223 



£i)c &tra3ttrg at 330tang. 



[CARI 



goldfinch.which derives its name {Carduelis 

 elegans) from the plant. The common 

 statement that this bird lines its nest with 

 thistle-down is scarcely accurate; the 

 substance being, in most cases, the down 

 of colt's foot {Tv.ssilago), or the cotton from 

 the willow, both of which are procu- 

 rable at the building season,whereas thistle- 

 down is at that time immature. 



C. lanceolatus is the emblem of Scotland ; 

 the same plant, commonly called Spear 

 Thistle, also forms the badge of the clan 

 Stewart. [C. A. J.] 



CAREILLADE. (Fr.) Hyoscyamus albus. 



CAREYA. A genus of the myrtle family, 



and belonging to that section called Bar- 



j ringtonice, a group which differs from the 



i true myrtles in having alternate leaves 



! without transparent dots. The plants of 



! this genus are for the most part trees, and 



I are found in India, one species also occur- 



rins in ^orth Australia. The leaves are 



j stalked, serrate, and obovate. The flowers 



: are large, red or greenish yellow, sessile, 



and forming a short head or spike, or 



: stalked and somewhat corymbose ; the 



calyx four-lobed; the petals, four; the 



! stamens very numerous, their filaments 



i united by their base into a ring; they 



generally fall in one piece when the flower 



withers, and have the appearance of a 



1 painter's brush. The fruit is a berry, 



crowned with the remaining calyx-lobes, 



and in C. sphmrica is of the size and form 



i of an orange, yellowish green in colour, 



j and contains few seeds, embedded in pulp. 



j This species is a native of the Malayan 



1 peninsula, where it attains a large size. 



j The bark is ash-like, fibrous, and fit for 



j cordage. The wood of C. arborea is used 



for various purposes, as making boxes, 



i hoops, &c. It is, however, not a valuable 



i timber, as it is liable to split when exposed 



! to the sun, and is not impervious to wet; 



■ formerly it was employed for making the 

 i drums of the Sepoy corps, being flexible ; it 

 \ takes a good polish, and the colour resem- 



■ bles that of mahogany. The bark is made 

 into a rough cordage ; and prepared in a 



i peculiar way, is said to be used in some 

 ; parts of India as a slow match for firelocks. 

 ; The fleshy calyx leaves are said to be used 

 I for curing colds in Scind. The genus is 

 named in honour of Dr. W. Carey, an Indian 

 botanist, who edited one of the editions 

 ! of Roxburgh's Flora Indica. [A. A. B.] 



CARGILLIA. A genus of the ebony 



family (Ebenac-eae), peculiar to Eastern 



j tropical Australia. The two known species 



! are trees, with alternate leathery oblong 



obtuse entire leaves. The flowers are 



a nd white, collected in dense clusters 



■ in the axils of the leaves, the males and 

 j females on the same tree, the former 

 ; containing eight stamens, surrounded by 



four petals and a four-parted calyx, and 

 , the latter like the males, but having only a 

 | few abortive stamens, and a four-celled 



ovary, which, when ripe, is a roundish 

 i drupe containing few seeds. The genus 



■ differs from its allies in the quater- 

 nary arrangement of parts of the flower. 

 The Black Plum of Illawarra (C. australis) 

 is a slender tree, from twenty to forty feet 

 in height, and ten to fourteen inches in 

 diameter, the wood of which is close- 

 1 grained and useful ; the fruits are the size 

 j of a large plum, and of a dark purple 

 i colour. The Grey Plum (C. arborea) grows 

 ! to a height of fifty or a hundred feet, with 

 a diameter of twelve to fourteen inches ; 

 its wood is tough and close-grained, but 

 of no beauty. The fruits, which are pro- 

 duced in great abundance, are eaten by the 

 aborigines. [A. A. B.] 



CARIACA. A small variety of maize, 

 much esteemed in British Guiana. 



CARIBBEAN BARK. The hark of Ex- 

 ostemafior ibundum. 



CARICA. This genus is the type of the 

 order of papayads (Papayacece). It con- 

 tains about ten species, natives of tropical 

 America, forming small trees generally 

 without branches, and having large vari- 

 ously-lobed leaves, resembling those of 

 some kinds of palm : all parts exuding an 

 acrid milky juice when wounded. Their 

 flowers are borne in racemes, proceeding 

 from the bases of the leaf-stalks, the 

 males and females being usually on dif- 

 ferent trees. The males have a funnel- 

 shaped corolla, into the throat of which 

 the ten stamens are inserted in two rows, 

 one above the other ; and the females a 

 corolla of five distinct petals. The fruit is 

 fleshy, and does not split open when ripe. 



The most remarkable species is C. 

 Papaya, called the Papaw-tree. This is 

 now generally acknowledged to be a native 

 of tropical South America, but it is com- 

 monly cultivated in most tropical coun- 

 tries, and was at one time supposed to be 

 indigenous to the East Indies. It is a small 

 tree, seldom exceeding twenty feet in 

 height, with a stem about a foot in dia- 

 meter, tapering gradually to about four or 

 five inches at the summit, and composed 

 of soft spongy wood, mostly hollow in the 

 centre. The leaves are frequently as much 

 as two feet in diameter, and deeply cut 

 into seven Ijroad lobes terminating in 

 sharp points, and having their margins 

 irregularly waved or gashed ; their foot- 

 stalks are about two feet long, and di- 

 verge almost horizontally from the stem. 

 The fruit, for which this tree is celebrated, 

 is of a dingy orange-yellow colour, gene- 

 rally of an oblong form, about ten inches 

 long by three or four broad, but sometimes 

 shaped like a melon, with projecting an- 

 j gles ; it has a thick fleshy rind, like that of 

 i a gourd, and contains numerous small 

 black wrinkled seeds, arranged in five 

 lines along the whole length of the central 

 j cavity. Throughout most of the West 

 India islands the juice of this tree, or an 

 infusion of its fruit or leaves, is reputed 

 I to possess the remarkable property of 

 causing a separation of the muscular fibre 

 ] of animal flesh, and thus rendering the 

 | toughest meat tender. It is asserted, 



