COC 2 



when the chock decayed, the joining was 

 left without any support whatever. The 

 mode of coaklng is thus reckoned an im- 

 provement. 



COAL, from Sax. cole. An important 

 combustible mineral, divided by mine- 

 ralogists into three great families : black 

 coal, uninflammable coal, and brown 

 coal. These, again, are divided into many 

 subordinate species. Coal is composed of 

 charcoal, bitumen, and earthy matter, 

 and its value, for the purposes of combus- 

 tion, depends on the relative propor- 

 tions of these constituents. 



COAL-FIELDS, a district having its pecu- 

 liar scries of strata, \mconnected with 

 any other. Coal-fields are of limited 

 extent, and are commonly arranzed in 

 hasin-shaped cavities, the strata dipping 

 to a common centre. 



COAL-FORMATION, the carboniferous 

 group of strata succeeding the grau waeke 

 in the ascending series of Europe, and so 

 called because the great mass of Euro- 

 pean coal is included among the rocks 

 which compose it. It consists of indefi- 

 nite alternations of shales and sandstones, 

 coal-beds, ironstone layers, and layers of 

 limestone. 



COARCTA'TIOX, from coarcto, to straiten. 

 Contraction of the diameter of a canal, &c. 



COAT of ARMS, a habit (kind of surcoat) 

 worn by the ancient knights over their 

 arms. This habit was diversified by 

 bands and fillets of several colours, called 

 devices, being composed of several pieces 

 sewed tosrether. The representation of 

 these is still called a coat of arms. 



COAT OF MAIL, a piece of arnioui in 

 form of a shirt, consisting of a network 

 of iron rings. 



COAT-ARMOUR, a coat of arms. 



CO'BALT, a metal of a reddish gray co- 

 lour, with but little lustre ; of a fibrous 

 texture. Sp. gr. 86, melt. pt. 130 AYcdgw. 

 = 17977 Fah. It is with the oxides of 

 this metal that glass and porcelain are 

 coloured blue ; and its muriate forms one 

 of the most interesting sympathetic inks, 

 the letters being invisible in the cold. but 

 becoming blue when gently heated. (See 

 SMALT and ZAFFRE.) Cobalt takes its 

 name from an old German superstition, 

 that the mines of that country were 

 haunted by certain demons, called kobol- 

 den, and that those ores which appeared 

 rich to the eye, but afforded nothing of 

 value, were manufactured by those spi- 

 rits, and were called kobold: the ores of 

 the metal in question were supposed to 

 be of this useless kind, and retained the 

 name, now written cobalt. 



COBWA.LLS, walls formed of mud mixed 

 with straw. 



COCCINEL'I.A, a genus of insects. Order 

 OjieofUra, family Fnnyicolte. Species 

 eote-biq, lady bug, &c. Name diuiin. of 



COC 



coccus, a berry, in reference to the shape 

 of some of the species. 



COCCO'ON, the silken case which the larvae 

 of certain insects spin for themselves. 



COC'CCLUS IN'DICUS, the Indian berry ; 

 the fruit of the Menispermum corcttlus, a 

 large tree of Malabar. It is narcotic and 

 poisonous, and has been much employed 

 n the adulteration of ale and beer. Its 

 use in this way is prohibited under severe 

 penalties. 



Coc'ccs, xozzo;- 1- In botany, a cell 



or capsule. 2. In itowoZog'i/,agenusof 



hemipterous insects constituting the 

 family Gallinsecta. The cochineal insect 

 is the C. cacti, Lin., a native of Mexico, 



here it is domesticated, and reared with 

 the greatest care on a species of opuntia. 



COCCTX, the coccygis os, a bone forming 

 a small appendage to the end of the sa- 

 crum, terminating in a point, resembling, 

 it is said, the bill of a cuckoo (x6x*v). 



COCHINE'AL, Sp. cofhinilla, an insect; 

 the Coccits cacti, Ian., reared chiefly in 

 Mexico on the Cfh-tu* opunti. India tig or 

 Nepal tree, and highly valued for the 

 crimwm dye it funushes. It is imported 



jn ported 

 of shri- 



in bags, and has the appearance of 

 veiled rugose berries. Value 6s. to 10s. 

 per Ib. 



COCMLTU'RI*., a cenus of herbaceous 

 plant*. Trtratiyiuttnia Silicuwsa. Scurvy- 

 grass; horseradish. Name from cochleare, 

 a spoon, in reference to the form of its 

 leaves. 



COCK'ET, a certificate given by the offi- 

 cers of the custom-bouse to merchants, as 

 a warrant that their goods have been 

 duly entered. FT. cachet, a seal. 



COCK'LE. 1. In conchclogy, o. shell 

 iKo%>.t>;) of the genus eardium. 2. In 

 botany, t'.ie corarose (Sax. code), a species 

 of agrostemma ; also applied to the darnel 



or lolium. 3. In minti-alociy, a local 



name for suorl, from cockle, the shell of 

 that name. 



COC'KLE-OAST, that part of a hop-kiln 

 where the fire is made. 



COCK.-PIT. In a ship of tear, a place on 

 the lower deck abaft the main capstan, 

 where are partitions for the purser, sur- 

 geon, and his mates. Also the place 

 where game-cocks fight their battles. 



COCKROACH, a name common to all the 

 insects of the genus Blatta. 



COCK'S-COMB. In botany, a name ap- 

 plied, 1. To the species of the genus 



Celosia. 2. To a species of Rhinanthus 



or yellow-rattle. 3. To the Hedysarum 



crista galli. 



COCK-WATER, among miners, a stream 

 of water brought into a trough to wash 

 away sand from ores. 



CO'COA, the fruit of the Theofroma cacao, 

 which is about the size of a kidney-beaa 

 and inclosed in a thin shell. 



