CAM 
CALYX, among botanists, ,a general, term 
expressing the cup of a flower, or that part 
of a plant which surrounds aud supports the 
other parts of the flower. Linnasus de- 
scribes it to be the termination of the corti- 
cal epidermis, or outer bark of the plant, 
which after accompanying the trunk or 
stem through all its branches, breaks out 
with the flower, and is present in the fruc- 
tification in this new form. He has distin- 
guished it into seven different kinds. 1. A 
perianth, contiguous to the other parts 
of the fructification. This is frequently 
called empalement, orflower-cup, by Enghsh 
writers, and to it, as professor Martyn well 
observes, should tiie term cup, if admitted 
at all, be confined. 2. An involucre, re- 
mote from the flower, as in many umbelli- 
ferous plants. 3. An amentum, or catkin, 
from a common, chaffy, gemmaceous re- 
ceptacle. 4. A spathe, bursting longitudi- 
nally. 6. A glume, formed of valves em- 
bracing the seed. 6. A calyptra, covering 
the capsules of mosses like a hood. 7. A 
volva, a membranaceous covering to the 
fructification of the fungi. The involucre is 
rather a number of bractes; and the amen- 
tum, a species of inflorescence. See Bo- 
tany. 
CAMAX, in botany, a genus of the Pen- 
tendria Monogynia class and order. Essen- 
tial character; corolla, wheel-shaped ; fila- 
ments inserted between the segments of 
the corolla ; berry four-celled, many seeded, 
all villose. There is but one species ; wz. 
-C. guianensis, is a shrub growing to the 
height of fifteen feet ; it is a native of 
•Guiana, and flowers in January. The in- 
habitants and negroes use the branches of 
this shrub for wattling their huts. 
CAMBLET, or Camlet, a plain stuff, 
composed of a warp and woof, which is ma- 
nufactured on a loom, with two treddles. 
There are eamblets of several sorts, some 
of goat’s hair, both in the warp and woof; 
others, in which the warp is of hair, and the 
woof half hair and half silk; others again, 
in which both the warp and the woof are of 
wool ; and lastly, some, of which the warp 
is of wool and the woof of thread. Some are 
dyed in thread, others are dyed in the 
piece, others are marked or mixed ; some 
are striped, some waved or watered, and 
some figured. 
Camblets are proper for several uses, ac- 
cording to their different kinds and quali- 
ties ; some serve to make garments both 
for men and women; some for bed-cur- 
tains; others for household furniture, &p. 
CAM 
CAMBGGIA, in botany, a genus of the 
Polyandria Monogynia class and order. 
Natural order of Tricoccaa. Guttiferac, 
Jussieu. Essential character : corolla four- 
petalled ; calyx four-leaved; pome eight- 
celled; seeds solitary. There is but one 
species ; viz. C. gutta, is a tall tree, with a 
trunk sometimes as thick as two men can 
compass, with spreading, opposite branches ; 
native of the East Indies and China ; it is 
very abundant in Siam and Cambodia, 
where incisions are made in the bark, and 
a great quantity of gunimi guttce, or gam- 
boge, is extracted and exported into fo- 
reign countries ; it is very much in use for 
miniature paint;ing and water colours. 
CAMEL, in zoology, a genus of quad- 
rupeds, of the order of Pecora; distin- 
guished from the rest by having no horns. 
See Camelus. 
CAMELEON mineral, a compound so 
called on account of the changes of colour 
which it exhibits. It is prepared from the 
black oxide of manganese finely levigated, 
and purified nitre in the proportion of one 
part of the former to five of the latter. 
They are to be fused together for half an 
hour at a high heat, in an earthen crucible. 
A green mass is produced, which delique- 
ates by exposure to the atnmspliere, and 
of course requires to be kept in a well-stop- 
ped vial. It readily dissolves in hot water, 
making a dark-green solution. This solu- 
tion, though kept in a close vessel, will in a 
few days deposit a yellow powder, and the 
liquor becomes of a fine blue, which, being 
diluted with water, assumes a violet colour 
that afterwards grows red, and finally loses 
its colour, a grey oxide of manganese being 
thrown down. By the addition of a few 
drops of acid to the blue liquor, the change 
to the red is instantaneous, and the colour 
is a very beautiful tint, between crimson 
and pink. 
CAMELLIA, in botany, a genus of the 
Monadelphia Polyandria class and order. 
Natural order of Columnifeim. Aurantia, 
Jussieu. Essential character : calyx imbri- 
cate, many-leaved ; the inner leaflets larger. 
There are three species, of which C. japoni- 
ca, Japan rose, is a great and lofty tree, in 
high esteem with the Japanese for the ele- 
gance of its beautiful flowers, which exhi- 
bit a great variety of colours, and for its 
evergr een leaves ; but has no scent. It is 
common in their gardens, flowering from 
October to April. It varies with single 
and double flowers, white, red, and purple, 
It is also a native of China. 
