CUR 



GtJR 



ra : antennae clavate, seated on the snout, 

 which is horny and prominent ; four feel- 

 ers, filiform. Of this genus there have 

 been from 800 to 1000 species enumerat- 

 ed, and there are probably many more 

 that have not been observed by authors 

 who have treated on the subject. These 

 have been separated into three sections, 

 viz. A. jaw cylindrical, one-toothed. B. 

 lip bifid ; jaw bifid, short ; snout short. 

 C. lip rounded, horny ; feelers very short. 

 Of these the section A. is distinguished 

 into a, snout longer than the thorax ; 

 thighs unarmed : , snout longer than the 

 thorax ; thighs toothed : c, snout longer 

 than the thorax ; hind thighs formed tor 

 leaping : J, snout shorter than the tho- 

 rax ; thighs unarmed : e, snout shorter 

 than the thorax; thighs toothed. The 

 larvae of this most splendid tribe of in- 

 sects have six scaly legs, and a scaly 

 head; some of them infest granaries, 

 eating their way into grains of corn, and 

 leaving nothing but the husk ; some dwell 

 in other seeds, or are lodged in the in- 

 side of artichokes, thistles, and various 

 plants ; and others devour the leaves of 

 trees and herbs. C. salmarum, or palm 

 weevil, is two inches in length ; its larva 

 is large and white, and of an oval shape ; 

 it resides in the tenderest part of the 

 smaller palm-trees, and is considered in 

 the West Indies as one of the greatest 

 dainties. C. nucum, or nut weevil, is the 

 insect produced by the maggot residing 

 in the hazel-nut. The insect makes its ap- 

 pearance early in August, and may be 

 found creeping on hazel trees. The fe- 

 male singles out a nut, which she pierces 

 with her proboscis, and then, turning 

 round, deposits an egg in the cavity, and 

 she thus proceeds till she has deposited 

 in different nuts her whole stock of eggs. 

 Thii is done while the nut is in its young 

 state, which, however, is not injured by 

 the process, but continues to grow and 

 gradually ripens. When the egg is 

 hatched, the young larva begins to feast 

 on the kernel. By the time that i^ has 

 arrived at its full growth, and has nearly 

 consumed the whole of the kernel, the 

 nut falls, and the inclosed larva, not in- 

 jured by the fall, continues in the nut 

 some time longer, and then creeps out at 

 the hole in the side, which it has previ- 

 ously made by knawing in a circular di- 

 rection, and immediately begins to bur- 

 row or creep under the surface of the 

 ground, where it lies dormant about eight 

 months, and then, casting its skin, com- 

 mences a chrysalis, of the same general 

 shape and appearance with the rest of the 



beetle tribe ; and it is not till the begin- 

 ning of August that it arrives at its com- 

 plete form, at which period it casts, off 

 the skin of the crysalis, creeps to the 

 surface, and commences an inhabitant of 

 the upper world. During this state it 

 breeds, and enjoys for a short time the 

 pleasures of a more enlarged existence. 

 To this genus belongs the weevil, pro- 

 perly so called. Many of the exotic spe- 

 cies are large and of great beauty, but the 

 most brilliant and most beautiful is C. im- 

 perialis, or diamond beetle, a native of 

 Brazil, which, when seen through a mag- 

 nifying glass, affords one of the finest 

 sights that can be imagined. 



CURCUMA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Monandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Scitamineae. Cannae, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character : stamens four, 

 barren, a fifth fertile ; corolla four-parted ; 

 nectary three-lobed: filament flat. There 

 are three species, of which C. rotundo, 

 round-rooted turmerick, has a perennial 

 root, with a large ovate bulb, frequently 

 as big as a goose's egg, covered with a 

 thin pelicle, that has parallel rooting rings 

 within, solid, fleshy, reddish yellow, of a 

 bitterish taste, and slightly aromatic smell. 

 Native of the East Indies, the mountains 

 of China, Cochinchina, &c. 



CURFEW, a signal giveni n cities taken 

 in war, &c. to the inhabitants to go to bed, 

 advertise the people to secure themselves 

 from the robberies and debaucheries of 

 the night. 



The most eminent curfew in England 

 was that established by William the Con- 

 queror, who appointed, under severe pe- 

 nalties, that at the ringing of a bell, at 

 eight o'clock in the evening, every one 

 should put out their lights and fires, and 

 go to bed : whence, to this day, a bell 

 rung about that time is called a curfew- 

 bell? 



CURRA.NS, or CURRANTS. See GRog- 



SULAR1A. 



CURRENT, is a term used to express 

 the present time : thus, the year 1808 is 

 the current year ; the 20th current is the 

 20th day of the present month. The price 

 current is the known and ordinary price 

 accustomed to be given for it. As ap- 

 plied to commerce, we say, " current 

 coin," for the known and common coin of 

 the country. 



CURRENT, in hydrography, a stream or 

 flux of water in any direction. In the sea, 

 they are either natural, occasioned by the 

 diurnal motion of the earth round its axis; 

 or accidental, caused by the water's be- 

 ing driven against promontories, or into 



