CAP
CAP
patience nf the Greeks who fpent above three months in car- rying the flics from one fig-tree to another ; but he foon un- derftood the reafon, for aflcing them why they did not culti- vate theFrench and Italian figs, he was anfwered, that the great quantity of fruit which their own trees yielded, made them preferable. In reality, one of thefe trees produces generally 224 pounds of figs, whereas the French trees yield not 25 pounds.
As to the manner wherein the punfture of the flies contribute to the maturation of the fruit, poflibly it may he by lacerating the vefleis, and extravafating the nutritious juice when they depofit their eggs ; or when with the egg they alio convey fome liquor which gently ferments with the juice of the fig, and fof tens its pulp Even the Provence and Paris figs ripen much fooncr by wounding their buds with a ftraw or feather dipped in oil olive ; plumbs and pears alio wounded by infects, are found to ripen the fooneft, and in thefe the pulp about the wound is more exquifite than the reft. Mem. Acad. Scienc. An. 17-5 p 447, feq.
Caprification is alfo applied in a Iefs proper fenfe to the art of propagating the palm tree. Aft. Erudit. Lipf. 1721. p. 84.
CAPK.IFICUS, in botany, a term by which fome authors, par- ticularly Pliny, call the fmall fpurge or efula. Get; Emac. Ind. 2.
Caprificus was alfo ufed by the anticnts for the wild fig-tree.
. t ce L APRIFJCATION.
CAPRIFOLIUM, the boney-fuckle See HoTSKY-fucJtle.
CAPRIMULGUS, in zowlogy, the name of a lpecies of owl, called the churn owl, or fern owl, and in fome places the goat- fucker, according to its Latin name. It obtained this from an opinion that it ufed in the night to fuck the goats dugs for their milk ; but there has been no proof of. the truth of that tradition. It is a moderately large owl; its head is large in proportion to its body, yet lefs fo than in the other owls. Its beak is black, very fmall, and fomewhat crooked, but the opening of its mouth is extremely wide. Its breaft and belly are mottled with ftreaksof abrownifh white, and a dufky orblack- ifh grey ; its bead is grey, the middle of the feathers being all black; its wings and back are of a dufky brown, variegated with black ; its legs are fhort or fmall, and feathered alinoft to the toes before; it is upon the whole a very beautiful bird, and more refembles the cuckow than the owl kind in its fhape. It is common in the northern counties of England. Ray's Orni- tholog. p. 70.
CAPRISCUS, the gont-fijb. See Goat-fish.
CAPSARIUS, in antiquity, a fervant who attended the Roman youth to fchool, carrying a fachel with their books in it, fome- times alfo called librarius. Pignor. de Serv. p. 238. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 356.
Capsarius was alfo an attendant at the baths, to whom pcrfons committed the keeping of their cloths. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. ib.
CapSArIus, among the Roman bankers, was he who had the care of the money-cheft, or coffer. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. ib.
CAPSICUM, Guine 1 pepper, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe : the flower confifts of one leaf, and is rotated and divided into feveral fegments at the ed.e. From the cup arifes a piftil, which is fixed in the manner of a nail to the middle of the flower, and by degrees ripens into a foft and membranaceous fruit, which contains a number of flat feeds ufually of a kidney-like fhape. 7"he fpecies of capficum enumerated by Mr. Tournefort are thefe : 1. The common capficum with long hanging-down pods. 2. The crooked podded ca'jicum. 3. 7'he lefler capficum with crooked pods. 4. The yellow podded capficum. 5. The long upright podded capficum. 6. The upright podded capficum with long and very fmall pods. 7. The upright podded capfiicum with oblong but fhort pods. 8. The capficum with bifid fruit. 9. The capficum with cylindric pods of a fpan long, 1 0. The cap- Jicum with Jong pods, turned in the middle, and fquare at the end. 1 1. The capficum with flat and rounded pods. 12. The capficum with long hear t-fafh toned hanging pods. 13. The capficum with round ifh heart- fafhioncd hanging puds. 14. The capficum with olive-fhaped pods. 15 iThecapficum with cherry- Imped hanging pods. 16. The largeft round-fruited capficum 1 7. The capficum with large prick!) 1 fruit. 18. The capficum with fmaller prickly fruit. ;g. '1 he capficum with upright round pods. 20. The capficum with upright round pods a lit- tle pointed at the end. 2 ;. The capficum with upright heart- faihioned pods. 22. The capficum with upright heart -fafhioncd angular pods. 2 3. The Capficum with upright cherry-like pod: 24-The lare;e flowered hairy (talked capficum 25 The capficum with the fmalleft round fruit. And 26, TheAmerican capficum with the oblongfweet fruit. Tourn. Inft. p. 153. Guinea pepper is more ufed as a fauce, and in pickle, than in phyfic, being frequency put into flfli f.uce, or into any thing that is flatulent and windy ; for which purpofe it is ordered di- vers ways, either green or ripe, pickled, or rubbed to powder with fait. A decoction of it with peny royal is commended by fome to expel a dead child. The fkins boiled, and ufed as a gargle, are good againft the tooth ac h ; acataplafm of the feeds, powdered and mixed with honey, applied to the throat, is good for the quinfy. Vid. 'James's Med Diet, in voc. CAPSTAN (Cyd.) — The word is alfo written, -cop/and, ca(>- fiern, and even capfiow a ; it is formed from the French cabefian,
which fignifies the fame b . — [ a Skin. Etym. Angl. in voc. cap- flow. b Trev. Dift. Univ. T. i.p. 1305. voc. cabefian,] 1 he power of the capfian is reducible to that of the axis in pe- ritrochio. See Axis in feritrecbio, Cyci.
De Camus conuders the capfian as a perpetual lever. De Ca- mus, Tr. des Forces Mouvant ap. Mem. de Trev, 1723. p. 718. See L k ver, Cycl.
The parts of a cafflan are, the foot, which is the loweft part; the fpindle, the fmalleft part ; the whelps a fort of brackets fet into the body of the capfian clofe under the bars ; the barrel, the main body of the whole ; the holes for the bars to be put into; the bars, which are fmall pieces of timber by which the men heave; laftly,the pawl,which is piece of iron bolted to one end of the beams of the deck, clofe to the body of the capfian* but (o as that it have liberty to turn about every way j and againft it do the whelps of the capjian bear ; fo as that by it the capjian may be flopped from turning back. Bote/. Sea Dial. 4. p 113, feq. Manwar. Sea Dift. p. 19, feq.
CAPSULE, among botanifts, a fpecies of pericarpium compofed of dry elaftic valves, which ufually burft open at the points : this kind of pericarpium fometimes contains only one cell or cavity, fometimes more ; in the firft cafe it is called unilocular ; in the fecond, bi/ccular, triloculare &c. according to the number of cells in it for the reception of feeds. See Pericarpium,
CAPTAIN (CycL) — The duty of this officer is to be careful to keep his company full of able bodied foldicrs, to vifit their tents and lodgings, to fee what is wanting, pay them well, caufe them to keep themfelves neat and clean in their cloaths, and to keep their arms bright. He has power in his own company of making ferjeants, corporals, and lanfpefades. Cruf. Milit. Inftr. Cavalr. P. i.e. 6. Guilt. Gent. Dift. P. 2. in voc.
Second Captain, one whofe command having been taken away, he is joined to another captain, to ferve under him, and receive pay as a captain reformed. Milit. Dift. Voc. Se- cond.
Among the French, there are alfo fecond captains, who never had companies of their own.
Captain en pied, a captain kept in pay, that is not yet re-i formed. The expreflion, though altogether French, occurs fometimes.
Captain General of Great Britain is the higheft military poft in our army. Bland. Treat, of Milit. Difcipl. c. 14. Art. 4. p 201. *
In Holland the office of Captain General is ufually joined with that of ftadtholdcr, and though by the perpetual edift parted in 1 667, the two offices were for ever disjoined ; fo that who- ever was poflefled of one, was rendered incapable of the other; this regulation lafted but five years. Bafn. Hilt, des Oeuvr. des Scav. Oft. 1702. p 468, feq. See Stadtholder, Cycl.
Captain of a man of war, is held equivalent to that of a colonel at land. The captain is accountable for the fliip, if loft or taken by his mifconduft. Betel. Sea Dial. i.p. 41, feq. Guil. Gent. Dift. P. 3. in voc. Ozan. Dift. Math. p. 32 r. In admiral mips, and all ihips of the firft rate, the French have two captains, two lieutenants, and two enfigns. Aubin. Dift. Mar, p. r66.
1 he pay of fea captains, in the Engliih fervlcc, was formerly fmall, which defect was made up to them, by indulging them in many privileges not now allowed, as plundering of prizes, taking convoy monies, and even carrying merchants goods, plate, &c. K. James II taking this laft privilege away, in lieu thereof granted them an annual allowance of table monies, al- moft equal to their whole former pay. But this not taking place by reafon of the abdication, king William III. in 169^, ordered the pay of the captains to be doubled, but the fund for this failing at the peace of Ryfwick, a new eftablifhment was made in 1 700, whereby nearly one third was retrenched from the fea pay, and that of a firft rate fixed at 1 /. s. d ; of a fecond rate at o 1. 16 s. o d. ; of a third rate ato/. 1 3 s. 6 d. ; of a fourth rate at 0/. 10 s. od. ; of a fifth rate at o /. Bs. o d 1 of a fixth rate at o / 6 s. o d. per day. Treat, of Domin, and Laws of Sea. p. 59 -, ftq.
CaptaikS of port, in the French marine affairs, officers eftablifh- ed in fome confiderable fea ports where there are arftnals. To them belongs the command of the guard of the place, the watching of the fea, and the care and cuftody of the vefleis brought into port.
There are fuch captains at Toulon, Rochfort, Preft, Havre, Dunkirk, and port Lewis a - They are to take care of moor- ing the king's ihips, and oblige all to give the due falutes. Au- bin. Dift. Mar. p. 167, feq. Ozan. Dift. Math, p 3" 1.
Captain bafiiaw-, in theTuikifh affairs — This officer is govern- or of the iflands of the Archipelago, though his refidence is at Gallipoli on the continent a ; his office is the fecond in the em- pire, there being none but the grand vizier above him. His power is fo abfolute, that without the Dardanelles, he may ftrangle viceroys and governors on the coafts, without waiting for the fultan's order. Not only the fea officers, but the gover- nors of all the maritime provinces receive their orders from him. b — [ a Trev. Dift. Univ T. 1. p. 141 3, vac. caption* b Tournef. Voy.du Lev. T. 2. Let. 1 3. p. 38.] The Turks call him capudan pacha, a denomination taken from the Italian word capkano % very current in the ftates of Greece, fubjeft to the grand fignior, having been Co before the
Turks.
