Part 96

2. (Moxon.) Cow's horn or hoof is baked or thoroughly dried and pulverised; to this is added an equal quantity of bay salt, and the whole is made into a paste with stale chamber-lye, or white wine vinegar; the iron is covered with this mixture, and bedded in it, in loam, or inclosed in an iron box. In this form it is laid on the hearth of the forge to dry and harden, then it is put into the fire, and blown till the lump has a blood-red heat (no higher). It is hardened as before.

3. Coat the goods with a paste made of a concentrated solution of prussiate of potash and loam; then expose them to a strong red heat, and when it has fallen to a dull red, plunge the whole into cold water.

4. The goods, previously polished and finished, are heated to a bright-red, and rubbed or sprinkled over with prussiate of potash. As soon as the prussiate appears to be decomposed and dissipated the articles are plunged into cold water.

_Obs._ The process of case-hardening has been well conducted when the surface of the metal proves sufficiently hard to resist a file. The last two plans are a great improvement upon the common method. By the topical application of prussiate of potash (ferrocyanide of potassium) any part of a piece of iron may be case-hardened without interfering with the rest.

=Case-hardening Powders.= _Syn._ CASE-HARDENING COMPOSITIONS. 1. Prussiate of potash, dried and powdered.

2. Prussiate of potash, 3 parts; sal-ammoniac, 1 part; mix.

3. Sal-ammoniac and bone-dust, of each 2 parts; prussiate of potash, 1 part. (See _above_.)

=CA'SEIN.= _Syn._ CA'SEUM, CA'SEIN, LACTALBU'MEN, ALBUMEN OF MILK. The nitrogenous principle of milk. Cheese made from skimmed milk and well pressed is nearly pure casein. (Liebig.)

_Prep._ 1. The curd obtained by adding dilute sulphuric acid to milk is well washed and dissolved in carbonate of soda. It is allowed to stand for 24 hours, to let the oil rise to the surface, and when this is properly skimmed off, the casein is precipitated by an acid. The process is repeated a second time, and the coagulum digested with alcohol and ether, and dried. With all these precautions the casein still contains some saline matter which cannot be removed.

2. Milk is coagulated by hydrochloric acid, and the curd then well washed with dilute acid, and finally with pure water. The curd so prepared is dissolved by digestion at 110° Fahr., with a large quantity of water; the solution, after filtration, is coagulated with carbonate of ammonia; the coagulum is washed with water, ether, and alcohol, and finally dried.

_Prop., &c._ Coagulated casein is readily dissolved by the alkalies and alkaline carbonates. The most remarkable property of casein is its coagulation by certain animal membranes, as in the process of cheese-making with rennet. See LACTARIN.

=CASKS.= The care and management of casks is an important affair in a large establishment. It is found that they last longest when stored either in a dry situation, or in one uniformly very moist. Continual variations from the one to the other speedily rot them. As soon as casks are emptied they should be bunged down quite air-tight, with as much care as if they were full, by which means they will be preserved both sweet and sound. Should any of the hoops become loose they should be immediately driven up tight, which will at once prevent the liability of their being lost or misplaced, as well as the casks fouling or becoming musty from the admission of air. For this purpose those out of use should be occasionally hauled over and examined.

Numerous plans are adopted for CLEANING and PURIFYING CASKS, among which are the following:--

1. Wash them well out with oil of vitriol, diluted with an equal weight of water.

2. Wash them first with a little chloride of lime and warm water, and then with water soured with oil of vitriol.

3. Match them with sulphur, or with sulphur mixed with a little saltpetre.

4. Unhead them and whitewash them with fresh milk of lime, made pretty strong. This plan is commonly followed for brewers' vats.

5. Remove the heads, and char the insides of the staves by the aid of a fire of shavings kindled within them.

6. A simpler, safer, and more effectual method of charring them than the last is to wash the dry casks out with strong oil of vitriol (sp. gr. 1·854). This not only purifies the surfaces of the staves, but penetrates into all the cracks, some of which might escape the action of the fire.

7. Steam has lately been applied to the insides of casks with great advantage. High-pressure steam is driven in at the bung-hole, at the same time that the cask is violently agitated (a heavy chain having been previously put into it), until all the dirt and bad smell is removed.

8. A lye of pearlash or soda, mixed with milk of lime, as well as strong hot brine, and other similar liquors, have been adopted by some persons, and are highly spoken of.

9. The coopers boil the staves for gin casks in a strong lye of alum before placing them together, to prevent their colouring the spirit, but washing with oil of vitriol is a better plan.

10. Some persons fill musty casks with water and add 3 or 4 lbs. of coarsely powdered fresh burnt charcoal, and agitate well for a few days.

11. Wash with bisulphite of lime.

_Obs._ In all the above processes the greatest care must be taken to scald or soak and well rinse out the casks after the treatment described. See BREWING UTENSILS, SPOROKTON, MATCHES, &c.

=CAS'SAREEP.= The expressed juice of the sweet cassava, concentrated by heat and flavoured with aromatics. It is used in the West Indies as a condiment. (See _below_.)

=CAS'SAVA.= A poisonous shrub cultivated in the West Indies and in many parts of South America for the sake of the starchy matter contained in its roots. It belongs to the natural order Euphorbiaceæ, and is known to botanists under the names _Manihot utilissima_ (Pohl), _Janipha manihot_ (Humboldt), and _Jatropha manihot_ (Linn.), the former being that now generally adopted. The name "bitter cassava" is commonly given to it in the West Indies, to distinguish it from another species of the same genus, _Manihot aipi_ (Pohl), which, from having no poisonous properties, is named the "sweet cassava." The roots of both species yield the starch, but those of the poisonous plant are the richer.

The roots, after being well washed and scraped, are rasped or grated, and the pulp thus formed is subjected to strong pressure, to expel the poisonous juice which it contains. The compressed pulp is next thoroughly dried over the fire, being constantly stirred the whole time, by which any remaining portion of the noxious juice is either volatilised or decomposed. It now forms CASSAVA MEAL. When it is further prepared by grinding, it forms FINE CASSAVA MEAL or CASSAVA FLOUR. When the compressed pulp is baked on a hot plate, it forms CASSAVA BREAD or CASSAVA CAKES, the flavour of which greatly resembles that of Scotch oat-cakes. See TAPIOCA.

=CAS'SIA.= In _botany_, a genus of the natural order Leguminosæ, including several important medicinal plants. The "purging cassia," _Cassia fistula_ (Linn.), produces pods containing a soft, blackish pulp. (See _below_, also SENNA.)

=Cassia Pulp.= _Syn._ CASSIA PRÆPARA'TA, CASSIÆ PULPA (B. P.), L. _Prep._ The cassia (pods or fruit), broken lengthwise, are macerated in sufficient distilled water to cover them for six hours, constantly stirring; and the purified pulp strained through a hair sieve, and evaporated to the consistence of a confection in a water bath.--_Dose._ As a mild laxative, 1 to 2 dr.; as a purgative, 3/4 oz. to 1-1/2 oz.

=CAS'SOLETTES= (Scented). See PASTILLES and PERFUMERY.

=CAS'TOR.= _Syn._ CASTO''REUM, L. (B. P.) "The follicles of the prepuce of the _Castor fiber_ or _beaver_, filled with a peculiar secretion." (Ph. L.) "A peculiar secretion from the præputial follicles." (Ph. E. and D.) It is often sophisticated; a fraud readily detected by the "absence of the membranous partition in the interior of the bags, as well as by the altered smell and taste." (Ure.) Russian castor, which is very rare, may be distinguished by a tincture of 1-16th part in alcohol, being of the colour of deep sherry, while that with American castor is of the colour of London porter. (Pereira.)--_Dose_, 1 to 2 dr. or more, in powder or made into pills; in nervous and spasmodic affections, especially in hysteria, epilepsy, and other like diseases of females.

=CASTOR CAKE.= The crushed and closely-pressed seeds of the _Ricinus communis_, after the expression of the oil, are said to be sometimes employed as a cattle food, and have the following composition:--

Moisture 9·95 Organic matter 81·07 Phosphate of lime and magnesia 4·49 Alkaline salts 1·80 Sand 2·69 ------ 100·00

This cake, even when mixed with large quantities of linseed cake, &c., is intensely poisonous. A pupil of the Editor states, however, that in India castor cake, after exposure to the sun, is commonly and safely used as a food for cattle.

=CAS'TOR OIL.= See OILS.

=CAS'TORIN.= _Syn._ CASTORIN'A, CASTOREUM CAMPHOR. When castor is cut into small pieces and boiled in about 6 times its weight of alcohol, crystalline substance (_castorin_) is deposited by the filtered tincture in cooling. By re-solution in alcohol it may be obtained under the form of colourless, prismatic, acicular crystals.

_Obs._ Genuine Russian castor, although the most expensive, must be employed in the above process, as scarcely any castorin can be obtained from the American variety.

_Prop., &c._ Castorin has the odour of castor, and a coppery taste; it is inflammable, and is soluble both in ether and hot alcohol.

=CASTS.= In preparing casts and moulds with gelatin, wax, fusible metal, and similar substances, it is important to use them at the lowest temperature compatible with fluidity; as when only a few degrees hotter the water which adheres to the things from which the casts are taken is converted into vapour, and produces bubbles. Fusible metal may be allowed to cool in a teacup until just ready to set at the edges, and then poured into the moulds. In this way beautiful casts from moulds of wood, or of other similar substances, may be procured. When taking impressions from gems, seals, &c., the fused alloy should be placed on paper or pasteboard, and stirred about till it becomes pasty, from incipient cooling, at which moment the gem, die, or seal should be suddenly stamped on it, and a very sharp impression will then be obtained.

=CATALEP'SY.= _Syn._ TRANCE; CATALEP'SIS, CATALEP'SIA, L. A disease in which the organs of sense and motion cease to exercise their functions, and the heart and lungs feebly perform their offices, and in a scarcely perceptible manner. The paroxysm generally comes on without previous warning, and its duration varies from a few minutes to several days, and if medical reports are to be credited, sometimes for a much longer period. Dr Cullen seriously affirms that this disease is always counterfeited.

_Treat._ Ammoniacal stimulants applied to the nostrils, and spirituous liquors injected into the stomach, with general friction of the body, and free access to pure air are the best remedies. Electricity and galvanism should also be had recourse to when the necessary apparatus is at hand.

=CAT'APLASMS.= See POULTICES.

=CAT'ARACT.= An opaque condition of the lens of the eye. It is a common cause of blindness. It can only be cured by a surgical operation.

=CATARRH'.= _Syn._ CATARRH'US, L. The "cold in the head," or "cold on the chest," of domestic medicine. Influenza is a severer form of this complaint, and has been called epidemic catarrh.

The common symptoms of catarrh are a copious discharge from the eyes and nose, a hoarseness, and generally a cough, more or less severe. The exciting causes are sudden changes of temperature and exposure to currents of cold air while the body is heated; hence the frequency of colds in hot and changeable weather.

_Treat._ A light diet should be adopted, and animal food and fermented and spirituous liquors should be particularly avoided. Some mild aperient should be administered; and when the symptoms are severe, or fever or headache is present, small diaphoretic doses of antimonials, accompanied by copious draughts of diluents, as barley water, weak tea, or gruel should be taken. This treatment, except in very bad cases, will generally effect a cure.

In HORSES catarrh is caused by sudden changes of temperature, draughts, and faulty ventilation. Let the animal have plenty of cool fresh air, the body being kept warm by means of horse-cloths and bandages. If necessary, give a mild physic-ball, or a clyster; keep it on a soft, laxative diet, and give it an ounce of nitre daily. Should there be sore throat or troublesome cough apply a mild blister of cantharides or mustard.

The following will be found a serviceable mixture:--Mendererus spirit, 1-1/2 oz.; sweet spirit of nitre, 2 drachms; syrup of sugar, 1/2 oz.; camphor mixture, enough to make a 6-oz. mixture. An adult may take two table-spoonfuls of this mixture every 3 or 4 hours. Should the cold in the head be severe and accompanied with cough, it has been recommended to inhale the vapour of pure washed ether by drawing it alternately into the nostrils from a wide-mouthed bottle holding about an ounce, and clutching it in the warm hand until about a fourth of the ounce has been volatilised. This repeated two, three, or four times in 48 hours is said to effect a cure within that time. Persons liable to colds are advised to use the cold bath.

_Dr Ferrier's Remedy for a Cold in the Head._--Hydrochlorate of morphia, 2 gr.; powdered gum Arabic, 2 drachms; subnitrate of bismuth, 6 drachms. Mix. Let a very small quantity be sniffed up the nose every five minutes for 20 or 30 minutes.

Another remedy: Carbolic acid, 10 drops; tincture iodine; chloroform, of each 7-1/2 grams. Place a few drops in a test-tube, and heat cautiously over a spirit-lamp, and when it boils remove, and inhale by the nose. Repeat after a few minutes. Two inhalations are said to be sufficient to cure a cold in the head. ('Year-book of Pharmacy.')

=CAT'ECHIN.= _Syn._ CATECHU'IC ACID, RESINOUS TAN'NIN. When cubical gambir or catechu, in powder, is treated with cold water, a portion remains undissolved. This is catechin. By repeated solutions in alcohol it may be obtained under the form of white, silky, acicular crystals.

_Prop., &c._ Catechin strikes a green colour with the salts of iron, but does not precipitate gelatin. When dissolved in caustic potassa, and the solution exposed to the air, it absorbs oxygen, and japonic acid is formed. If, instead of caustic potassa, carbonate of potassa is employed, it is converted into rutic acid.

=CAT'ECHU.= _Syn._ CAS''HEW, CUTCH, GAM'BIR; CAT'ECHU (Ph. L. E. & D.), TER'RA JAPON'ICA, L.; CACHOU, Fr. "The extract from the wood of _Acacia Catechu_, or from the leaf of _Uncaria Gambir_." (PALE CATECHU, Catechu Pallidum, B. P.) Also of the "kernels of _areca catechu_; probably, too, from other plants." (Ph. E.) The term is now applied to several extracts similar in appearance and properties to that of _Acacia Catechu_.

There are several varieties of catechu known in commerce, of which the principal are--

CATECHU, BOMBAY. Firm, brittle, dark brown, of a uniform texture, and a glossy, semi-resinous, and uneven fracture, Sp. gr. 1·39. Richness in tannin, 52%.

CATECHU, BENGAL. Rusty brown colour externally; porous, and more friable than the preceding. Sp. gr. 1·28. Richness in tannin, 49·5%.

CATECHU, MALABAR. Resembles the last in appearance, but is more brittle and gritty. Sp. gr. 1·40. Richness in tannin, 45·5%.

Of the above varieties the first is the one generally employed in medicine, and which commonly passes by the name of catechu. The second popularly passes under the name of _terra Japonica_ (Japan earth), from the old belief that it was of mineral origin.

CATECHU, PALE, is prepared at Singapore and in the Eastern Archipelago. It generally occurs in cubical reddish-brown pieces, porous, bitter, and astringent in taste. Entirely soluble in boiling water; the solution, when cold, is not rendered blue by iodine. Of 100 parts, only 60 are dissolved by cold water, and the solution is bright. Thirty parts of isinglass precipitate the whole of the astringent matter.--_Test._ Sp. gr. 1·39. "The pale catechu being already in the Edin., the B. P. 1864 retained it with the black; but the black is the one adopted by all other pharmacop[oe]ias, and is preferred in the arts and manufactures; it is well known to be far superior to the pale in astringency, and is always to be had of good quality; it is therefore a matter of surprise and regret that it has been rejected from the 'British Pharmacop[oe]ia.'" (Squire.)

_Estim._ It is often of importance to the tanner and dyer to determine the richness of this article in tannic acid or tannin. The following are two simple methods:--

1. Exhaust a weighed sample (in powder) with ether, and evaporate by the heat of a hot-water bath. The product, which is the tannin, must then be accurately weighed.

2. Dissolve the sample (in powder) in hot water, let it cool out of contact with the air, filter, and add a solution of gelatin as long as a precipitate falls. The precipitate, after being washed and dried at a steam heat, contains 40% of tannin.

_Uses, &c._ Catechu is extensively employed in medicine, both internally and externally, as an astringent. It is used to flavour British brandy, and by the tanners as a substitute for oak bark. With it the dyer produces, inexpensively, many of his most pleasing browns. Alum mordants are mostly employed in dyeing with catechu. "The salts of copper with sal-ammoniac cause it to give a BRONZE COLOUR, which is very fast; the protochloride of tin, a BROWNISH YELLOW; the perchloride of tin, with the addition of nitrate of copper, a DEEP-BRONZE HUE; acetate of alumina, alone, a REDDISH BROWN, and with nitrate of copper, a REDDISH-OLIVE GREY; nitrate of iron, a DARK-BROWN GREY. For dyeing a GOLDEN COFFEE-BROWN, it has entirely superseded madder; 1 lb. of it being equivalent to 6 lbs. of this root." (Ure.)--_Dose_, 10 gr. to 30 gr. in solution, in water, or made into a bolus, or sucked as a lozenge.

=CAT'GUT.= The prepared and twisted intestines of animals. _Prep._ The guts, taken whilst warm from the animal, are thoroughly cleaned, freed from adherent fat, and well rinsed in pure water. They are next soaked for about 2 days in water, after which they are laid on a table and scraped with a copper plate, having a semicircular notch, beginning the operation at the smaller end. In this way the mucous and peritoneal membranes are removed. The guts are then put into fresh water, and soaked until the next day, when they are again scraped, the larger ends cut off, and after well washing, again steeped for a night in fresh water, and then for 2 or 3 hours in a weak lye of pearlash or potash (2 oz. to the gall.) They are lastly washed in clean water, and passed through a polished hole in a piece of brass to smooth and equalise their surface; after which they are twisted, and sorted, according to the purposes for which they are intended. For many purposes the prepared gut is dyed or sulphured, and rubbed with olive oil. It improves by age. Red or black ink, or any of the simple dyes or stains, are used to colour it.

_Uses, &c._ Catgut is employed in several of the arts. The strings of harps, violins, &c., are formed of this material. Whipcord is made from catgut, which is sewed together while soft with the filandre or scrapings, after which it is put into a frame and twisted. Bowstrings for hatmakers are made out of the largest intestines, 4 to 12 of which are twisted together, until the cord is extended to 15 to 25 feet in length. It is then rubbed perfectly smooth and free from knots, half dried, sulphured twice, again stretched and sulphured, and lastly dried in a state of tension. Clock-makers' cords are made of the smallest intestines in a similar manner.

The best fine catgut is made at Venice or Rome, from the intestines of thin, sinewy sheep. That made in England is formed from the fat sheep killed for the shamble, and is, hence, inferior. Coarse catgut, for turning lathes, &c., is made from the intestines of horses, cut into 4 or 5 strips, by forcing a ball furnished with projecting knives placed cross-wise along them. These strips are next twisted, dried, and rubbed smooth with fish skin. Gutta percha and vulcanised india rubber are now applied to many of the purposes formerly exclusively occupied by catgut.

=CATHAR'TICS.= See PURGATIVES.

=CATHAR'TIN.= The purgative principle of senna, first noticed by Lassaigne and Fenuelle. A strong aqueous infusion of senna leaves is evaporated to the consistence of a syrup, out of contact with the air; this fluid extract is then digested in alcohol or rectified spirit, and the tincture, after filtration, is evaporated to dryness by a gentle heat.

_Prop., &c._ A reddish-coloured, uncrystallisable mass; having a peculiar odour and a bitter, nauseous taste; freely soluble in both water and alcohol, and strongly cathartic. Two or three grs. cause nausea, griping, and purging. It has been proposed to employ it, combined with aromatics, as a cathartic.

=CATH'ETERS.= Small tubes introduced into the bladder for the purpose of drawing off its contents. They may be regarded as hollow bougies.

_Prep._ 1. A piece of smooth catgut, or steel wire, bent to the proper shape, is coated with melted wax. When cold it is dipped repeatedly into an ethereal solution of india rubber, until a sufficient thickness is obtained, after which it is dried by a gentle heat, and then boiled in water to melt out the wax, and to allow the catgut to be withdrawn. A solution of india rubber in bisulphide of carbon is now generally employed instead of an ethereal solution.

2. From slips of india rubber, as directed under BOUGIES.

3. A smooth tissue of silk is woven over a bent wire, and then coated with a surface of india rubber, or elastic varnish, and finished off as before. See BOUGIES.

=CAUDLE.= Gruel enriched by various additions.

_Prep._ 1. Thick oatmeal gruel mixed with about one half its weight of good mild ale (made hot), and as much sugar, and mace, nutmeg, or ginger, as will make it agreeable.

2. To the last add an egg, well beaten.

3. Sugar, 3 or 4 lumps; hot water, a table-spoonful; dissolve; add 1 egg; beat well together; further add a glass of wine and a little nutmeg or ginger; mix well, and stir the mixture into good gruel (hot), 3/4 pint.

_Uses, &c._ A nourishing and restorative mixture during convalescence, much used among certain classes after accouchement. It is an excellent domestic remedy for colds, &c., unaccompanied with fever; for which purpose it should be taken on retiring to rest at night, preceded by a dose of castor oil during the day.

=CAULIFLOWER.= Like the cabbage, the cauliflower forms a very nutritious article of diet; rich in albumenoids and phosphates. The ash, as will be seen from the subjoined analysis, contains a large amount of mineral matter:--

_Ash of Cauliflower._

Potash 34·39 Soda 14·79 Magnesia 2·38 Lime 2·96 Phosphoric acid 25·84 Sulphuric acid 11·16 Silica 1·92 Phosphate of iron 3·67 Chloride of sodium 2·78

=CAUS'TIC.= _Syn._ CAUS'TICUM, ESCHAROT'I-CUM, L. A substance that corrodes or destroys the texture of organised bodies. This action is popularly termed "burning."