curculio, Lampyris, Meloe, Staphylinus, 

 Forficula, &c. In Cuvier's arrangement 

 coleoptera forms the fifth order, class 

 Insecta, and it comprises four sections, 

 divided according to the number of joints 

 in the tarsi. The first, Pentamera, com- 

 prises those in which all the tarsi consist 

 of five joints ; these are Carnivora, Bra- 

 chelytra, Serricornes, Clavicornes, and 

 Palpicornes. The second, Heteromera, in 

 which the four first tarsi have five joints, 

 and the two last four each ; this section 

 comprises Melasoma, Taxicornes, Ste- 

 nelytra, and Trachelides. The third sec- 

 tion includes those in which all the tarsi 

 have four joints ; these are Rhyncophora, 

 Xylophagi, Platysoma, Longicornes, Eu- 

 poda, Cyclica, and Vivalpi. The fourth 

 section, Trimera, consists of such as have 

 only three joints to each tarsus, and com- 

 prises Fungicolse, Aphidiphagi, and 

 Pselaphii. Nearly all these families of 

 the four sections are subdivided into ge- 

 nera, but some consist of a single genus. 

 COLEO'PTEROUS. Belonging to the order 

 Coleoptera ; having a horny hollow case 

 under which the wings are folded. Cole- 

 opterous insects have four wings, the two 

 superior resembling horizontal scales, and 

 joining in a straight line along the inner 

 margin ; the inferior wings are merely 

 folded transversely, and covered with, 

 cases, commonly called elytra. 

 CO'LOLITE. (from KW\OJ/, and \i9og, Gr.) 

 The name given to the fossil intestines of 

 fishes by M. Agassiz. 



CO'LON. (K&\OV, Gr. colon, Lat. colon, 

 Fr.) One of the large intestines, and 

 by much the longest. The colon com- 



