Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/216

COTTONSEED OIL 172 COUGAB have an injurious effect on the cotton fiber, not only sucking the sap from the bolls, but ejecting also a liquid which leaves an indelible stain, greatly lovi'er- ing the value of the fiber. Continued ex- periment has resulted in the discovery of methods of counteracting the destruc- tive power of the varieties of cotton in- sects, and these, aided by their natural enemies, tend to lessen the damage each successive season. COTTONSEED OIL, an oil obtained from the seed of the cotton-plant, which is crushed between powerful rollers. It is used chiefly as an adulterant for other more expensive oils, as linseed-oil and olive-oil, and for packing sardines, etc. There are about 900 mills in operation in the United States engaged in ex- tracting oil, preparing oil cakes, etc. Oil production about 5,000,000 gallons (1920). COTTUS, a genus of fishes, by some made the type of a family Cottidse, by others placed under the Triglidx or Gur- nards. The head is large, depressed, furnished with spines or tubercles; there are teeth in front of the vomer and in both jaws; there are two dorsal fins; the anal fin is small; the body is without scales. Yarrell enumerates four species: C. gobio, the River Bullhead, Miller's Thumb, or Tommy Logge; C. scorpius, the Sea Scorpion or Short-spined Cottus; C. bubalis, the Father Lasher or Long- spined Cottus; and C. qiuidricornis, the Four-horned Cottus. In this country there are several representatives of the species called indifferently bullhead and catfish. COTYLEDON, a genus of plants, order Crassulacese. Calyx, 5-partite; petals, united into a tubular or campanulate co- rolla; stamens 10, inserted in the tube of the corolla. C. umbilicus is a succulent plant with pendulous cylindrical flowers of a yellowish-green color. It is from 6 to 12 inches high. The word is also applied to the first leaf, or one of the first two leaves, de- veloped in a plant. In exogens two such leaves are present in the embryo of every plant, while in endogens there is one. In exogens the two cotyledons are always opposite; in endogens the second leaf de- veloped is alternate with the first. On these distinctions or their absence have been founded three primary divisions of the Vegetable Kingdom, viz., Dicotyle- dons. Monocotyledons, and Acotyledons. Sometnnes, though rarely, there are more than two cotyledons: thus the Boragi- nacm and the Brassicacese have four, and the Coniferas 10, 12, or even 15; hence the term Polyootyledons has been used. In some cases they are absent; at other times they cohere instead of unfolding. COUCAL, or LARK-HEELED CUCKOO, a genus of common bush-birds in Africa, India, and through the Malay- an Archipelago to Australia. The hind- toe is prolonged into a very long spur. Their call is loud and in some cases ap- parently ventriloquistic. COUCHANT, in Heraldry, a beast ly- ing down, with his head up. If the head is down, he is dormant. COUCH GRASS, a grass iTriticum repev.s) sometimes called in books creep- ing wheat-grass. It has long spikes, the spikelets with four to eight flowers. It is very common in fields and waste places. When occurring as a weed in cornfields, its long, creeping root renders it difficult of extirpation. Couch gi'ass is a diuretic and aperient, and is useful in cases where the mucous membrane of the urinary tract is irritated or inflamed, as in irritation of the bladder, gonorrhoe?., etc. COUDERT, FREDERIC RENE (ko- dar'), an American lawyer and expert in international law; born in New York in 1832, was graduated at Columbia College in 1850, and admitted to the New York bar in 1853. In 1892 he was appointed one of the counsel on the part of the United States before the Bering Sea Tribunal of Arbitration in Paris, and was especially complimented by Baron de Courcel, president of the tribunal, for his argument on the necessity of putting a stop to pelagic sealing. On Jan. 1, 1896, President Cleveland appointed him a member of the Venezuela Boundary Com- mission. He had a world-wide reputation as an advocate and an authority on inter- national law, and several times declined the offer of appointment to the bench of the United States Supreme Court. He was legal representative of the French Government for many years. He died Dec. 20, 1903. COUES, ELLIOTT (kouz), an Ameri- can naturalist; born in Portsmouth, N. H., Sept. 9, 1842. He was of late years connected with the Smithsonian In- stitute, and was author of "Key to North American Birds" (1872), "Field Orni- thology" (1874), "Check-List of North American Birds" (1882), "Biogen," "The Daemon of Darwin," etc. With J. S. Kingsley, he edited the "Standard Natu- ral History" (three vols., 1883). He was activelv interested in Theosophy. He died Dec. 26, 1899. COUGAR, the name given in Brazil to the puma, formerly called the Ameri- can lion, and now the American panther.