cue 
hi to the young iistii'per, which were all 
similarly disposed of. He observes, that in 
another instance, two cuckows and a hedge- 
sparrow w'ere hatched in the same nest, and 
one hedge-sparrow’s egg remained imhatch- 
ed. Within a few hours a conflict began 
between the two ciickows for the possession 
of the nest, wiiich was conducted with ex- 
treme spirit and vigour, and in which each 
appeared 'occasionally to have the advan- 
tage, lifting its adversary to the vei-y brink 
of tiie nest, and then, from exhaustion of 
strength, sinking with it again to the bot- 
tom. These vicissitudes of success were 
repeated and reiterated, but tow'ards the 
close of the following day, the contest was 
decided in favour of the bird which was ra- 
ther the larger of the two, who completely 
expelled his rival ; after which, the egg and 
the young hedge-sparrow were dislodged 
with extreme facility. The infant con- 
queror was brought up by the step-mother 
with the most assiduous affection. The sa- 
gacity of the female cuckow appears not in- 
considerable in her introducing her egg 
into the nests of birds whose young are 
inferior in size and strength to the young 
cuckow, and which the latter is conse- 
quently able to exclude wilhout difficulty 
from its usurped dominions. See Aves, 
Plate VI. fig. 1. 
C. Indicator, or the Honey-guide. Tliis 
is an inhabitant of tlie interior of Africa, 
and is supposed to feed principally upon ho- 
ney ; it is at least extremely fond of it, and 
possesses an extraordinary sagacity in dis- 
covering where it is to be found. The 
Dutch farmers and Hottentots near the 
Cape, are reported to derive essential ser- 
vice from this bird. They imitate its pecu- 
liar sounds in the morning or evening, be- 
fore it goes to feed, till they at length get 
within hearing and sight of it ; and when it 
moves off to its repast, they follow, as cor- 
rectly as they are able, the direction of its 
flight, and scarcely ever fail to arrive at some 
store of wild honey, of which, it is added, 
they make a liberal allowance to their little 
guide. It is certain, however, that these 
people have an extreme regard, and almost 
veneration for this bird, founded on its utility; 
and the curiosity of the celebrated Dr. 
Span-man was not gratified by tlie desti-uc- 
tion of one, as a specimen for his collec- 
tions, without exciting high resentment and 
disdain. 
CUCUMIS, in botany, a genus of the 
Monoecia Syngenesia class and order. Na- 
tural order of Cucurbitacese. . Essential 
CUL 
character ; calyx five-tootlied ; corolla live- 
parted. Male, filaments three. Female, 
pistil three-cleft ; pome with argute seeds. 
There are thirteen species. Tliese are all 
annual plants, with herbaceous scandent 
stems. C. sativus, commdn cucumber, ge- 
nei-ally cultivated for the tables, is so well- 
known, as not to require a particular de- 
scription. C. melo, common or musk me- 
lon, belongs to this genus. There is a great 
variety of this fruit cultivated in this coun- 
try, especially by those who supply the 
markets, where their size is chiefly regard- 
ed, so that by endeavouring to increase 
their bulk, the fruit becomes of little value. 
For a particular and elaborate description 
of this genus the reader may consult Martyn's 
excellent edition of Millar's Dictionary. 
CUCURBITA, in botany, a genus of the 
Monoecia Syngenesia class and order. Na- 
tural order of Cucurbitacese. Essential 
character : calyx five-toothed ; corolla five- 
cleft. Male, filaments three. Female, pis- 
tils five-cleft ; seeds of the pome with a 
swelling margin. There are seven species. 
The plants of this genus are very nearly 
allied to those of cnemnis, and are distin- 
guished from it chiefly by the swelling rim 
of the seed. Like them they are annual, 
with trailing herbaceous stems, furnished 
with tendrils for climbing. 
CUCURBITACdE, in botany, the name 
of the thirty-fourth order in Linn-deiis’s frag- 
ments of a natural method, consisting of 
plants which resemble the gourd in external 
figure, habit, virtues, and sensible qualities. 
These are divided into two sections. — 
1. Those with hei-maphrodite flowers, as the 
passion-flower. 2. Those with male and 
female flowers produced either on the same 
or distinct roots, as the cucumber, &c. In 
these the male flowers are generally sepa- 
rated from the female on the same root, and 
that either in the same angle of the leaves, 
as in the sicyos or serpent cucumber ; or in 
different angles, as in the gourd, and some 
species of the bryony. 
CUIRASS, a piece of defensive armour, 
made gf iron plate, well hammered, serving 
to cover the body from the neck to the gir- 
dle, both before and behind. 
CULEX, gnat, in natural history, a ge- 
nus of insects of tlie order Diptera. Gene- 
ric character: mouth consisting of setaceous 
piercers within a flexible sheath ; antennae 
approximate, filiform. Gmelin enumerates 
fourteen species. The common gnat is 
produced fVom an aquatic larva of a very 
singular appearance, which, when first 
