composing-stick 
and arranges the types that he picks out of the 
eases with his right hand. The composing-stick is 
fitted with a knee, adjustable, by means of a screw or a 
clamp, to any length of line required in printed work. 
The earliest composing-sticks were sticks of wood, with 
knees specially tacked on for different lengths of line ; but 
wooden sticks are now used only in setting hand-bills, or 
for other work requiring very long lines. 
Composite 1 (kom-poz'i-te), . pi. [NL., fern, 
pi. (sc. L. plantie, plants) of L. eompositus, com- 
posite: see composite.] The largest natural 
order of plants, including over 750 genera and 
10,000 species, distributed all over the globe 
wherever vegetation is found, and divided 
equally between the old world and the new. 
They form about a tenth of all phcnogam.ms plants, an 
eighth of those of North America, and in some regions 
even a larger proportion. They are herbs, or much more 
rarely shrubs, scarcely ever arborescent, and are of com- 
paratively slight economic importance. A few species 
are cultivated for food, as the artichoke (Ct/uara), the sal- 
sify (Traijopogon), and the lettuce (jMchica) ; others have 
useful medicinal properties ; and a very large number are 
cultivated for ornament. The flowers are gamopetalous 
and mostly pentanierotis, sessile in a close head (the com- 
pound flower of early botanists, whence the name of the 
order), and surrounded by an involucre of separate or 
connate bracts. The ovary is inferior and one-celled, and 
becomes an achcne in fruit, the calyx-limb being reduced 
to a circle of hairs, awns, scales, or teeth, called the 
pappus. The stamens are inserted on the corolla, and 
their anthers are united into a tube, on which account the 
name Synantherete has been sometimes given to the order. 
The genera of the order are divided into three series, de- 
pending upon the character of the corolla, viz.: (1) the 
Labiatcejlom (or Hutisiacete, of 59 genera, largely South 
American), having a bilabiate corolla, at least in the per- 
fect flowers; (2) the Ligtdi/lorce (or Cichoriacece, of 56 
such numbers as can be measured exactly by a number 
exceeding unity, as 6 by 2 or 3 : thus, 4 is the lowest com- 
posite number. Composite photograph, a single pho- 
tographic portrait produced from more than one sub- 
ject. The negatives from the individuals who are toenter 
into the composite photograph are so made as to show the 
faces as nearly as possible of the same size and lighting, 
and in the same position. These negatives are then printed 
so as to register together upon the same piece of paper, 
each being exposed to the light for the same fraction of 
the full time required for printing. It is believed that by 
study and comparison of such photographs made from 
Urge series of subjects, types of countenance, local, gen- 
eral, etc., can be obtained. Composite proof, in loyic, 
one involving several distinct inferences. Composite 
relation, a relation satisfied if, and only '<', some one of 
the component relations is satisfied. It i distinguished 
from an aggregate relation, which is satined if, and only 
if, all the partial relations are satisfWd. Composite 
sailing in nnn>., a combination of grt** circle and paral- 
lel sailing. Composite whole, in in4iapn.,t union of 
matter and form, or of ct and power. 
composition 
A preacher in the invention of matter, election of words, 
composition of gesture, look, pronunciation, motion, useth 
all these faculties at once. B. Jonson, Discoveries. 
2. Specifically, an act of combination such that 
the distinctive characters of the parts are modi- 
fied. [Bare.] 
The distinction of aggregation and composition runs 
through all cases of thought. In mathematics, it is seen 
in the distinction of addition and multiplication ; in chem- 
istry, in the distinction of mechanical mixture and chemi- 
cal combination ; in an act of parliament, in the distinc- 
tion between " and be it further enacted " and " Provided 
always," and so on. l)e Morgan, Syllabus, 170. 
3. That which results from composing, as a 
1152 
nation in the species or other subdivisions 
which constitute it: often applied to artificial 
groups composed of widely separated elements. 
Composite algebra, one separable into two, such 
that every two units belonging one to one algebra and the 
other to the other, and neither common to the two, when 
multiplied together give zero. Composite arch, the 
lancet or pointed arch, in some forms : so called because 
the sides are not arcs of circles, but are described each 
from two centers. This style of arch is more usual in the 
medieval architecture of England than in that of the conti- 
nent of Europe. See cut under lancet. Composite beam, 
carriage, group. See the nouns. Composite joint, 
in entom., a joint permitting both vertical and horizontal 
movement. Composite maxillae, in cutout., maxilla; 
having more than one lobe. Composite numbers, j v-.^oin s , aa a, 
literary, musical, or artistic production; spe- 
cifically, a short essay written as a school ex- 
ercise. 
Colourists always liked to introduce the sweeping lines 
of her white robes into their compositions. 
J. A. Symonds, Italy and Greece, p. 65. 
Long sentences ill a short composition are like large 
rooms in a small house. Shenstone. 
The best Persian compositions, alike in prose and in 
verse, art- marked by fine poetic imagery, combined with 
a profusion of metaphor. N. A. Rev., CXL. 331. 
4. That which results from the combination 
or union of several ingredients ; a compound : 
as, type-metal is a composition of lead and an- 
timony. 
Vast pillars of stone, cased over with a composition that 
looks . . . like marble. Addison. 
feet Bowers: a) tie lAenuinora (or (Aeoonocw, 01 DO -- ,. - .._.__;+:_ 
genera, mostly of the old world), in which the corollas are ferent elements ; a compound, a composition 
atter and form, or of ct and power. Snpcificnllv "> T>>o nr.TnV.ir ~e 
TT 1 ^nmpthino- made upof parts or dif- ncairy o. 1 He combination of materials 
" 1- ull d: a composition. !*i.cb .prmton ' mkmg-rollers are made. The 
all ligulate (strap-shaped) ; and (3) the Tutmlijlorce, hav- 
ing regular tubular corollas in all the perfect flowers. The 
last series is again divided into 11 tribes. The 10 largest 
genera of the order, including three tenths of the species, 
are Senecio (840 species, largely of South America and 
southern Africa), Kupatorium (430 species, all American), 
Vernonia (375 species, mostly tropical), Centaurea (316 
species, of the Mediterraneo-Persian region), Baecharis 
(250 species, mostly South American), Helichrysum (235 
species, of southern Africa and Australia), Aster (174 spe- 
cies, largely North American), Cnicus (165 species, of the 
Mediterraneo-Persian region and North America), Arte- 
misia (152 species, of Europe, Asia, and North America), 
and Hieracimn (150 species, of Europe, Asia, and North 
Al 
A. 
,gei_ ^ f _ ri -____ 
(W),~ Eti'paiormiii (39), Cnicus (37), Bigelovia (31), and 
Brickrllui (31) ; these genera include two fifths of the 
cies of North America. Also called Asteracece. 
Composite 2 (kom-poz'i-te), . pi. [NL., fern. 
of natural 
Harris, Hermes. 
Each man's understaii'Uhig . . . isa 
capacity and superinduced habit. 
They are the true cnmi"'*it "i moi^ey-and tiger, those 
Orientals. W. II. /fii*,. 0, lary in India, I. 288. 
2. Specifically, a composite potograph. 
When the composite portrait of tl class of '86 at Smith 
College was made, it was my plan make composites of 
the succeeding Senior classes, and hoped at some time 
to be able to secure composites of clses in other colleges. 
3. In bot., one of the i 
composition (kom-po-zish r o> n. 
posicion, -onn, = D. komj 
tion = Dan. Sw. kompositit 
[< ME. com- 
., D! kompitie = G. composi- 
w. kompo$itio< OF. composition, 
spe' F. composition = Sp. compcion = Pg. compo- 
siech> = lt. composisione, (Composition-), con- 
positio(ii-), a putting toget' r . connection, esp. 
ordinary ingredients are glue and molasses, boiled toge- 
ther In such proportions and to such a degree as to pro- 
duce an elastic substance of considerable durability. A 
kind called patent composition is composed chiefly of glue 
glycerin, and sugar. Often contracted to compo. 
6. The manner in which or the stuff of which 
anything is composed ; general constitution or 
make-up ; structure. 
So hath God given your majesty a composition of under- 
standing admirable. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, i. 2. 
These are the chief and prevailing ingredients in the 
composition of that man whom we call a scorner. 
Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, III. iii. 
Hence 7. Congruity; consistency. [Bare.] 
There is no composition in these news 
That gives them credit. Shak., Othello, i. 3. 
8. The compounding or reconciling of differ- 
ily BotrylUdai; the Synascidiai (which see). pound*, *>.] 1. The act composing or com- which the latter accepts part of the debt due 
composite (kom-poz'it or kom'po-zit), o. and n. pounding, or the state o*ing composed, com- to him in satisfaction of the whole. 
[< L. composiius, pp. of componere, put together : pounded, or made up ; i on ' different things 
see compose, compound 1 , t>.] I. a. 1. Made up or principles into an in('" ua l whole ; the pro- 
of distinct parts or elements; compounded; duction of a whole by tnnion or combination 
especially, so combined as to manifest diversity of parts, constituents, elements, 
of origin or make-up. 
Happiness, like air and water, . 
is composite. 
Landor. 
The method of Tennyson may be termed composite or 
idyllic : the former, as a process that embraces every va- 
riety of rhythm and technical effect ; the latter, as essen- 
tially descriptive. Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 5. 
Specifically 2. Made of parts so combined as 
to lose their distinctive characters. [Bare.] 
3. [cap.] In arc/i., an epithet applied to the last 
Dissolution goeth a faste 1 " 6 ' 11 "" Composition. 
Ilowell, Letters, I. iii. 30. 
The next operation we i observe in the mind about 
its ideas is composition ; re y P ut together several 
of those simple ones it har e l ve<1 fr <" sensation and re- 
flection, and combines tl into complex ones. 
Loc i, e man Understanding, II. xi. 6. 
Gray ... has found tn ,at there must go a million 
of ancestors in twenty "rations to everybody's compo- 
sition. w alpole, Letters, II. 183. 
U. I Vf.tr /./ I -Li! ((/ tx/t < 0*11 CLJl H1CI; BUUU0U uv Hjy - . 
of the five orders,because the capital which char- Specifically -(o) The ' producing a literary work. 
lonic. Its cornice has 
simple modillions or den- 
tils. It is also called the 
Boman or the Italic or- 
der. 
4. In ship-l)uilding, 
having a wooden 
skin on an iron 
framework : as, a 
composite vessel ; a 
vessel built on the 
composite principle. 
5. In bot., belong- 
ing to the order Com- 
posite; having the 
characters of this or- 
der: as, a composite 
composite order. pl an t; a composite 
flower. See Composite; 1 . 6. In sool., marked 
(as a genus, order, etc.) by wide range of va- 
acterizes it is com- 
posed from those of 
other orders, bor- 
rowing a quarter- 
round from the Tus- 
can or Boman Doric, 
a rank of leaves from 
the Corinthian, and *-ji>v, ^jpc-oti.* . "L r v*7"~r ;* 
frnm t hn of type for use in induction of printed sheets, mclud- 
volutes tne j / s ttill(I con . e of errors, making up, and imposi- 
'""" Won (<0In j>A Lhe uni " n of two (rarely more than 
two) independents to $ orm a single word (called 
The labor of compc'A. "egi'is when you have to put 
your separate thread thought into a loom ; to weave 
them into a continu wl }ole ; to connect, to introduce 
them ; to blow them or to expand them ; to carry them 
to a close. " e Qumcey, Style, ii. 
Hi) The art of put w rds and sentences together in 
accordance with tl lles of grammar and rhetoric: as, 
Greek prose comj'. m - ( c ) In pnntiny, the setting 
of type ; type-sett _'", w . lder sense, the preparation 
a (e) In we." ' omposing music according 
to scientific ml 1 'omposition is said to be strict when it 
follows certaii >!?mzel1 nlles of musical form, mAfree 
when It is mo' le88 independent of such rules. ( f) In 
the line arts, e 'ent or grouping of parts, especially 
harmonious r!" 8 ' ? r tllat combination of the several 
parts whereb ''ject or an object is agreeably presented 
to the mind, I >art bel "8 subordinate to the whole. 
Light spa' Ior ; that subtle synthesis of lines and 
forms whic most Influential master Claude taught 
him and v*" e cal1 composition. 
Sew Princeton Rev., II. 33. 
(g) Combi ' ' orderl y disposition ; regulation. 
OuestiQ- low <l eep they should set it [the cross], with 
hat oofeL*L*Sjra*lP it, and the like 
i, Pilgrimage, p. 782. 
what 
There ys no ffoundacyon of any suche Chaunntry, but a 
certayne composiajon or ordynaunce made betwene the 
prior and munkes of the late Monasterye of Tykfforde 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 260. 
Thus we are agreed : 
I crave our composition may be written 
And seal'd between us. Shak., A. and C., ii. 6. 
Do they think by their mile attempts to dethrone the 
Majesty of Heaven, or by standing at the greatest defiance 
to make him willing to come to terms of composition with 
them ? Stillingjleet, Sermons, I. ii. 
The private making of candles for consumption at home 
was allowed under a composition for the duty 
S. Dowell, Taxes in England, IV. 317. 
9. The sum or rate paid, or agreed to be paid, 
in compounding with creditors: as, he has 
agreed to pay a composition of 60 cents on the 
dollar, or of 12 shillings in the pound. 
A granting of escheat lands for two pounds of tobacco 
per acre, composition. Severity, Virginia, i. If 3. 
10. In music: (n) The combination of sounds 
which form a compound stop in an organ, (b) 
A mechanical contrivance for moving the han- 
dles of organ-stops in groups. lit. The syn- 
thetical mode of procedure in investigation or 
exposition; synthesis. 
The investigation of different things by the method of 
analysis ought ever to precede the method of composition. 
Newton, Opticks. 
Antifriction compositions. See antifriction. Can- 
nabic composition. See cannabic. Composition 
Cloth, a material made from long flax, and dressed with 
a solution which renders it water-proof. It is used for 
bags, trunk-covers, etc. Composition deed, a contract 
between creditors and their debtor effecting a composi- 
tion, usually in a manner to bind the creditors not to 
molest the debtor. Composition face. Same as com- 
position plane. Composition metal, a kind of brass 
made of copper, zinc, etc., used instead of copper, which 
is dearer, as sheathing for vessels. Composition Of 
displacements, strains, velocities, accelerations 
forces, stresses, etc., in mech., the union or combina- 
tion of two or more forces or velocities, acting in the same 
or different directions, into a single equivalent force or 
velocity. Thus, two forces acting in the directions of the 
adjacent sides of a parallelogram, provided the lengths of 
these sides represent also the magnitudes of the forces are 
