CAS: 
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I There are 51 species, all natives of warm cli- 
mates. The most remarkable are: 
1 . Cassia fistula, the purging cassia of Alex- 
andria, is a native of Egypt and both Indies: it 
rises to the height of 40 or 50 feet, with a large 
trunk, dividing into many branches with wing- 
ed leaves, i he flowers are produced in long 
spikes at the end of the branches, each stand- 
ing upon a long footstalk : these are compos- 
I ed of fine yellow concave petals, which are 
I succeeded by cylindrical pods from one to 
I two feet long, with a dark brown woody shell, 
I having a longitudinal seam on one side, 
| divided into many cells by transverse parti- 
| tious, each containing one or two oval, 
! smooth, compressed seeds, lodged in a black- 
) ish pulp, which is the eassia used in medicine. 
There are two sorts of this drug in the shops, 
one brought from the East Indies, the other 
from the West. The canes or pods of the 
Litter are generally large, rough, thick-rind- 
ed, and tiie pulp nauseous ; those of the 
former are less, smoother, the pulp blacker, 
j and of a sweeter taste ; this sort is preferred 
| to the other. The pods should be chosen 
weighty, new, and not rattling (from the 
seeds being loose within them) when shaken. 
The pulp should be of a bright shining black 
colour, and a sweet taste ; not harsh, which 
happens from the fruit being gathered before 
| it has grown fully ripe, or sourish, which it 
1 is apt to turn upon keeping : it should nei- 
j ther be very dry nor very moist, nor at all 
mouldy; which, from its being kept in damp 
I cellars or moistened, in order to increase its 
I weight, it is very subject to be. The great- 
I est part of the pulp dissolves both in water 
' and rectified spirit; and may be extracted 
from the pod by either. This pulp is a 
i gentle laxative medicine ; and frequently 
1 given, in a dose of some drams, in costive 
I habits. See Plate Nat. Hist. tig. 93. 
2. Cassia senna, is a shrubby plant culti- 
vated in Persia, Syria, and Arabia, for the 
leaves, which form a considerable article of 
J commerce. They are of an objcng figure, 
| sharp-pointed at the ends, about a quarter of 
I an inch broad, and not a full inch in length ; 
j of a lively yellowish green colour, a faint, 
| not very agreeable smell, and a subacrid, 
J bitterish, nauseous taste. They are brought 
from the above places, dried and picked from 
the stalks, to Alexandria in Egypt, and 
I thence imported into Europe. Some infe- 
I rior sorts are brought from Tripoli and 
j other places ; these may easily be distinguish- 
ed by their being either narrower, longer, 
J and sharper-pointed; or larger, broader, and 
I round-pointed, with small prominent veins ; 
I or large and obtuse, of a fresh green colour, 
| without any yellow cast. Senna is a very 
useful cathartic, operating mildly, and yet 
I effectually; and if judiciously dosed and rna- 
I naged, rarely occasioning the ill consequences 
I which too frequently follow the exhibition of 
| the stronger purges. 
CASS) DA, in zoology, a genus of insects, 
of the order of the coleoptera, with filiform 
‘or thread-like antennas, thickest towards the 
extremities. Add to this, that the thorax is 
plain and marginated. Of this genus there 
are many species, some green (as the viridis), 
some grey, but most black ; but all have been 
confounded bv authors with the beetles, and 
called in English tortoise-beetles. Foreign 
countries, afford many beautiful species. 
Even in this climate there is something sin- 
. ; gular in them. Their larva, by the help of 
the two prongs which are found at its hinder 
. extremity, makes itself, with its own excre- 
ments, a kind of umbrella, that shelters it 
. from the sun and rain. When this umbrella 
. becomes too dry, it parts with it for a new 
one. r l his larva casts its slough several 
times. Thistles and verticillated plants are 
inhabited by these insects. There is one spe- 
cies, of which the chrysalis resembles an ar- 
morial escutcheon. It is this which produces 
our variegated cassida. Numbers are found 
on the sides of ponds, upon the wild elecam- 
pane. See Plate Nat. Hist. iig. 94. 
CASS1NE, a genus of the trigynia order, 
in the pentandria class of plants, and in the 
natural method ranking under the 23d order, 
dumosae. The calyx is quinquepartite ; the 
petals are five ; and the fruit is a trisper- 
mous berry. There are four species, all of 
them natives of warm climates. 
CASSIOPEIA, in astronomy, a constella- 
tion in the northern hemisphere, situated op- 
posite to the Great Bear, on the other side of 
the pole. The stars of this constellation, in 
Ptolemy’s catalogue, are thirteen ; in Ty- 
cho’s twenty-eight ; and in Mr. Flamsteed’s 
fifty-six. In the year 1572 a remarkable new 
star appeared in this constellation, ’surpassing 
Sirius or Lyra in brightness and magnitude. 
It appeared even bigger than Jupiter, which, 
at that time, was near his perigee, and by 
some was thought equal to Venus when she 
is in her greatest lustre ; but in a month it 
began to diminish in lustre, and in about 
eighteen months entirely disappeared. 
CASSEl ERIA, in the history of fossils, a 
genus of crystals, the figures of which are in- 
fluenced by an admixture of some particles 
of tin. The cassiteria are of two kinds ; the 
whitish pellucid cassiterion, and the brown 
cassiterion : the first is a tolerably bright and 
pellucid crystal, and seldom subject to the 
common blemishes of crystal: it is of a per- 
fect and regular form, in the figure of a qua- 
drilateral pyramid, and is found in Devon- 
shire and Cornwall principally. The brown 
cassiterion is like the former in figure : it is 
of a very smooth and glossy surface, and is 
also found in great plenty in Devonshire and 
Cornwall. 
CASSOWARY. See Strtjthio. 
CAST, or caste, in the east, denotes a 
tribe or number of families of the same rank 
and profession. The division of a nation 
into casts obtains in the dominions of the 
great mogul, kingdom of Bengal, and the 
island of Ceylon. There are four principal 
casts, viz. that of the bramins, which is the 
most noble ; that of the rajahs, or princes, 
who claim to be descended from the royal 
families ; that of the choutres, which in- 
cludes artificers ; and that of the parias, the 
lowest of all. Every art and trade is con- 
fined to its proper cast, nor can it be exer- 
cised by any but those whose fathers have 
professed the same. The cast of parias is 
held infamous ; and there are trades in the 
cast of choutres which debase the professors 
of them almost to the same rank ; some of 
which are fishermen, shoemakers, and even 
shepherds. 
CASSYTA, a genus of the monogvnia 
order, in the enncandria class of plants. The 
corolla is in the form of a calyx, divided into 
six segments ; the nectarium is composed ot 
three truncated glands encompassing the ger- 
men ; the inferior filaments are glandular; 
and the drupe contains a single seed. There 
are two species. 
CASTILLAN, or Castillane, a gold coin, 
current in Spain, and worth fourteen rials 
and sixteen deniers. Castilian is also a weight 
used in Spain for weighing gold. It is the hun- 
dredth part of a pound Spanish weight. What 
they commonly call a weight of gold in 
Spain, is always understood of the castilian. 
CASTILLEJA, a genus of the didynamia 
angiospennia class and order. The essential 
character is, calyx tubular, compressed ; up- 
per lip bifid, lower none ; corolla, lower lip 
trifid ; capsule two-celled. There are two 
species, natives of South America. 
CASTING, among sculptors, implies the 
taking of casts and impressions ot figures, 
busts, medals, &c. 
The art of taking casts or impressions 
from pieces of sculpture, medals, &c. is of 
very great importance in the line arts. In 
order to procure a copy or cast from any. 
figure, bust, medal, &c. it is necessary to ob- 
tain a mould, by pressing upon the - thing to- 
be moulded or copied some substance which, 
when soft, is capable of being forced into 
all the cavities or hollows of the sculpture. 
When this mould is dry and hard, some sub- 
stance is poured into it, which will fill all the 
cavities ot the mould, and represent the form 
of the original from which the mould was- 
taken. 
The particular manner of moulding de- 
pends upon the form of the subject to be 
worked upon. When there are no projecting 
parts, but such as form a right or a greater 
angle with the principal surface of the body, 
nothing more is required than to cover it over 
with the substance of which the mould is to 
be formed, taking care to press it well into 
all the cavities of the original, and to take it 
off clean, and without bending. The sub- 
stances used for moulding are various,, 
according to the nature and situation of the - 
sculpture. If it may be laid, horizontally, . 
and will bear to be oiled without injury,, 
plaister of Baris may be advantageously em- 
ployed, which may be poured over it to a 
convenient thickness, after oiling it to pre- 
vent the plaister from sticking. A com po- 
sition of bees-wax, .resin, and pitch, may also 
be used, which will 'be a very desirable mould, . 
if many casts are to be taken from it. But 
if the situation of the sculpture is perpendi- 
cular, so that nothing can be poured upon it, 
then clay, or some similar substance, must be 
used. The’ best kind of clay for this purpose 
is that used by the sculptors for making their 
models ; it must be worked to a due consist- 
ence, and having spread it out to a size suf- 
ficient to cover all the surface, it must b© 
sprinkled over with whiting, to prevent it 
from adhering to the original. Bees-wax and 
dough, or the crumb of new bread, may also 
be used for moulding some small subjects. 
When there are undercuttings in the has re- 
lief, they must be first filled up before it can 
be moulded, otherwise the mould could not 
be got off. When the casts are taken after- 
wards, these places must be worked out with 
a proper tool. 
When the model, or original subject, is of. 
a round form, or projects so much that it 
cannot be moulded in this manner, the mould . 
must be divided into several parts ; and it is 
frequently necessary to cast several paits se- 
