More than one of these 7 encyclopedias carries each of the following subjects — but every one of them treats it in a sentence or two and then moves on. They are gathered here so the different accounts can sit side by side.
Caper
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the unopened flower-bud of a low trailing shrub (Capparis spinosa, order Capparidaceae), which grows from the crevices of rocks and walls, and among rubbish, in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Picked and pickled in vinegar and salt they are much used as a condiment (caper sauce being especially the accompaniment of boiled mutton). The plant was introduced into Great Britain as early as 1596, but has never been grown on a large scale. The flower-buds of the marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) and the nasturtium are frequently pickled and eaten as a substitute for capers.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a trailing shrub growing on old walls, rubbish heaps, and the like in Mediterranean countries. The unopened flower buds when put down in vinegar are called capers. These pickles are much used, especially in making caper sauce to serve with boiled mutton. The taste is sharp and bitter, quite unpleasant to those not accustomed to it. Travelers speak of the profuse white and purple flowers as an ornament of the rubbish heaps and ruins of the Levant.
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Capercailzie
Aiton's Encyclopedia: ka-per-kal'zi, a fine, large bird of the grouse kind. The male bird weighs up to fifteen pounds. Its plumage is variegated,-black, brown, and white with a dark green breast and a patch of naked scarlet skin over one eye. It is found in extensive woods, and is often called the "cock of the woods." It feeds on berries and buds and the tender shoots of fir. Formerly common to northern Europe, it is now confined to the evergreen covered mountains of Scotland, Scandinavia, Russia, and possibly portions of Asia.
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the wood grouse, mountain cock, or cock of the woods-a species of grouse, Tetrao urogallus, of large size, formerly indigenous in the highlands of Scotland, but which became extinct, and had to be reintroduced from the Scandinavian Peninsula, where it is abundant in the pine forests, feeding on the seeds. The general color is black and green, with white marks on the wing and tail.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Capybara
Aiton's Encyclopedia: ka-pe-ba'ra, a water-loving animal found in the tropical regions of South America , especially in the waters of the Orinoco, the Amazon, and the La Plata . It is the largest rodent known. It belongs to the guinea-pig family. It is intermediate between the hare and the porcupine. It has a massive body covered with brown hair, and bare legs terminating in feet shaped rather for swimming than for walking. It has the stumpy tail of a small rabbit, a broad, flat head, small ears, the eyes of a pig, a broad nose, and teeth shaped like those of a muskrat. The Dutch settlers call it a water hare and sometimes a water hog. It lives in the grass along edges of streams, and takes to the water on the slightest alarm. It is the natural food of the South American anaconda, or water constrictor. It is an in-offensive animal. It attains a weight of 100 pounds. Its flesh is considered good eating. Its teeth are suitable for cutting off grass and sugar-cane, on which it chiefly feeds. Its visits are dreaded by the planter See Guinea-Pig
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the Hydrochœrus bara, or Watercavy of Brazil, an animal allied to the Guinea-pig. -pig. It is about three feet in length, and has the general appearance of a hippopotamus in miniature. It is of the rodent family Cavidæ.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Carat
Aiton's Encyclopedia: kar'at, a unit of weight for precious stones. The word is derived from the Arabic, having reference to the hornshaped pod of a locust tree, whose dried beans were used as weights. By a conference of jewelers held at Amsterdam in 1877, the weight of a carat was fixed at 205 milligrams or 151.76 carats to the troy ounce. In estimating the fineness of precious metals a carat is a twenty-fourth part. A ring eighteen carats fine contains eighteen twenty-fourths of pure gold. The standard fineness of a wedding ring is twenty-two carats. A gold chain should not be over fourteen carats fine if wearing qualities are desired.
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a weight of 3½ grains; the twenty-fourth part of an ounce. It is used by jewelers to express the fineness of gold, the whole mass being supposed to be divided into 24 parts, and said to be so many carats fine, according to the number of twenty-fourth parts of pure gold contained in it. Twenty-four carat means all gold, 18 carat three-quarters gold. Fine gold consists of 22 carats of pure gold and two of alloy. The United States gold coinage is in these proportions. The carat used for diamonds and other precious stones equals 200 milligrams (3.086 grains).
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Caraway
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a species of Umbelliferæ, which has long been valued and cultivated in Europe for the sake of the well-known aromatic "caraway seeds" which it bears; these being, however, in strictness not seeds, but the mericarps, into which the fruit in this order splits when ripening. Their properties are due to the volatile caraway-oil, which is contained in the large oil-glands (vitta) of the fruit, and is distilled on a large scale, chiefly for the preparation of the liqueur known as kümmel, but also for use in perfumery and in pharmacy, as an aromatic stimulant, and flavoring ingredient. Caraways are, however, chiefly used entire as a spice by bakers and confectioners, and the cultivation of the plant thus attains considerable importance, particularly in Germany and Holland. CARBAZOTIC ACID. See PICRIC ACID.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a plant of the parsley family. It is found wild in southern Europe and some parts of Asia. The seeds are much used for flavoring cookies, bread, and cheese. Caraway is also a medicine, and an oil pressed from the seed is used as a perfume. If left to do as it pleases caraway is pretty apt to take care of itself about dooryards.
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Carbonates
Collier's New Encyclopedia: compounds formed by the union of carbonic acid with a base, as the carbonate of lime, the carbonate of copper, etc. Carbonates are an important class of salts, many of them being extensively used in the arts and in medicine.
The Encyclopedia of Founding: Compounds of carbonic acid with salifiable bases, composed either of one prime of acid and one of base, or one of acid and two of base. The former are carbonates, the latter bicarbonates.
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and The Encyclopedia of Founding