Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/566

This page needs to be proofread.

560 OAJETAN CALABASH TREE CAJETAK, or Cftfetanns (Ital. GAIJTANO). I. Benedetto. See BONIFACE VIII. II. Tommaso de Vio, an Italian cardinal, born at Gaeta, Feb. 20, 1469, died in Rome, Aug. 9, 1534. He en- tered the order of Dominican friars, studied philosophy and theology at Naples and Bo- logna, and in 1508 was elected general of his order. When Pope Julius II. was summoned to appear before the council of cardinals at Pisa and afterward at Milan, Oajetan undertook his defence, maintaining that the power of conve- ning a council belonged solely to the pope. In 1517 he was sent by Leo X. as papal legate to Germany, to induce the emperor Maximilian to join the league against the Turks, and espe- cially to bring the Lutherans back to their alle- giance to the papal see. His haughty manner defeated the purpose of his mission. In 1519 he attended the assembly of the German elec- tors at which Charles V. was chosen emperor, and contributed much to this choice. In the same year he was appointed to the see of Gae- ta, and afterward filled several important mis- sions, among which, in 1523, was that of legate to Hungary, then invaded by the Turks. At the capture of Rome by the imperialists in 1527, he was made prisoner, and had to pay a ran- som of 5,000 crowns. He wrote several works, all of which, though somewhat modified, were published at Lyons in 1639. Among these are a translation, with commentary, of the Old Testament in 5 vols. fol. ; commentaries on Thomas Aquinas ; and Opmcula, containing his treatise on the authority of the pope, of which a refutation was published by order of the faculty of the university of Paris. III. Enrico, properly SKRMANETO, an Italian cardi- nal, died in Rome in 1599. He was made car- dinal in 1585, and in 1589 was sent by Pope Sixtus V. as legate to France, to bring about the election of a Catholic king ; he took part with the league, and was active in the intrigues of the time. He was recalled by the pope, but was afterward employed in important affairs. He was the author of several political and theological works. CALABAR, an undefined portion of the coast of Upper Guinea, on the bight of Biafra, about lat. 5 N., Ion. 8 E. It is low and swampy, only a small portion being fit for cultivation. Two thirds of the inhabitants are slaves. There is some commerce in palm oil, chiefly with Brit- ish traders. The principal towns are Duke Town and Creek Town; pop. of each, 6,000 to 7,000. Old Calabar river, the principal stream on this part of the coast, crosses this district. New Calabar river is about 80 m. further W., and forms one of the outlets of the Niger, flow- ing into the same estuary with the Bonny. The town of New Calabar is on an island in the river, about 20 m. above its mouth. It has some traffic in slaves, ivory, and palm oil, for which it receives European goods. CALABAR BEAN, the fruit of physostigma venenosum (Gr. qvca, bellows, and trri-y/ia, a prick), a climbing plant of the family legumi- nosce, which grows by the river sides in west- ern Africa. The leaves, which are more than an inch long, three quarters of an inch in width, and of a brownish red or ash-gray color, are used by the natives to determine the guilt or innocence of persons suspected of crime, and have thence received the name of ordeal bean. The quantity used for this purpose is said to be generally fatal unless vomiting is produced. Of 70 cases of children in Liverpool who ate of the beans, the only one who died was the only one who did not vomit either from the drug itself or from emetics. Some of the symptoms produced by a small dose are difficulty of breathing, palpitation, depression, muscular weakness, and indistinctness of vision. After larger doses vomiting is likely to take place ; when it does not, the symptons increase until death ; speech becomes difficult, but the mind remains clear. Some of its most important effects are upon the eye, the pupil being Calabar Bean (Physostigma vcnenosum). strongly contracted, and the accommodation so disturbed that distant objects are not seen until the near point is approximated, being in this respect almost the exact opposite of bella- donna. The same effects are observed after local application. Its action, according to Dr. Fra- ser's experiments, is that of a powerful seda- tive to the spinal cord and cardiac ganglia. It has been as yet chiefly employed in oph- thalmic practice, but has been recommended as an antidote to strychnia, and in tetanus and chorea. In some cases of tetanus it has been apparently successful. It may be ad- ministered either by the mouth or rectum, or subcutaneously, the dose being regulated by the effect produced. CALABASH TREE (crcscentia cvjete), a native of the West Indies nnd the continent of Ameri- ca. It grows to about the height and bulk of an apple tree, with crooked horizontal branch- es, has wedge-shaped leaves, pale white flow-