Encyclopaedia Britannica; or, A dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan … > Volume 2, C-L

cue ( 298 ) C U L
CUBE, in geometry, a folid body, confifting of fix e-
qual fquare fides. See Geometry.
CUBEBS, in the materia medica, a fmall dried fruit,
refembling a grain of pepper, but often fomewhat
longer, brought into Europe from the ifland of Java.
In aromatic warmth and pungency, they are far infe¬
rior to pepper.
CUBIC, or Cubical equation, in algebra. See Al¬
gebra.
CUBIT, in the menfuration of theanciems, along mea-
fure, equal to the length of a man’s arm, from the
elbow to the tip of the fingers.
Dr Arbuthnot makes the Englifh cubit equal to 18
inches ; the Roman cubit equal to 1 foot 5, 406 inches;
and the cubit of the feripture equal to 1 foot, 9, 888
inches.
CUCKOW, in ornithology. See Cuculus.
Cuckow-spit, the fame with froth-fpit. See Froth-
spit.
Cuckow spit-insect. See Cicada.
CUCUBALUS, in botany, a genus of the decandria
trigynia clafs._- The calix is inflated ; the corolla has
five petals with ungues^ and the capfule has three
cells. There are 13 fpecies, five of which are natives
of Britain, viz. the bacciferus, or berry-bearing chiek-
weed; the beken, or white corn, campion ; the vifeo-
fus, or Dover campion; the elites, or Spanifh catch-
fly.; and the acaulis, or mofs campion.
'CUCULUS, the Cuckow, in ornithology, a genus be¬
longing to the order of picae. The .bill is fomewhat
cylindrical; the edges of the noftrils are a little pro¬
minent • the tongue is arrow-fhaped, plain, and not
divided, and the toes are of the climbing,kind, i. e.
two before and two behind. It is about the fize of a
pigeon. The cuckow is a migrating bird ; it comes to
Britain about the end of April, hatches its young, and
difappears about St John’s day. The cuckow neither
builds a neft, nor fits upon its eggs; but takes poffef-
fion of a neft built by fmall birds of the fparrow kind,
in which it generally lays but one egg, which is hatch¬
ed by the fmall bird along with its own eggs ; during
the time of hatching, the cuckow fits upon hedges or
trees, and almoft conftantly fings. If the cmkow’s
egg be firft hatched, fhe immediately throws out and
deftroys the eggs of the fmall bird; but if the fmall
bird’s eggs be firft hatched, the cuckow allows the
young to live till its own egg is hatched, and then de¬
ftroys the young belonging to the fmall bird. The
fmall bird feeds and brings up the young cuckow with
as much care arid attention as if it were its own, till
it be able to procure its own food, when, fome fay, it
ungratefully kills and eats its nurfe. The cuckow feeds
upon caterpillars and fmall birds; but is never tranf-
formed into a hawk, as is vulgarly fuppofed. It is
a native of Europe. Linnteus enumerates no lefs than
22 fpecies, which inhabit different parts of the globe,
and are chiefly diftinguifhed by thg fhape of the tail
and variations in colour.
’CUCUMBER, in botany. See Cucumis.
CUCUMIS, or Cucumber, in botany, a genus of the
mqnoecia. fyngenefia clafs. The calix of the male has
five teeth ; the corolla is divided into five fegments;
and the filaments are three : The calix and corolla of
the female are the fame with thofe of the male ; the
piftiilum is trifid ; and the feeds of the apple are fliort
and flender. There are 11 fpecies, none of them na¬
tives of Britain.
CUCURBIT, in chemiftry. See Chemistry, Vol. II.
p. 109.
CUCURBITA, the gourd, in botany, a genus of the
monoecia fyngenefia clafs. The' calix has five teeth ;
the corolla is divided into five fegments; and the fila¬
ments are three : The calix and corolla of the female
are the fame with thofe of the male ; the piftillum is
quinquefid ; and the feeds of the apple are turned at
the edges. The fpecies are five, none of them natives
of Britain.
CUD fometimes means the infide of the throat in beafts,
and fometimes the food that they keep there and
chew over again : from whence, to chew the cud,
fignifies, to ponder, think, or ruminate upon a thing.
CUDWEED, in botany. See Gnaphalium.
CUENCA, a city and bilhop’s fee of New Caftile, in
Spain, about eighty-five miles eaft of Madrid :. W.
long. 20 40', and N. lat. 40° 12 .
CUIRASSE, a piece of defenfive armour, made of iron
plate, well hamfriered, ferving to cover the body, from
the neck to the girdle, both before and behind.
Whence,
CUIRASSIERS, cavalry armed with cuiraffes, as moft
of the Germans are: the French have a regiment of
cuiraffiers ; but we have had none in the Britifti army
fince the revolution.
CULDEES, in church-hiftory, a fort of monkifh priefts,
formerly inhabiting Scotland and Ireland. Being re-
markable'for the religious exercifes of preaching and
praying, they were called, by way of eminence, cul-
tores Dei; from whence is derived the word culdees.
They made choice of one of their own fraternity to be
their fpiritual head, who was afterwards called the
Scots bilhop.
CULEUS, in Roman antiquity, the largeft meafure of
capacity for things liquid,, containing twenty amphorae,
or forty urnse. It contained one hundred forty-three
gallons, three pints, Englifh wine-meafure; and was
11.095 folid inches.
CULEX, in zoology, a genus of infefts belonging to the
order of diptera: The mouth is armed with fetaceous
prickles inclofed in a flexile fheath. There are feVen
fpecies, principally diftinguifhed by their colour,
CULIACAN, the capital of a province of the fame name
in Mexico, oppofite to the fouthern end of California:
W. long. 11 30, and N. lat. 240.
CULLIAGE, a baibarousand immoral praftice, where¬
by the lords of manors anciently affumed a right to the
firft night of their vaffals brides.
CULLEN, a parliament town in Scotland, fituated on
the fea-coaft of Banfftiire : W. long. 20 12 , and N.
lat. 570 38'.
CULM, or Culm us, among botanifts. See Vol. I.
p. 641.
CULMI-