Cuprite
CUPROUS OXIDE, CU₂O, found either as a red earth, or as brilliant, transparent crystals of a ruby-red color, specific gravity, 6.0. It contains 88.8 per cent. copper, and is widely distributed, occurring in many parts of the United States. A crystalline variety is known as chalcotrichite, while tile-ore is the name given to one of the earthy varieties. CUPULIFERÆ, diclinous exogens, so called from possessing a cupule which takes the form of a bony or coriaceous one-celled nut, more or less inclosed in an involucre.
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Curassow
the name given to a large gallinaceous bird, Crax alector, more fully denominated in English the crested The upper parts are deep curassow. black, with a glow of green on various parts; the lower parts dull white, a color found also on the lower tail coverts. The curassow is found in flocks in the forests of Mexico, Guiana, and Brazil.
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Curator
in civil law, the guardian of a minor who has attained the age of 14, of persons under various disabilities, or of the estate of deceased or absent persons and insolvents. In learned institutions the person who has charge of the library or collections of natural history, etc., is often called the curator. CURÉ (kü-rā'), the name applied in France to a priest with a cure of souls. Commonly applied to any pastor with spiritual functions.
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Curb
An iron casing, in which to ram moulds that are made in loam. They may be whole or in sections, according to size and convenience, and are of great service when the moulds are shallow and it is not desirable to sink a pit. They may be employed in the pit also, in order to limit the amount of sand to be rammed round a mould to the smallest amount possible consistent with safety. By this means much time and labor is saved. Those in common use are simply boiler plate, riveted together if whole, and bolted if in sections. Improved sections are made that lock together with steel pins, so that it becomes the simplest matter possible to alter the diameter to an unlimited extent. The most convenient depth for curbs is from 15 to 18 inches. See PIT; LOAM-MOULDING; RAMMING.
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Curculio
. See Weevil
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Cures
an ancient town of the Sabines, 25 miles N. E. of Rome, whence the Romans, after the people of Cures united with them, came to be called Quirites.
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Curfew Laws
in the United States, laws intended to keep young people off the streets after a certain hour at night.
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Curia
PAPAL, in its stricter sense the authorities which administer the Papal primacy; in its common wider use all the authorities and functionaries forming the Papal court. The different branches of the curia having respect to church government are the sacred congregation of cardinals, the secretariat of state, and the vicariate of Rome, the machinery employed being supplied by the chancery, the dataria, and the camera apostolica. As "supreme judge" in Christendom the Pope acts through special congregations and delegated judges, ju or through the regular tribunals of the rota and segnatura, and the penitenziaria. The institution of the Papal Chapel and the household of the Pope are also classed as departments of the curia; and finally the functionaries maintaining the external relations of the Pope-legates, nuncios, apostolic delegates, etc. Formerly the curia included besides these the mechanism and functions of secular administration.
anciently one of the 30 divisions of the Roman people, which Romulus is said to have established; also the place of assembly for each of these divisions. The comitia curiata was the assembly of the people in curiæ.
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Curran
JOHN PHILPOT, an Irish advocate and orator; born in Newmarket, County Cork, in 1750. In 1783 he obtained a seat in the Irish Parliament as member for Kilbeggan. In debate, Curran, who was one of the few Liberal members then in the House, was usually charged with the duty of replying to opponents; for which important duty his ready speech and cutting retort admirably qualified him. In 1788, he was in favor of the formation of the Irish volunteers; and, in subsequent years, he was constant and eloquent in his appeals to government to adopt a different policy toward Ireland, as that which it was pursuing was likely to drive the people into rebellion. Government gave no heed, and the rebellion of 1798 was the consequence. Curran had retired from Parliament before the Union, of which he was a warm opponent. He was appointed Master of the Rolls in Ireland in 1806, an office he held till 1813, when he resigned. He died in London in 1817.
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Current
Current is spoken of in the foundry in its relation to the flow of metal as it leaves the furnace, or as it flows from the ladle into the mould. It is also applied to the forced stream of molten metal as it issues from the gates and flows over the mould's surface. The current of metal, like all other fluids, is strongest at its source--for which reason there is always the greatest danger of abrasion nearest to the gates or runners; hence special attention should be expended to make such parts of a mould more rigid and refractory than is necessary elsewhere. See GATES; RUNNER; CUTTING; SCABBING.
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Current Meter
an instrument for measuring the rate of flow of water in streams, canals, or rivers. The velocity of a stream is usually measured to determine the amount of flow. The modern current meter, which is an evolution of the type introduced in 1790 by Woltmann, a German hydraulic engineer, consists essentially of a vertical metal rod, weighted at the bottom. A tail is fastened to this rod, which keeps the apparatus in the proper position. Attached to the rod, and at right angles to it is a device consisting of a wheel with cupped vanes, and a rudder which keeps the wheel facing the current. This wheel is connected with a device which records its revolutions. From a known relation between the number of revolutions in a given time and the speed of the water, the rate of flow of any stream can be determined. The instrument is calibrated by drawing it at various known speeds through still water.
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