CYC 
by Mr. Bewick, whose engravings of animals, 
Sec; on wood may vie in beauty and excellence 
with the choicest copper-plates. The cutter 
in wood needs no other instruments than 
little sharp knives, chisels, and gravers of 
different sizes. - r J’he first thing lie does, is 
to take a plank or block of pear-tree, or box, 
which he prepares of the size and thickness 
intended, and makes it very even and 
smooth on the side to be cut : on this block 
he draws the design with a pen or pencil 
just as it ought to be printed. Those who 
cannot draw their own designs, make use 
of those done by another, which they, fasten 
on the block with paste, the strokes or lines 
being turned towards the wood: when the 
paper is dry, they wash it gently over with 
a springe dipped in water ; which done, they 
take off the' paper by degrees, still rubbing 
it a little with the tip of the finger, till there 
is nothing left on the block but the strokes 
of ink that form the design, which mark out 
so much of the block as is to be spared, or 
left standing ; the rest they cut off and take 
away as curiously as they can, with the point 
of their sharp instruments. 
CYAN ELLA, a genus of the hexandria 
monogynia class and order. The cor. is 
six-petalled ; stamens lower, declined larger 
than the rest. There are three species, na- 
tives of Africa. % 
CY ANILE, a stone commonly found in 
granite rocks. The primitive form of its 
crystals is a four-sided oblique prism, the 
sides of which are inclined at an angle of 
130°. The base forms with one side of the 
prism an angle of 103°, with another an 
angle of 77°. It is sometimes crystallized in 
six-sided prisms. Its texture is foliated ; 
fracture radiated; rays curved and inter- 
laced; fragments long and splintery. It 
causes single refraction, and its specific gravity 
is from 3.5 to 3.6: feels somewhat greasy. 
Its colour is white, with shades of sky or 
Prussian blue. 
CYATHUS, in Homan antiquity, a liquid 
measure, containing lour Jhgulas, or half a 
pint English wine-measure, being 469y 
solid inches. 
CYC AS, in botany, a genus of plants be- 
longing to the first natural order, palmae. 
The fruit is a dry plum with a bivalved ker- 
nel. There are two species: l.The circi- 
nalis, or sago-tree, grows spontaneously in 
the East Indies, and particularly on the coast 
of Malabar. It runs up with a straight trunk 
to 40 feet or more, having many circles the 
whole length, occasioned by the old leaves 
falling off; for, standing in a circular order 
round the stem, and embracing it with their 
base, whenever they drop, they leave the 
marks of their adhesion behind. 1 he- leaves 
are pinnated, and grow to the length of se- 
ven or eight feet. The pinnae or lobes are 
long, narrow, entire, of a shining green, all 
the way of a breadth, lance-shaped at the 
point, are closely crowded together, and 
stand at right angles on each side the mid- 
rib, like the teeth of a comb. The flowers 
are produced in long bunches at the foot- 
stalks of the leaves, and are succeeded by 
oval fruit, about the size of large plums, of 
a red colour when ripe, and a sweet flavour. 
Each contains a hard brown nut, inclosing 
a white meat, which tastes like a chesnut. 
This is a valuable tree to the inhabitants 
of India, as it not only furnishes a consider- 
4 
CYC 
able part of their constant bread, but also 
supplies them with a great article of trade. 
The trunk contains a farinaceous substance, 
which they extract from it and make into 
bread in this maimer : They saw the body 
into small pieces, and after beating them in a 
mortar, pour water upon the mass ; this is 
left for some hours to settle. When fit, it is 
strained through a cloth ; and the finer par-, 
tides of the mealy substance running through 
with the water, the gross ones are left behind 
and thrown away. After the farinaceous 
part has sufficiently subsided, the water is 
poured off, and the meal being properly 
dried, is occasionally made into cakes and 
baked. These cakes are said to eat nearly 
as well as w'heaten bread, and are the sup- 
port of the inhabitants for three or four 
months in the year, 
7’ he same meal more finely pulverized, 
and reduced into granules, is what is called 
sago, which is sent into all parts of Europe, 
and sold in the shops as a great strengthener 
and restorative. There is a sort of sago 
made in the West Indies, and sent to Eu- 
rope, in the same manner as that from the 
East; but the West India sago is far inferior 
in quality to the other. It is supposed to 
be made from the pith of the areca oleracea. 
See Areca. 
f . The cycas revoluta, or brood boom (or 
bread-tree) of the Ilottentos, a plant disco- 
vered by professor Tlninberg. The pith, or 
medulla, which abounds in the trunk of this 
little palm, Mr. Sparman informs us, is col- 
lected and tied up in dressed calf or sheep- 
skins, and then buried in the earth for the 
space of several weeks, till it becomes suf- 
ficiently mellow and tender to be kneaded 
up with water into a paste, of which they af- 
terwards make small loaves or cakes, and 
bake them under the ashes. Other Hotten- 
tots not quite so nice, nor endued with pa- 
tience enough to wait this tedious method 
of preparing it, are said to dry and roast 
the pith or marrow, and afterwards make a 
kind of frumenty of it. See PI. N. II. lig. 154. 
CYCLAMEN, Sowbread, a genus of 
the monogynia order, in the pentandria class 
of plants ; and in the natural method ranking 
under the 21st order, precis. The corolla 
is verticillated, with the tube very short, 
and the throat prominent; the berry is co- 
vered with the capsule. There are five spe- 
cies, which produce many beautiful varie- 
ties. They are low, herbaceous, flowery 
perennials, of the tuberous-rooted kind, with 
numerous angular, heart-shaped, spotted, 
marbled leaves; with many fleshy footstalks 
six inches high, carrying monopetalous, five- 
parted, reflexed flowers, of various colours. 
All the varieties are extremely ornamented, 
and some of the flowers very fragrant. They 
may be planted in any of the common bord- 
ers, but require to be sheltered from hard 
frosts by being covered with mats. They 
should also have a light dry soil, otherwise 
their roots are apt to rot. The species are 
propagated by seeds, and the particular va- 
rieties by dividing their roots. The root of 
the cyclamen has, when fresh, an extremely 
acrimonious taste, which it loses upon being 
dried. 
CYC LAS, a genus of the decandria mo- 
nog’s nia class and order. The cal. is four- 
parted ; cor. none ; filaments inserted in the 
neck oi the style, flexuose ; legume roundish,. 
CYC 477 
winged, one-seeded. There arc two spe- 
cies, trees of Guiana. 
Cyclas, a genus of testacea of the class 
of bivalves; shells somewhat transverse, 
without a fold on the anterior side : exterior 
ligament recurved; hinge of three teeth; 
lateral teeth elongated, lanielUform, and 
let into a groove in the opposite valve. 
This genus contains seven or eight species-, 
mostly inhabiting fresh water pools. Animal 
acephalous, with two tubes projecting on one 
side, arid on the other, a foot linguiform, or 
tongue-shaped. According to Geollroy, it- 
is. viviparous : the species most common in 
Europe is the cyclas cornea, which is glo- 
bous, smooth, horn-coloured, with transverse 
furrows, size of a large pea, inhabits pools 
of fresh water. See Plate Nat. Hist. fig. 155. 
CYCLE, in chronology, a certain period 
or series of years, which regularly proceed 
from the first to the last, and then return 
again to the first, and circulate perpetually. 
The mast considerable cycles are those ol tiie 
sun, of the moon, and of the lfoman indiction. 
The cycle of the sun consists of twenty- 
eight years, which contain all the, possible 
combinations of the dominical ietters, in re- 
spect to their successive order, as pointing 
out the common years and leap-years ; so 
that, after the expiration of the cycle, tlie 
days of the month return in the same 
order to the same days of the week, through- 
out the next cycle ; except that upon every 
centesimal year which is not a leap-year, 
the letters mustal\vays be removed one place 
forward, to make them answer to the years 
of the cycle. For instance, if the year 1800 
was a leap-year, as every centesimal year 
is in the Julian account, the dominicai letters 
would be ED, and C would be the domini- 
cal letter of the next year; but as it is a com- 
mon year in the Gregorian account, D is 
the dominical letter of 1801, which answers 
to the eighteenth of the cycle, C to the nine- 
teenth, &c. until the next centesimal y«ar.. 
See Dominicai. letter. 
To find the year of this cycle for any year 
of the Christian ana, add 9 to the current 
year of Christ, because the cycle com- 
menced nine years before the Christian ara, 
and divide the sum by 28, the quotient will 
shew the number of cycles which have re- 
volved since the beginning of that in which 
the Christian a'ra commenced ; and the re- 
mainder, if any, shews the current year of 
the cycle : but if there be no remainder, it 
it shews that it is the last or twenty-eighth 
year of the cycle. 
Cycle of the moon, or lunar cycle, called 
also the golden number, is a period of nine- 
teen years,, after which the new and full 
moons return on the same days of the months,, 
only one hour twenty-eight minutes sooner; 
so that, on whatever days the new and full 
moon fall this year, they will happen nine- 
teen years hence on the same days of the 
months, except when a centesimal common 
year falls within the cycle, which will move 
the new and full moons a day later in the 
calendar than otherwise they would have* 
fallen ; insomuch that a new main which fell, 
before the. centesimal year, suppose on 
March 10, will fall nineteen years after- 
wards on March 11, The number of years 
elapsed, in this cycle is called the prime,, 
from its use in pointing out the day of the 
new moon, primum lunx ; and the golden- 
