COR 



COS 



being dried, it is very strong and limber,' 

 yet it will fold close like a fan, being then 

 about the size of a man's arm. The 

 whole leaf spread is round, but is cut in- 

 to triangular pieces for use. Soldiers all 

 carry them upon their heads, not only to 

 shade them from the sun, and to keep 

 them dry in case of rain on their march, 

 but to make their tents for them to lie 

 under. These leaves all grow on the top 

 of the tree. It bears no fruit until the 

 last year of its life ; the yellow blossoms, 

 which are very beautiful, come out on the 

 top, spreading abroad in great branches ; 

 these come to a round, hard fruit, the size 

 of our largest cherries, and in such abun- 

 dance,that one tree will yield seed enough 

 for a country ; but they are not fit for 

 food. The flowers smell so strong, that 

 the trees are cut down where they are 

 near houses. It is a native of Malabar, 

 the island of Ceylon, the Marquesas, 

 and Friendly Islands. The trunk within 

 is only a pith, which they beat in a mor- 

 tar to flour, and make cakes of it, which 

 taste much like white bread. The leaves 

 also serve for covering their houses, and 

 for writing on with an iron style. Most 

 of the books which are shown in Europe 

 for the Egyptian papyrus are made from 

 the leaves of this palm. 



CORYPHJENA, the Coryphene, in na- 

 tural history, a genus of fishes of the or- 

 der Thoracici. Generic character : head 

 sloping suddenly downwards, gill-mem- 

 brane with five rays ; dorsal fin as long 

 as the back. There are 19 species, of 

 which the principal is C. hippuris, the 

 common coryphene. These fishes are 

 commonly known by (he name of dolphin, 

 and appear in the Indian and Atlantic 

 seas in immense numbers, frequently 

 following in the wake of ships, and 

 seizing with extreme rapacity whatever 

 is thrown from them at all applicable 

 for food. Indeed, occasionally, on their 

 being opened, their stomachs have been 

 found to contain hard and indigestible 

 substances. They are endowed with ex- 

 traordinary strength and vigour, swim 

 with extreme swiftness, and are perpetu- 

 ally i the pursuit of smaller fish, par- 

 ticularly the flying-fish, which has not a 

 more mortal enemy throughout the ocean. 

 They are of particularly rapid growth, 

 and they are often taken both by the 

 line and net, on account of their estima- 

 tion for the table. They are about the 

 length of three feet, and display in the 

 water the most 'azzling splendour and 

 the most exquisite combination of colours, 



particularly azure, green and gold. All 

 these vanish a short time after the dol- 

 phin is taken from the water, exhibiting, 

 however, incessant changes during the 

 conflict between life and death, one mo- 

 ment restored to their original lustre, 

 the next fading beyond observation, till 

 at length bloom and vitality are both final- 

 ly extinguished. During the monotony 

 of an Indian voyage, the death of the dol- 

 phin is considered by sailors as fur- 

 nishing an agreeable variety, and is, in- 

 deed, watched with singular attention and 

 interest. 



CO-SECANT, in geometry, the secant 

 of an arch which is the complement of 

 another to 90. 



CO-SINE, in trigonometry, the sine of 

 an arch, which is the complement of an- 

 other to 90. See SINE and TRIGONO- 

 METRY. 



COSMEA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Syngenesia Frustranea class and order. 

 Receptacle chaffy : seeds four-sided, with 

 a two or four-awned crown; calyx double, 

 each of them of one eight-parted leaf. 



COSMETIC, in physic, any medicine 

 or preparation which renders the skin 

 soft and white, or helps to beautify and 

 improve the complexion, as lip-salves, 

 cold creams, ceruss, &c. 



COSMIUAL, a term in astronomy, ex- 

 pressing one of the poetical risings of a 

 star : thus, a star is said to rise cosmically, 

 when it rises with the sun, or with that 

 point of the ecliptic in which the sun isat 

 that time : and the cosmical setting is 

 when a star sets in the west at the same 

 time that the sun rises in the east. 



COSMOGONY, a word frequently used 

 to denote the science of the formation of 

 the universe. 



COSMOGRAPHY, a description of the 

 several parts of the visible world, or the 

 art of delineating the several bodies, ac- 

 cording <o their magnitudes, motions, re- 

 lations, &c. 



COSMOPOLITE, a term denoting a ci- 

 tizen of the world, or one who has no 

 fixed residence any where. 



COSSIGNEA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Hexandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Calyx inferior, five-parted; corolla four 

 or five-petalled ; capsule three-celled, 

 opening at top ; the cells about three- 

 seeded. There are two species noticed 

 by Lamarck, found in Bourbon and Mau- 

 ritius. 



COSTIVENESS. See MEDICINE. 



COSTUME, a term among painters : 

 thus, a painter must observe the costume ; 



