Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/220

CAPS. 182 CAPSULE. of all semblance of authority; the Hats wished the King to retain some measure of power. In foreign affairs the Caps were frienrlly to Kus- sia, while the Hats favored a French alliance. The Hats were the aristocrats, the Caps con- stituted the popular party. CAP'SICUM (Xeo-I-at, from Lat. capsa, l)i)., frciiu ciiijvrc, to hold). A genus of plants of the natiiml order SolanaceiB, having a wheel- shaped corolla, projecting and converging sta- mens, and a dry berry. The species are all of a shrubby, bushy appearance, and liave more or less woody stems, although they are annual or biennial jilants. About ninety sj)ccies have been named. They are natives of tropical America, have simjjle leaves and rather inconspicuous flowers, and some of them are in very general cul- tivation in tropical and subtropical countries for their fruit, which is extremely pungent and stimulant, and is employed in sauces, mixed pickles, medicine, etc., often under its Mexican iianie of chiles. The fruits of dillerent species differ in form, being round, oval, conical, heart- Uiaiied, etc. : they vary from half an inch to 4 inches in length, and are sometimes of a bright red, sometimes of a yellow color. In all, the dry berry has an inflated ajjpearance, and contains numerous whitish, flattened seeds, which are even more pungent than the leathery epidermis or the spongy pulp. Cayenne pepper 'consists chiefly of the ground seeds, (.'apsicum aiinunm, sometimes called common capsicum or chilli-pepper, is, perhaps, the most common species in cultivation. Capsicum fnitcscens, sometimes called goat-pep- per, and Capsicum baccittum, sometimes called bird-iiepper, have great pungency, and the for- mer is generally described as the true Cayenne pcpi)er. Capsicjim cerasiformc, with a small, clierry-like fruit, and therefore called cherry- I'.epper, and Capsicum grossum, with a large, ob- long, or ovate fruit, known as bell-pepper, are fmpiently cultivated. Ilie fruit is used either rijic or unripe, except for making Cayenne pep- per, fur which dried ripe fruit is employed. See i'Eri'EI!. CAPSTAN (Fr. cahrslan, Sp. cahcstrantc, probably from f.at. capislrare, to tie with a hal- ter, from capistrum, halter, from capcre, to hold). A machine used on shipboard for hand- ling the anchor and other heavy weights. It was formerly made of wood, with iron fit- tings, but is now generally of iron. It con- sists of the barrel, drum-head, wildcat, paul- head, and spindle. The axis of the capstan is vertical, and is formed of an iron or steel spindle. The barrel is not cylindrical, but is smaller at the centre, toward' which the upper and lower ends eure. This curve causes a rope which is wound round the barrel to slip toward the centre as it is pulled in by the capstan in turning. To increase the friction around the barrel, ridges, called vhclps, extend up and down its surface. Around the circumference of the drumhead are square holes extending in toward the centre to a depth of several inches, forming sockets for inserting the capstjinbars, which stand out when in place like the spokes of a wheel. The bars have scores or grooves in the outer ends, through which is passed a small rope called the stciflcr. that serves to keep the bars in place. A capstan-bar of ordinary size is sufliciently long to permit three or four men to push against it in heaving. The wildcat is a deep groove between the lip on the lower end of the l)arrcl and the pawl-head, and is designed to grip the chain which rests in it for about half the circumference. To j)rcvent the chain from slipi)iug, there are, on the upper and lower sides of the groove, ridges or whelps extending radi- ally, and growing thicker and higher as they approach the axis. These whelps catch between the links of the chain that stand vertically, and so prevent the latter from slipping. On the circumference of the pawl-head are pivoted the pauls, which are short bars of iron working in a pawl-rack in the capstan-hcd, which is bolted to the deck. To tcallc hack the capstan, or re- verse the motion, it is necessary to lift these ij m iMi ml ^-^^/p^^^ g^ gVB CAPSTAN. a. Whelps on the barrel : b, sockets or pigeonholes for capstan-bars; c, drum-head ; rf. barrel ; e, wildcat: f, pawls; g, pawl-head; A, base containing pawl-rack. pawls and throw them over, so that they will act only in the opposite direction. Wooden cap- stans, of very similar form to those now used, liut without the wildcat, were devised by Sir Thomas ilorelaud in IGUl. In the days of rope anchor-cables they were hauled in by means of a messenger, as the cable itself was too large to be worked around the capstan-liarrel. The messenger was a smaller rope, which was gripped to the cable by rope nippers. It led to the barrel of the capstan and back again to near the hawse-pipe. The nipjiers were taken off one by one as they approached the capstan, and others put on farther forward. After the introduction of chain cables, messengers continued to be used until the invention of the wildcat enabled the chain to be brought directly to the capstan. In steamers, capsUins are now generally worked liy steam power; but they are r;ipidly being <lis- placed by steam tcindlasses, which resemble two capstans placed base to base, with the axes hori- zontal. See Anchor. CAPSXTLE (Fr.. from Lat. capsula, little box, capsa, box. from capcre. to hold). A dry, de- hiscent fruit, made up of more than one carpel. Sometimes it contains but a single chamber; in other cases there are as nianv chambers as there