COR 



COR 



courier. It seems to be extremely rare, 

 as Latham remarks that Aldrovandus was 

 the only naturalist who had seen it, and 

 that on his description all subsequent 

 writers had depended. 



CORROSIVE sublimate, an old name 

 for the oxymuriate of mercury, or, as it is 

 called in the shops, muriated mercury. If 

 muriatic acid be added to the yellow sul- 

 phate of mercury, or to the nitrate of mer- 

 cury, muriate of mercury is formed, 

 which is soluble in water, and which, on 

 account of its properties, was formerly 

 called corrosive sublimate, or corrosive 

 muriate of mercury. 



To obtain it, in the large way, the fol- 

 lowing process is mentioned by Mr. Mur- 

 ray : mix together equal parts of dry oxy- 

 nitrate of mercury, decrepitated common 

 salt, and calcined sulphate of iron. One- 

 third of a matrass is filled with this mix- 

 ture ; the vessel is placed in a sand-bath, 

 and gradually heated to redness. When 

 the apparatus is cold, oxymuriate of mer- 

 cury is found sublimed in the upper part 

 of the matrass. 



Oxymuriate of mercury, when obtained 

 by sublimation, is in the form of a beauti- 

 ful white semi-transparent mass, compos- 

 ed of very small prismatic needles. By 

 evaporation, it yields cubes or rhomboidal 

 prisms, or more commonly quadrangular 

 prisms, with their sides alternately nar- 

 rower, and terminated by dihedral sum- 

 mits ; its specific gravity is 51 ; its taste 

 is excessively acrid and caustic, and it 

 leaves, for a long time a very disagree- 

 able styptic metallic impression on the 

 tongue. When swallowed, it is one of the 

 most virulent poisons known, producing 

 violent pain, nausea, and vomiting, and 

 corroding in a very short time the sto- 

 mach and intestines. It is soluble in about 

 20 parts of cold water. Boiling water, 

 according to Macquer, dissolves half its 

 weight of it. According to Wenzel, water, 

 when boiled over this salt, dissolves very 

 nearly one-third of its weight of it. Alco- 

 hol, according to Macquer, at the tempera- 

 ture of 70, dissolves three-eighths of its 

 weight, and 100 parts of boiling alcohol 

 dissolves 88 parts of it. It is not altered 

 by exposure to the air. When heated, it 

 sublimes very readily ; and while in the 

 state of vapour, it is exceedingly danger, 

 ous to those who are obliged to breath it. 



It is soluble in sulphuric, nitric, and 

 muriatic acids; and may be obtained again 

 by evaporation unaltered. It is decompos- 

 ed by the fixed alkalies, and its oxide 

 precipitated of a yellow colour, which 

 soon becomes brick red. This decompo- 



sition renders oxymuriate of mercury a 

 useful test for ascertaining the presence 

 of fixed alkalies in solution. If liquid 

 oxymuriate of mercury be dropt into a 

 solution containing the smallest portion of 

 alkali, the brick-red precipitate appears. 

 Ammonia forms with it a triple salt. The 

 component parts of this salt are, accord- 

 ing to Chenevix, 



Oxide of mercury 

 Acid . , . 



82 

 18 



100 



Externally, this substance is employed 

 as an escarotic for destroying fungous 

 flesh. 



CORROSIVES, in surgery, are medi- 

 cines which corrode whatever part of the 

 body they are applied to: such are, burnt 

 alum, white precipitate of mercury, white 

 vitriol, red precipitate of mercury, butter 

 of antimony, lapis infernalis, &c. 



CORRUPTION, the destruction of the 

 proper mode of existence of any natural 

 body. 



CORRUPTION of bloody in law, on infec- 

 tion accruing to a man's estate attainted 

 of felony and treason, and to his issue; for 

 as he loses all to the prince, &c. his issue 

 cannot be heirs to him, or to any other 

 ancestor by him ; and if he were noble, 

 his heirs are rendered ignoble. 



CORSELET, a little cuirass, or, accord- 

 ing to others, an armour or coat made to 

 cover the whole body, anciently worn by 

 the pike-men, usually placed in the front 

 and flanks of the battle, for the better re- 

 sisting the enemy's assaults, and guard- 

 ing the soldiers placed behind them. 



CORTULA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua class and 

 order. Natural order of Composite Dis- 

 coideae, or compound radiated flowers. 

 Corymbiferae, Jussieu. Essential charac- 

 ter : receptacle almost naked ; down mar- 

 gined ; corollules of the disk four cleft ; . 

 in the ray scarcely any. There are fifteen 

 species, mostly natives of the Cape. 



CORTUSA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Preciae. Lysimachiae, 

 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla 

 wheel-shaped, the throat having an ele- 

 vated ring; capsule one-celled, oval, five- 

 valved at the end. There are two spe- 

 cies, C. mathioli, sends put many oblong 

 smooth leaves, a little indented on the 

 edges, forming a sort of head like the 

 auricula ; the peduncles come out in the 



