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607 CAR

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charcoal, from its leaving an effervescent alkali, after combustionin fused nitre. Lavoisier found that on burning it in closedvessels, it yielded carbonic acid. This has also' been proved byMr. Tennant, who performed the combustion in a crucible ofgold. Berthollot considered it as crystallized charcoal. Sincethis,’ Guyton, having burnt the diamond in oxygen gay by thesolar rays, and thereby having obtained carbonic acid withoutresidue, presumed that he had ascertained the diamond to be purecarbon, or the pure combustible matter of the carbonic genus,yielding the pure uciditiable basis.of the carbonic acid. liefound its combustion required a much higher temperature thancharcoal ; but this, he observes, takes place with other acidiliablebases, their first degrees of oxydation being difficultly produced,although iheir subsequent acidification is easy. It also requiredmore, ox' gen for its complete combustion than charcoal ; onepart of diamond absorbing four of oxygen, and producing fiveof carbonic acid; this lie remarks is not (o be wondered at,since being pure carbon, it contains none of (he oxygen prin-ciple, and therefore demands more, in proportion therefore assubstances contain pure combustible matter, will, intact, be thedifficulty of their combustion, their first degrees of oxygenationproceeding so slowly. Thus lie accounts for plumbago, orblack-lead, which is a carbonic combustible, richer in com-bustible matter than charcoal itself, not burning, but at a veryhigh degree of temperature : and thus he uccounts.for the hi com-bustibility' of anthracolile, Kilkenny coal, the brilliant charcoalof certaii) \ egetables, Ik c. The diamond is therefore to be con-sidered as pure carbon ; plumbago, carbon oxygenized in thefirst degree ; charcoal, an oxyd of the second, obtained fromvarious substances in the animal, vegetable, and mineral king-doms, generally by volatilizing their other constituent parts.When obtained in a stale of purity, it resists the strongest heatin closed vessels. It decomposes sulphuric acid, from its affinitywitii oxygen exceeding that of sulphur. It decomposes nitricacid with great vapidity ; and if the charcoal is first powdered,mid the acid strong, and allowed to run down the side of thevessel, to mix with the charcoal, it burns with rapidity, with abeautiful flame, throwing up the powder so as to resemble abeautiful fire-work. With nitrate of pol-ash, it detonates in a hotcrucible, leaving a fixed alkali behind. It is dissolved by the'alkalies : and by the sulphurets of alkali, both in the dry andWoisl way. It does not unite with metals, but restores their oxidesto a metallic state.

CARBONATES , salts, composed of the carbonic acid, andcertain bases: thus carbonate of ammonia, or mild volatilealkali,-consists of carbonic acid and pure or caustic ammonia.Giving to the weakness of this acid, the characters of their basesare generally most predominant. The carbonates are not actedon by light, oxygen, or nitrogen; nor do they deliquesce withfbe moisture of the atmosphere. Although charcoal decomposesfile phosphoric acid alone, the carbonates are decomposed byphosphorus; this difference arises from the attraction which thephosphoric acid exercises on the base of the carbonate; fromsimilar causes the effects of different combustible bodies on themVa ry much.

CARBONIC ACID, a gaseous product of carbon combinedWith oxygen. It was made known to chemists by Dr. Black,Wilder the name of fixed air. U is composed of 75 parts of carbon,aiul '■> of oxygen. Sec Gas.

CARBIN'CLE, in natural history, a very elegant gem, theCf| lour of which is a deep red, with an admixture of scarlet.

, . Wbuxcir, or Anthrax , in surgery, an inflammation whichmises, with a vesicle or blister, almost like those produced bvminium.

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. '-'ARbvnci.k, in heraldry, a charge or bearing, consisting of

■Sut radii, f 0llr whereof make a common cross, and the other

‘mir a S ai tier _

,. ( r' AR fiCRET, in chemistry, a compound substance, in whicht j ai .r°n is a constituent part. Carburet of iron, long known under“mm's of plumbago and black-lead, is compounded of 90 parts

r'i'ifimp and 10 of iron.

tai ■ ^AKK, in architecture, the shell or ribs of a house, Con-or R 11 '*’ fim partitions, floors, and raftt'rs, made by carpenters;hefo *^ le .fimfier-wovk (or as it were the skeleton) f a house,franp 6 " ' s Cthcd and plastered : it is otherwise ’called the

CAIICASSE, or CARCUSS, in the art of war, an iron-caseor hollow capacity, about the bigness of a bomb, of an oval figiffe,made of ribs of iron, filled with combustible matters, as meal-powder, salt-pet re, sulphur, broken-glass, shavings of horns, tur-pentine, tallow, &c. tlic design of it is that it may be thrown out ofamortar to set houses on lire, and do other execution. It has.twoor three apertures through which the lire is to blaze.

GARCASSONE, an ancient city of Franco, in the departmentof Aude, and late province of Languedoc. Carcassone is 15.miles W. of Narbonne . Lon. 2. 25. E. Let. 43. 14. N.

CARCERES, in the ancient Circensian games, were inclQsuresin tlie circus, wherein the horses were restrained till the signalwas given for starting, when by an admirable contrivance, they allat once ilew open.

CARD, among artificers, an instrument consisting of a blockof wood, beset with sharp teeth, serving to arrange the hairs orwool, llax, hemp, and the like : there are different kinds of them,as hand-cards, stock-cards, &c.

Cards, \charta, Lat.j among gamesters, little pieces of finethin pasteboard of an oblong figure, of several sizes, but mostcommonly in England 3) inches long, and 24 broad, on whichare painted several points and figures.

Card is also used for a short letter of business of compliment.The chief distinction, (besides brevity,) between cards and letters,is, that file former are wrote entirely in the third person, whereasthe first and second persons are always used in the latter.

CARDAM1N E, in botany, Lady’s smoke ; a genus of the sili-quosa order, and tetradynamia class ; natural order, siliquosa.Siliqua parts asunder with a spring, valves roll spirally backward ;stigma entire; calyx a little gaping. Eighteen species; the iiio-tremarkable is the

C. 1’raten's is, with a large purplish flower. It grows natu-rally in many parts of Britain , and is also called cuckow-llower.

_ CARDAN, Jerom, one of the most extraordinary geniuses ofhis age, was the illegitimate son of an advocate at Miian, and bornat Pavia, in 1501. In 1524, he was admitted M. A. and in 1525,M. D. He married about 1531. At the age of 32 he becameprofessor of mathematics at Milan. In 1539, he was admittedmember of the college of physicians at Milan; in 1543, he readpublic lectures on medicine m that city, and at Pavia in 1544.In 1552 he went to Scotland , and cured the archbishop of St.Andrew’s of an asthma which had battled the skill of numerousphysicians. He was next at the court of Edward VI. and cast thenativity ot that prince ; from thence he rambled through variouscountries, and at Bologna was committed to prison. On reco-vering his liberty he went to Rome , where he died in 1576. Thisaccount might be sufficient to show the reader that Cardan was ofa very fickle temper; but lie will have a much better idea of hisodd turn of mind from what he has written concerning his owngood and bad qualities. He paid himself congratulatory compli-ments for not having a friend in this world ; but that, in requital,he was attended by an aerial spirit, emanated partly from Saturnand partly from Mercury, wiio was the constaut guide of his ac-tions. lie declared too, that he was so irregular in his mannerof walking the streets, as induced all beholder# to point at him asa fool. Sometimes he walked very slowly, like a man absorbedin profound meditation ; then all on a sudden quickened his steps,accompanying them with very absurd attitudes, fn Bologna hi*delight u-as to be drawn about in a mean vehicle with three wheels.When nature did not visit him with any pain, he would procureto himself that disagreeable sensation by biting his lips so vvantonlv,or pulling his lingers to such a vehement degree, as sometimesto force the tears from his eyes ; and the reason he assigned wasto moderate certain impetuous sallies of file mind, the violence ofwhich was to him'more insupportable than pain itself; and that thesun; consequence of such a severe discipline was the enjoying thepleasure of health, lie says, that in ids greatest tortures’of soul,he used to whip his legs with rods, and bite bis left arm ; that itwas a great relief to him to weep, but that very often he could not;that nothing gave him more pleasure than to ’talk, of things whichmade the whole company uneasy ; that he-poke on all suhieeb,in season and out ot season ; and lie wa; so fond .of games’.ofchance, as to spend whole'days in them, to the groat.prejudice, ofhis family and reputation, for lie even staked his furniture andhis wife’s jewels, lie (Avns t-liat lie was revengeful, envious,.-

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