860 COOP. 
species of conveyance, by enacting, that, where it 
was made, the fee should pass to the person for 
whose benefit the grant was made, so that the 
effect should be the same as if the conveyance 
had been made to him directly. To evade this 
statute trusts were invented, whereby the land 
was conveyed to one, for the use of another, in 
trust for a third; and the courts, favouring this 
evasion of the statute, held that, in such case, 
the fee would pass to the second, to be held for 
the use and benefit of the third; thus effecting, 
by the intervention of another party to the con- 
veyance, what the statute was intended to pre- 
vent. This contrivance has rendered the system 
of conveyancing very intricate and complicated 
in England. 
CONYZA. See Fieapane. 
COOP. A pen, or small covered enclosure, for 
confining and feeding poultry, lambs, or other 
small domestic animals; also a cart or tumbrel 
so enclosed as to retain the particles of sand, 
grain, or any similarly formed material. 
COPAIBA, or Capivi,—botanically Copacfera. 
A genus of balsamiferous, medicinal, evergreen, 
tropical trees, of the ceesalpinia division of the 
leguminous order. ‘Two species, C. officinalis and 
C. guianensis, have been introduced to British 
hothouses ; and twelve other species have been de- 
scribed. Almost all the species yield the copaiba 
balsam of the drug-shop; a species called C. mzl- 
tujuga, which grows wild in Para, yields it in 
largest quantity ; and the officinal species, on ac- 
count of its being best known in Britain, may be 
briefly noticed as the most suitable specimen of 
the genus, C. officinalis is a native of the Span- 
ish West Indies and tropical South America; it 
particularly abounds in the woods of Carthagena 
and of some parts of Brazil; and it was intro- 
duced to Britain in 1774. Its stem is clothed 
with a brownish, ash-coloured bark, branches at 
the top, and usually attains a height of about 30 
feet ; its leaves are pinnated and large, and con- 
sist of four pairs of folioles and a terminating 
odd one; its folioles are petiolate, alternate, ovate, 
pointed, ferruginous, entire, shining, and two or 
three inches long; its flowers have a white col- 
our, and are produced in stiff, spreading, termi- 
nal racemes ; and its pods are oval and two-valved, 
each containing a single egg-shaped seed. The 
copaiba balsam of commerce is obtained by 
wounding or boring the trees to the pith ;»it flows 
out clear and limpid, and afterwards becomes 
thickish and yellowish by keeping; and it is im- 
ported from Brazil to Britain in small casks. 
When genuine, it has a hot, bitterish, nauseous 
taste, a peculiar but agreeable odour, and a pale 
golden yellow colour; and when kept well corked 
in bottles, it has the consistency of a thickish 
oil, but when exposed in a somewhat thin 
stratum to the air, it gradually becomes as dry, 
solid, and brittle as resin. In chemical constitu- 
tion, it has a much closer relation to the turpen- 
tines than to most of the balsams. But it is ex- 
COPPER. 
ceedingly often adulterated with rape oil, with 
castor oil, or with a mixture of oil and mastich, 
and cannot, without difficulty, be obtained genu- 
ine. Ovopaiba balsam is diuretic, stimulating, 
and gently aperient; it is serviceable in hzemor- 
rhoidal affections, and has been recommended in 
pulmonary complaints; and it is very extensively 
employed in several diseases of the generative 
organs. It might be of much service as a cattle 
medicine; but is hindered from coming into gen- 
eral use by its dearth and its very frequent adul- 
teration. In cases where it ought to be em- 
ployed, most veterinary surgeons use some com- 
mon diuretic. 
COPAL. A remarkable resin, extensively used 
in the arts. It is the produce of a hardy, deci- 
duous, ornamental shrub, of the sumach genus, 
—ILthus copallina. This shrub is a native of 
North America, and was introduced to Britain 
in the latter part of the 17th century. Its stem 
and branches are covered with a smooth brown 
bark, and usually attain a height of about 6 feet ; 
its leaves are pinnated, beautifully arranged, and 
most handsome in appearance,—each having four 
or five pairs of folioles, a terminating lentiscular 
odd one, and a membrane or wing on each side 
of the folioles running from pair to pair; its fo- 
lioles are small, green, and shining; and its flow- 
ers have a greenish-yellow colour, grow in large 
loose panicles, appear in August and September, 
and make but an inconspicuous figure. The re- 
sin obtained from this shrub exists in smooth, 
brittle, transculent, roundish, small masses, has 
little taste and scarcely any odour, is fusible by 
heat, inflammable by ignition, insoluble in water, 
very sparingly soluble in alcohol, and fully soluble 
in sulphuric ether and some essential oils. It is 
the characteristic ingredient of the well-known 
copal varnish,—an article requiring operose and 
careful manufacture, but distinguished for the 
brilliance, durability, hardness, and resistance of 
its exquisite polish. 
COPPER. A well-known metal, of a red col- 
our, with a tinge of yellow, having considerable 
lustre, but liable to tarnish and rust from expo- 
sure to the air. It is moderately hard, and has 
considerable ductility and malleability. Its spe- 
cific gravity is 8°78. It has a sensible odour, 
especially when heated or rubbed, a styptic, un- 
pleasant taste, and is peculiarly poisonous to 
animals. Copper melts at a full white heat, and, 
by slow cooling, may be crystallized. It suffers 
oxidation at a lower temperature from the action 
of the air, thin scales of oxide forming on its sur- 
face when it is heated to redness. At a higher 
heat, it burns with a green flame. Exposure to 
air and humidity, at the natural temperatures, 
converts it into a green rust, which is the oxide 
combined with a portion of carbonic acid. — 
There are two oxides of copper. The protoxide 
is of a red colour, and occurs native, in the form 
of octoedral crystals, in the mines of Cornwall. 
It is also prepared artificially, by mixing 64 parts 
