CRO 
possibility of deception, he then re-ap- 
proached, and saw the parent open the 
same asylum, and the offspring avail them- 
selves of it with the same celerity; after 
which the snake moved beyond his observa- 
tion. From experiments made on various 
dogs by the bite of this snake, one was killed 
in a quarter of a minute ; another, bitten 
afterwards, in two hours ; and a third, bitten 
last, in above three. It was a matter of 
natural curiosity to ascertain whether the 
animal would destroy itself by its bite, and, 
being pi-ovoked by some means to inflict on 
itself a wound, it expired in about twelve 
minutes afterwards. 
CROTCHES, in ship-building, very 
crooked timbers in the hold or bread-room, 
from the mizen-step aft, fayed cross the 
keelson, to strengthen the ship in the wake 
of the half timbers. 
CROTCHET, in music, one of the notes 
or characters of time, marked thus equal 
to half a minim, and double of a quaver. 
Ckotchet, in printing, a sort of straight 
or curved line, always turned up at each 
extreme; serving to link such articles as 
are to be read together; and used in ana- 
lytical tables, &c. for facilitating the divi- 
sions and subdivisions of any subject. 
Crotchets are also marks or characters, 
serving to inclose a word or sentence, which 
is distinguished from the rest, being gene- 
rally in this form [ ] or this ( ). 
CROTON, in botany, a genus of the 
Monoecia Monadelphia class and order. 
Natural order of TricoceEe. Euphorbiae, 
Jussieu. Essential character : male, calyx 
cylindric, five-toothed ; corolla five-petalled ; 
stamens ten to fifteen : female, calyx many- 
leaved; corolla none; styles three, bifid; 
capsule three-celled ; seed one. Thqre are 
53 species. The plants of this numerous 
genus are herbaceous, or more frequently 
shrubby. Leaves accompanied with sti- 
pules, generally alternate, seldom opposite : 
flowers axillary, or terminating usually in 
spikes ; but sometimes in corymbs ; the 
spikes are mostly monaecous. These plants 
are chiefly inhabitants of the East and West 
Indies. 
CROTOPHAGI, the ani, in natural his- 
tory, a genus of birds of the order Picas. 
Generic character ; bill compressed, semi- 
oval, arched and cultrated at the top ; nos- 
trils round ; tongue flat, pointed at the end ; 
tail of ten feathers; toes two before and 
two behind. There ai'e four species ; the 
principal of which is the C. ani, or the lesser 
ani. These are found in many parts of the 
CRO 
West Indies and South America, and are 
about the size of a blackbird. A curious 
peculiarity connected with the history of 
these birds is, that many females will unite 
in the construction of one nest, where each 
will deposit a certain number of eggs, and 
contribute her part to the general process 
of incubation. Each will also contribute 
after the young are hatched to provide, as 
far as her means extend, for the whole fa- 
mily. As soon as she has laid her eggs, the 
female has been remarked invariably to 
cover them with leaves, never failing also 
to do the same previously to her short ab- 
sences in quest of food. In the wrarm cli- 
mate of the West Indies this singularity is 
not easily accounted for. The food of these 
birds varies with the season, and consists of 
grain, worms, and insects, as well as fruit. 
They appear in flocks of about twenty, are 
rank and unpalatable as food, and by a 
chattering and screaming noise, which they 
utter under every impression of danger, 
often interrupt and defeat the hopes of the 
sportsman, by alarming valuable game be- 
yond the reach of his efibrts. 
CROW. See Corves. 
Crow, in mechanics, a kind of iron-lever 
with a claw at one end, and a sharp point 
at the other ; used for heaving or purchas- 
ing great weights. 
Crow’s feet, in the military art, ma- 
chines of iron, having four points, each 
about three or four inches long, so made, 
that whatever way they fall there is still a 
point up : they are thrown upon breaches, or 
in passes where the enemy’s cavalry are to 
march, proving very troublesome by nm- 
ning into the horse’s feet and laming them. 
CROWEA, in botany, a genus of the 
Decandria Monogynia class and order. 
Calyx five-parted ; petals five, sessile ; sta- 
mina flat, subulate, connected by inter- 
woven hairs; antheroe growing longitudi- 
nally from the inner part of the filaments ; 
capsules five-united; seeds coated. One 
species ; viz. the saligna, a native of Aus- 
tralasia. 
CROWN, an ornament worn on the head 
by kings, sovereign princes, and noblemen, 
as a mark of their dignity. 
Crown, in heraldry, is used for the re- 
presentation of that ornament, in the mant- 
ling of an armory to express the dignity of 
persons. See Heraldry. 
Crown, in commerce, a general name 
for coins, both foreign and domestic, which 
are of the value of five shillings sterling. 
See Coin. 
