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often as one layer is dry, another is added, till the vessel ac-quires a proper thickness; when the whole is held over a strongsmoke of burning vegetables, which gives it the texture and ap-pearance of leather. Before the operation is completely finished,the substance, while still soft, will admit of any impression beingmade on its surface, which is indelible. The chemical properties,and other interesting peculiarities of this elastic resin, have beendiligently' explored by the most ingenious natural philosophers ofEurope , from the time it was first known. Various experimentshave been made lo dissolve if, and to ascertain whether itwould assume different figures, with the same facility as it didin its original state. This has been effected by the follow ingsimple process : Mr. Winch put a pound of good vitriolic a-therinto a bottle, capable of containing four pounds of any commonfluid. On this a-ther be poured two pounds of pure water,stopped the bottle, inverted it, and agitated both liquids forseveral minutes, in order to mix, or, rather, to wash the aetherin the water. On subsiding, as the a-ther iloated on the top, lieleft the bottle in the inverted direction, opened it cautiously,substituted bis thumb for the stopper, and thus let the watergradually escape into a vessel beneath. This operation he per-formed repeatedly, till, the sixteen ounces of a-ther were reducedto five. Having thus obtained a very pure a'ther, lie found it tobe the most perfect solvent of elastic gum. When immersedinto it, after being cut into small pieces, it began to swell in avery short time; and, though tiie a-ther acted on it but slowlyat first, yet, in five or six hours, the whole was completely dis-solved, and the liquor remained transparent. If too large a pro-portion of elastic gum be employed, it will subside to the bottom ;and may, afler being taken out of the bottle, be moulded intoany form, so as to retain its former elasticity. Tiie caoutchoucis at present chiefly employed by surgeons, for the injection ofliquids, and also by painters, and others, for rubbing out pencil-marks, &c. ; though wc do not hesitate to say, that it may beadvantageously used for socks, or even shoes and boots, as wellas various useful articles of domestic convenience. Caoutchoucls soluble in volatile oils; but, in general, when these oils are eva-porated, it remains somewhat glutinous ; and therefore isscarcely proper for those uses to which, before its solution, it"'as so admirably adapted. It is also soluble in alkalies. Whenexposed to heat, it readily melts; but it never afterwards recoversproperties, but continues always of the consistence of tar.“hums very readily with a bright white flame, and diffuses afetid odour. In the countries w here it is found, it is frequentlyused by way of candle. When distilled, it gives out ammonia':from this, and from the effect of sulphuric and nitric acid uponthere is no doubt that it is composed of carbon, hydrogen,azote, and oxygen ; but the modes of their combination are un-known.

CAP of Maintenance, one of the regalia or ornaments ofstate belonging to the kings of England, before whom it isuavried at the coronation, and other great solemnities. Caps ofmaintenance are also carried before the mayors of the severalC1 bes in England.

u ap, in a ship, a square piece of timber put over the head oripper end of any 'mast, having a round hole to receive ther n aSt ‘ P -y means of these caps, the top-masts and top-gallant-

asts are kept steady and firm in the tressel-lrees where theirLe t stand.

hoi Ar ° F A *-’ UN ’ a piece of lead which is put over the touch-s P°d a ® U "’ tU k et ’P fhe priming from being wasted or

i A ;TPAC 10, an episcopal town of Italy, in Naples . Lon.

C \ ^ ' i0 ' * si '

pA AC IT Y, in geometry, the solid contents of any body.m,, r 10 II° W measures for w ine, beer, corn, salt, Sec. are called

a ->ir:-s of capacity.

giv . AI ' ACITY ’ tin-'ability of a man, or body politic, to

theV’ ,r lands or other things, or sue actions. Our law allowshe *- wo capacities; a natural, and a political : in the first,

ij;, 1 '!' 1 .' purchase lands to him and his heirs; in the second, toW ai , his successors. The clergy of the church of England tiie like.

S^APAIIASON, or HORSE-CLOTH, a sort of cover for aderc,]’ F ° r ^ tiorscs, it is common'v made of linen-cloth, bor-roun d with woollen, and enriched with the arms of the master

*° L 'I—NO. 38.

upon the middle, which covers the croupe, and with two cypherson the tw r o sides. The caparasons lor the army, are sometimes agreat bear’s skin ; and those for stables, arc of single buckram insummer, and of cloth in the winter.

CAPARISONS, or CAPARASONS, were anciently a kindof iron armour w herewith horses were covered in battle.

CAPASH, a kind of head-dress worn by the women of Candia,of a stiffened line muslin, made so as to stand up very high, andextend out a great way on the right side.

CAPE, in geography, a high land running out, with a point,into the sea, as Cape-Novdg, Cape-IIorn, the cape of Good-Hope, Sec..

(JAPELLA, in astronomy, a bright fixed star in the left.shoulder of the constellation Auriga .

CAl’ELLE, a town of France, in the department of Aisne ,and late province of Picardy, eight miles N. E. of Guise .

CAPER. See Capparis.

Caper, in shipping, a vessel used by the Dutch for cruisingand taking prizes from the enemy ; in which sense, caper amountsto the same.wilh privateer.

CaPer Bean. See Zygophyli.um.

CAPERXAl^M, a city celebrated in the gospels, being theplace where Jesus usually resided during the time of his ministry.This city is no where mentioned in the Old Testament under thisor any oilier name like it; and therefore it is probable that it wasbuilt after the return from the Babylonish captivity. It stood onthe coast of Galaiee, in the borders of Zebulou and Nephtalim(Malt . iv. 13.) and took its name from an adjacent spring whichprobably was an inducement to build the town in the pl. ee whereit stood. Capernaum was said by our Lord himself to be ex-alted unto heaven ; but because its inhabitants made no rightuse of the privileges they enjoyed, he denounced, that it shouldbe brought down to hell (Matt. xi. 23.) which has certainly beenverified : for, as Dr. Wells observes, so far is it from, being themetropolis of all Galilee, as it once was, that it consisted long agoof no more than six poor cottages.

Capernaum, a spring near the city, mentioned by Josephus ,as fatuous for its clear and limpid Wald's.

CAPERQUIN, a town of Ireland , in Waterford, on theBlackwater, 13 miles N. of Youghall ,

CAPET, the sirname of the royal family of France , for aperiod of 803 years, from Hugh Capet , (who was called to (hecrown by the voice of the nation, A. D. 987, in opposition to thehereditary claim of Charles duke of Lorrain,) to the abolition ofthe monarchy under the late unfortunate Lewis XVI. in 1792.The house of Bourbon was only a yojunger branch of tiie family ofCapet .

CAPIIAR, a duty which the Turks exact from the Christianswho carry or send merchandises from Aleppo to Jerusalem andother places in Syria. 1

CAPI-AGA, or CAPI-AGASSI, a Turkish officer who isgovernor of the gates of the seraglio, or grand-master of theseraglio.

CAPIAS, [I.at.j a writ of two sorts one before judgment,called capias ad respondendum, in an action personal, if thesheriff upon the first writ of distress, return that he lias no effectsin his jurisdiction. The other is a writ of execution after judgment.

Capias ad Respondendum is where an original is issued out.to take the. defendant, and make him answer the pkiintill'.

Capias, after judgment, is of divers kinds; such as,

1. Capias ad Satisfaciendum, a writ of execution that issueson a judgement obtained, and lies where any person recovers in apersonal action, as for debt, damages, Sec. in which cases this writissues to the sheriff, commanding him to take the body of himagainst whom the debt is recovered, who is to be kept in prisontill lie make satisfaction.

2. Capias in Withernam, a writ that lies for cattle in With-ernam ; that is, where a distress taken is drivqn out of the ( oun-try, so that the sheriff cannot make deliverance upon a replevin;then this writ issues, commanding the sheriff to take as nianybeasts of the distrainer, Sec.

3. Capias pro fine is a writ lying where a person is fined tothe king, for some offence committed against a statute, and lu;does not discharge the fine according to the judgment; thereforehis body shall be taken by this writ', and commuted to gaol tillthe fine is paid.

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