CAPON. 



CARAWAY. 



the object of which is to hold down the legs as 

 these are extended backwards. This lever is 

 padded beneath, and is furnished with a hinge 

 at t, which admits of being raised at the end A;; 

 it projects beyond the edge of the table, and 

 has also a 5 Ib. weight suspended by the string 

 I) which increases or diminishes the pressure 

 by being moved to or from the table. Through 

 one portion of the hinge an iron screw, w, 

 passes beneath the table where the end is se-. 

 cured by a nut. This screw or pin allows the 

 lever to move sidewise, whilst the hinge ad- 

 mits of its being raised or let down. A range 

 pf holes, about of an inch wide, are made 

 through the table to receive the pin of the 

 lever, as this has to be placed nearer to or 

 further from the slit r, according to the size of 

 the chicken. The first hole is about eleven 

 inches from the nearest end; the second, four- 

 teen inches; the third, seventeen inches. The 

 last is adapted to very large cocks or even 

 turkeys. 



In fig 3, the position of the fowl when se- 

 cured, lying upon its left side upon the table, 

 is represented,' d being the wing-band, h the 

 lever placed over the legs, and a the place 

 where the incision is made. 



The table is a refinement in the art of ca- 

 poning which we believe is altogether new, 

 notwithstanding the thousands of years which 

 have elapsed since the operation has been 

 habitually practised. The difficulty of making 

 a subject, apparently simple, well understood 

 by persons to whom it is entirely new, is, we 

 think, a sufficient apology for the length of the 

 details given. 



In France and other countries, besides fur- 

 nishing a luxurious food, capons are made 

 useful in taking care of broods of young 

 chickens, ducklings, turkeys, and pheasants, 

 which they are said to do much better than 

 hens, owing to their larger size and thicker 

 coats of feathers. The moment the chickens 

 are hatched they are taken from the hens and 

 given to a capon, who rears them with all the 

 care of a parent, often having a small bell 

 attached to his neck, the tinkling of which 

 erves the purpose of keeping the brood about 

 %im, similar to the clucking and maternal 

 sounds of the mother. Should he show a dis- 

 position to treat the young chickens roughly 

 262 



at first, he may be confined alone for a day or 

 two in a dark place, after which if they be put 

 with him he will be pleased with their com- 

 pany and continue to take care of them. The 

 hen is cooped, and well fed until she regains 

 the flesh and strength lost whilst setting, and 

 then turned out to lay again. In .this way the 

 poulterer is enabled to raise a large number 

 of chickens from a few hens. The capon 

 generally brings double or treble the price of 

 common poultry. 



CAPILLARY VESSELS OF VEGETA- 

 BLES. The fine hair-like vessels that assist 

 in the absorption and circulation of the juices 

 of plants. 



CAPSICUM. (Supposed either from XXTTTU, 

 mordeo, to bite ; or from capsa, a chest.) Cap- 

 sicum annuum. Of this there are five varieties. 

 1. Long-podded. 2. Heart-shaped. 3. Short- 

 podded. 4. Angular-podded. 5. Round short- 

 podded. Of the Capsicum cerasiforme there are 

 three varieties. 1. Cherry-shaped. 2. Bell- 

 shaped, or Ox-heart. 3. Yellow-podded. The 

 soil best suited for them is a rrch, moist, 

 mouldy loam, rather inclining to lightness than 

 tenacity. When completely ripe, the pods are 

 cut and hung up in the sun, or in a warm room, 

 until completely dry, in which state they are 

 kept until the seed is wanted for sowing. (G. 

 W. Johnson's Kitchen Garden.') 



The capsicum loses some of its aromatic 

 odour by drying, its taste, both recent and dry,. 

 is hot and acrid, depending on a fixed acrid oil, 

 not volatile and distinct from that oil which 

 gives the odour to the fresh pod. Capsicum is 

 used as a condiment in cookery; it is more 

 excitant than pepper; but its effects are less 

 permanent. 



CARAWAY, or CARRAWAY (Fr. and It. 

 carvi; Lat. carum carui). A naturalized bien- 

 nial plant, with a taper root like a parsnip, 

 but much smaller ; stem about two feet high, 

 growing wild in meadows and pastures. This 

 plant is extensively cultivated in several parts 

 of Essex and some other counties, for the sake 

 of its seeds, which are in daily use as a grate- 

 ful and wholesome aromatic, and are largely 

 consumed in confectionary and medicinal pre- 

 parations ; but its root was formerly much 

 esteemed when boiled, and it is not easy to 

 account for its falling into disuse. The seeds, 

 which are grayish-brown, and ribbed, are too 

 well known to need description. They should 

 be chosen large, new, of a good colour, not 

 dusty, and of a strong agreeable smell. Cara- 

 way is sometimes sowed with coriander and 

 teasel, and harvested the second year. The 

 produce of this seed has often been very great; 

 even as much as 20 cwt. per acre, which afc 

 ways finds a market in London. On account 

 of their aromatic smell and warm pungent 

 taste, the seeds of caraway may be classed 

 among the first stomachics and carminatives 

 of our climate. To persons afflicted with fla- 

 tulency, and liable to colic, if administered in 

 proper quantities, they generally afford con- 

 siderable relief. Their virtue depends on a 

 volatile oil, which is procured in a separate 

 state, by distillation with water. The water 

 retains some of the oil, and is used as a vehi- 

 cle for other medicines. 



