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CAN 
length is about ten inches, and its colour 
yellowish- white. The ears, which are un- 
commonly large, are internally of a bright 
rose-colour, edged with a broad margin of 
white hair, and the tip of the tail is black. 
It inhabits, the vast deserts of Zaara, which 
extend beyond mount Atlas; it burrows in 
sandy ground, which shews the use of valves 
to the ears. It is so exceedingly swift that 
it is very rarely taken alive ; feeds on insects, 
especially locusts ; sits on its rump ; is very 
vigilant, and barks like a dog, but much 
shriller. 
Canis major, in astronomy, a constellation 
of the southern hemisplvere, consisting of 28 
stars, according to Ptolemy; of 13, accord- 
ing to Tycho; and 32 in the Britannic cata- 
logue. 
Canis minor, C aniculus, or Canicula, 
in astronomy’, a constellation of tiie northern 
hemisphere. In Ptolemy’s catalogue, the 
-canis minor comprehends two stars; in that 
| of Tycho, live; and in the Britannic cata- 
. logue, 15. 
GANNA, Indian flowering reed; a genus 
of the monogynia order, in the monandria 
class of plants; and in the natural method 
ranking under the 8th order, scitamina?. The 
corolla is erect, and divided into six parts, 
with a distinct lip, bipartite, and rolled back ; 
the style lanceolate, and growing to the co- 
rolla;' the caly x is triphylious. There are 
! five species, viz. 
1. Canna coccinea, has larger leaves than 
I any of the other four species, and the stalks 
j rise much higher. The flowers are produced 
in large spikes, and are of a bright crimson or 
rather scarlet colour. 
| 2. Canna glauca, with a very large yellow 
! flower, is a native of South America. 
3. Canna Indies, or common broad-leaved 
flowering cane. 
4. Canna latlfolia, with a pale red flower, 
is a native of Carolina, and some other north- 
ern provinces of America. 
5. Canna lutea, with obtuse oval leaves, is 
less common in America than the other sorts. 
All these plants must always be kept in pots 
of rich earth, to be moved to shelter in win- 
ter. 
CANNABIS, hemp, in botany, a genus of 
the dioecia pentaudria class of plants, and in 
the natural method ranking under the 53d 
order, scabridx-. The calyx of the male is 
quinquepartite, ■with no corolla. In the fe- 
ll male the calyx is monophyllous, entire, and 
I gaping at the side; there is no corolla, hut 
two styles ; the fruit is a nut, bivalved, with- 
in the closed calyx. Of this there is but one 
] species, viz. 
| Cannabis sativa. It is propagated in the 
i rich fenny parts of Lincolnshire in great 
! quantities for its bark, which is useful for 
! cordage, cloth, &c. and the seeds abound 
with oil. Hemp is always sown on a deep, 
moist, rich soil, such as is found in Holland, 
Lincolnshire, and the fens of the island of 
Ely, where it is cultivated to great advantage, 
as it might be in many other parts of Eng- 
land where there is a soil of the same kind ; 
but it will not thrive on clayey or stiff cold 
land. The ground on which hemp is to be 
sown should be well ploughed, and made 
very fm£ bv harrowing. About the middle 
•of April the seed may be sown; three bush- 
els are the usual allowance for an acre, but two 
»re sufficient, In the choice of the seed, the 
heaviest and-brightest, coloured should be 
preferred ; and particular care should be 
had to the kernel of the seed. For the 
greater certainty’ in this matter, some of the 
seeds should be cracked to see whether they 
have the germ or future plant perfect ; lor, 
in some plac es, the male plants are draw n 
out too soon from the female, i. e. before they 
have impregnated the female plants with the 
farina ; in which case, though the seeds pro- 
duced by these females may seem good to 
the eye, yet they will not grow. W hen the 
plants are come up, they’ should be hoed out 
in the same manner as turneps, leaving them 
two feet apart; observe also to cut down all 
the weeds, which, if well performed, and in 
dry weather, will destroy them. This crop, 
however, will require a second hoeing, in 
about six weeks after the first; and, it this 
is well performe’, the crop will require no 
further care. The first season for pulling 
hemp is usually about the middle of August, 
w hen they begin to pull what they call the 
simple hemp, being that which is composed 
of the male plants ; but it would he much 
better to defer this for a fortnight or three 
w eeks longer, until those male plants have 
fully shed their farina or dust, without which 
the seeds will prove only empty husks. 
These male plants decay soon after they 
have shed their farina. The second pulling 
is a little after Michaelmas, when the seeds 
are ripe. This is usually called karle hemp, 
and consists of the female plants which were 
! left. This karle hemp is bound in bundles 
' of a yard compass, according to the statute 
measure, which are laid in the sun for a few’ 
: days to dry ; and then it is slacked up or 
: housed t® keep it dry till the seed can be 
threshed out. An acre of hemp, on a rich 
soil, will produce nearly three, quarters of 
seed, which, together with the unwrought 
hemp, are worth from 61. to 8/. Hemp is 
esteemed very effectual for destroying weeds; 
but this it accomplishes by impoverishing the 
ground, and thus robbing them of their nou- 
rishment ; so that a crop of it must not be 
repeated on the same spot. 
CANNEL-COAL. See Ampelites. 
CANNON, in the military art, an engine 
or kind of fire-arms for throwing iron, lead, 
or stone bullets, by the force of gunpow der. 
Cannons at first were called bombardae, 
from the noise they made. They had like- 
wise the name of culverin, basilisk, &c. from 
the beasts that w’ere represented upon them ; 
and the Spaniards, from devotion, gave them 
the name of saints ; witness the twelve apos- 
tles which Charles V. ordered to be cast at 
Malaga, for his expedition to Tunis. 
The most remarkable parts about a can- 
non are the cascabel, mouldings, base-ring, 
touch-hole, vent-ring, reinforced ring, trun- 
nions, dolphins, trunnion-ring, cornish-ring, 
neck, muzzle, face, and chace or cylinder. 
The metal of which brass cannon is made 
is in a manner kept a secret by the found- 
ers ; yet, with all their art and secrecy, they 
have not hitherto found out a composition 
that will stand a hot engagement without 
melting, or being rendered useless. Those 
cast at Woolwich- bid fairest towards this 
amendment. The respective quantities which 
should enter into this composition, is a point 
not decided; every founder has his own pro- 
portions, which are peculiar to hiiyself. The 
most common proportions of the ingredients 
CAN 
are the following, viz. To 240 lb. of metal 
lit for casting, they put 68 lb. of copper, 52lb. 
of brass, and 121b. of tin. r lo 4200 lb. 
of metal fit for casting, the Germans put 
3687|ilb. of copper, 204^ilb. of brass, and 
3073-jlb. of tin. Others again use 100 lb. 
of copper, 61b. of brass, and 9lh. of tin ; and 
lastly, others 1001b. of copper, 101b. of brass, 
and 1 51b. of tip. With respect to iron guns, 
their structure is the same as that ot the 
others, and they generally stand the most 
severe engagements, being frequently used 
on ship-board. Several experiments have 
taught us that the Swedish iron guns are pre- 
ferable to all others. 
Cannons are distinguished by the diame- 
ters of the balls they carry. The rule lor 
their length is, that it l>e such as that the 
whole charge of powder be on lire before the 
ball quits the piece. If it be too long, the 
quantity of air to be driven out before the 
ball, will give too much resistance to the im- 
pulse; and that impulse ceasing, the friction 
of the ball against the surface ot the piece 
will take off from the motion. 
In former days, cannon were made much 
longer than they are now’ ; but experience 
has taught us, that a ball moves with a great- 
er impetus through a less space than a 
greater : and accordingly it is found that an 
iron ball of 48 pound weight goes farther 
from a short cannon than another ball of 96 
pound out of a longer piece ; whereas, in 
other respects, it is certain, the larger the 
bore and ball, the greater the range. But 
for the range of a cannon, see Projectile. 
It is found, too, by experience, that of two 
cannons of equal bore, but different lengths, 
the longer requires a greater charge of pow- 
der than the shorter. The ordinary charge 
of a cannon is, for the weight of its gunpow- 
der to be half that of its ball. See Founding. 
CANON, in an ecclesiastical sense, a law, 
rule, or regulation, of the policy and disci- 
pline of a church, made by councils, either 
general, national, or provincial. 
Canons of (he apostles, a collection of 
ecclesiastical laws, which, though very an- 
tient, were not left us by the apostles. It is- 
true, they were sometimes called apostolic 
canons ; but this means no more than that 
they w r ere made by bishops who lived soon, 
after the apostles, and were called apostolical 
men. They consist of regulations, which 
agree with the discipline of the second and 
third centuries. The Greeks generally count 
eighty-five, but the Latins receive only fifty, 
nor do they observe all these.. 
Canon of mass, in the Romish church, 
the name of a prayer which the priest reads 
low’ to himself, the people kneeling. 
Canon, in arithmetic, algebra, &c. is a 
rule to solve all things of the same nature 
wdth the present inquiry ; thus, every last 
step of an equation in algebra, is such a ca- 
non ; and, it turned into words, is a rule to 
solve all questions of the same nature with 
that proposed.. 
The tables of logarithms, artificial sines 
and tangents, are called likewise by the name 
of canon. 
Canon -law, a collection of ecclesiastical 
law’s, serving as the rule and measure of 
church government. The pow’er of making 
laws was exercised by the church before the.- 
Roman empire became Christian. The. car 
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