COLUMBINE 



82 



CONCHOID AL 



dove.] 1.= Pigeons: birds belonging to Ba- 

 sores. 2. = Columbacei. 



Columbine, (korum-bin)=Aqailegia, q.v. 



Columbium, ( kol-um'bi-um ). [ Columbia, 

 America.]=Nb; also called Niobium, q.v.: a 

 rare mineral, found in columbite. 



Colymbidae, (kol-im'bi-de). [Gk. kolymUs, a 

 diving bird.] Divers: aquatic birds belong- 

 ing to Natatores. 



Columella, (kol-u-mella). A bone in the ear 

 of a bird, corresponding to the auditory ossi- 

 cles of the human ear. 



Columelliacese, ( kol-u-mel-i-a'se-e ). [Sen or 

 Columella.] ColumelHads: evergreen shrubs 

 and trees, found only in Mexico and Peru, 

 belonging to Cinchonales. 



Colza oil, (kol'za). [The French name.] From 

 seeds of Brassica oleifera. 



Coma Berenicis, (ko'ma be-re-m'sis). [Gk. 

 Jcome, hair, and Berenice.] A small constella- 

 tion in the northern heavens, near Arcturus. 



Comanche. An American race. 



Combination, ( kom-bi-na'shun ). [L. con, 

 with; bini, two by two.] The changes in the 

 grouping of a number of things. 



Combinational tone. A third tone produced 

 when two musical notes are sounded to- 

 gether; also called the grave harmonic and 

 differential tone. 



Combretaceae, (kom-bre-ta'se-e). [Combretum, 



tropics only, belonging to 



the typical genus.]=Myrobal:ms: shrubs and 

 trees, found in tr 

 Myrtales. 



Combustion, (com-bust'yun). [L. comburo, I 

 burn.] = Chemical combination : chemical 

 action so rapid as to produce the sensation of 

 heat and sometimes light. 

 Comet, (kom'et). [Comcta, the Latin name.] 

 A luminous body, consisting of (1) a nucleus, 

 or luminous centre, (2) a coma or head, (3) 

 an envelope or atmosphere, and (4) a tail, 

 moving in a very large parabolic orbit, only 

 a portion of which is within our view. Thero 

 are several comets, mostly telescopic, ob- 

 served every j r ear, and about 4000 have been, 

 seen since the Christian era. 



Comets of short period. 



Encke, i- J years., 



DiVico, .. 

 Winnecke, 

 Brorsen, .. 

 Biela, 

 D'Arrest, . 

 Faye, . 

 Mechain 



Comets of long period. 



Westphal, 67 J years. 



Pons, TO* 



DiVico, 73i 



Olbers, 74 



Brorsen, 75| 



Halley T6| 



Donati, about 2000 

 The figures above are the periods of return. 

 Commelynacese, (korn-me-H-na/se-e). [Coui- 

 melin, J. & G.]=Spider- worts: lily-like herbs 

 belonging to Xyridales. 



Commensalism, (kom-men'sa-lizm). Used by 

 Van. Beneden for a union, of a non-parasitic 



All telescopic. 



Compass. 



kind between two animals, as when an 

 actinia fixes itself on the back of a crab. 



Commutator, (kom-mu-ta/tor). [L. commu- 

 tare, to change. ]=Break : an instrument 

 for making, breaking, or changing the direc- 

 tion of a galvanic current easily and rapidly. 



Compass, (kum'pas). [L. compassus, circle.] 

 Declination C. : a mag- 

 netised needle suppor- 

 ted at its centre of, 

 gravity, and free to 

 move in any horizontal 

 direction ; it points to 

 the magnetic N. and 

 S. poles of the earth. 

 Mariner's C. : a decli- 

 nation compass used on 

 board ships. Inclina-' 

 tion C. : a magnetic needle free to move 

 vertically so as to point to the magnetic 

 pole. Sine C. : a galvanometer by which the 

 strength of a current is measured by the 

 sine of the angle through which the needle 

 moves. -.<* 



Compensation, (kom-pen-sa'shun). '< [L. com- 

 pensatio, balancing.] C. balance in chrono- 



. meters resembles the C. pendulum in object 

 and method. C. pendulum : one in which the 

 distance between the centre of the bob and 

 the point of suspension is kept unaltered, 

 the expansion or contraction of the rod, 

 owing to heat or cold, being compensated by 

 some artifice. 



Complemental. C. air: about 100 cubic inches, 

 for which there is space in the chest, and 

 which may be inspired by a special effort. 

 C. males: short-lived additional males, com- 



Elemental to hermaphrodite animals, found 

 i Lepadidjw. 



Complementary colours. The colour given 

 by a mixture of the colours of any portion 

 of a spectrum is the complement of the 

 remaining portion. Ex., Orange is comple- 

 mentary to blue ; green to red. 



Compositse, (kbm-pos'i-te). [L. compositus, 

 compound.] =Asteraceoe, q.v. 



Compound. C. ratio: the ratio of the products 

 of two sets of homologous terms. C. eye : in 

 insects and crustacean C. flowers: heads of 

 small flowers with an involucre. C. acids=. 

 Colligated acids, q.v. C. microscope: having 

 two or more glasses or lenses. 



Compsognathus, ( komp-sog'nath-us ). [ Gk. 

 kompsos, elegant; gnathos, jaw.] A reptile 

 belonging to Deinosauria, approximating to 

 a bird by hopping erect, and so connecting 

 the two classes. 



Concave, (kon-kiiv). [L. concavus, hollow.] 

 Hollow. 



Concha, (kong'ka). [L. con- 

 cha, shell. ] The external 

 portion of the ear. 



Conchifera, (kong-kif er-a). 

 [L. concha, shell ; fero, I 

 carry.] A term for mol- 

 lusca, such as the oyster Concave, 



and mussel, which have shells. 



Conchoidal, (kong-koi'dal). [Gk. Jcogche, shell ; 

 eidos, fonn.]=Shell-like. 



