CREEK. A narrow inlet of the sea shoaling suddenly. Also, the channels
connecting the several branches of a river and lake islands, and one
lake or lagoon with another. It differs from a cove, in being
proportionately deeper and narrower. In law, it is part of a haven where
anything is landed from the sea.
CREEL, OR CRUE, for fishing. _See_ KREEL.
CREENGAL. _See_ CRINGLE.
CREEPER. A small grapnel (iron instrument with four claws) for dragging
for articles dropped overboard in harbour. When anything falls, a dish
or other white object thrown immediately after it will greatly guide the
creeping.
CREES. _See_ KRIS.
CREMAILLEE. More commonly called _indented_ (which see), with regard to
lines or parapets.
CRENELLE. A loop-hole in a fortress.
CRENG. _See_ KRANG.
CREOLE. This term applies in the West Indies and Spanish America, &c.,
to a person of European and unmixed origin, but colonial born.
CREPUSCULUM. _See_ TWILIGHT.
CRESPIE. A northern term for a small whale or a grampus.
CRESSET. A beacon light set on a watch-tower.
CRESSIT. A small crease or dagger.
CREST. The highest part of a mountain, or range of mountains, and the
summit of a sea-wave.
CREW. Comprehends every officer and man on board ship, borne as
complement on the books. There are in ships of war several particular
crews or gangs, as the gunner's, carpenter's, sail-maker's,
blacksmith's, armourer's, and cooper's crews.
CRIB. A small berth in a packet.
CRICK. A small jack-screw.
CRIMPS. Detested agents who trepan seamen, by treating, advancing money,
&c., by which the dupes become indebted, and when well plied with liquor
are induced to sign articles, and are shipped off, only discovering
their mistake on finding themselves at sea robbed of all they
possessed.
CRINGLE. A short piece of rope worked grommet fashion into the bolt-rope
of a sail, and containing a metal ring or thimble. The use of the
cringle is generally to hold the end of some rope, which is fastened
thereto for the purpose of drawing up the sail to its yard, or extending
the skirts or leech by means of bowline _bridles_, to stand upon a
side-wind. The word seems to be derived from the old English _crencled_,
or circularly formed. Cringles should be made of the strands of new
bolt-rope. Those for the reef and reef-tackle pendant are stuck through
holes made in the tablings.
CRINKYL. The cringle or loop in the leech of a sail.
CRIPPLE, TO. To disable an enemy's ship by wounding his masts, yards,
and steerage gear, thereby placing him _hors de combat_.
CRISS-CROSS. The mark of a man who cannot write his name.
CROAKER. A tropical fish which makes a _cris-cris_ noise.
CROAKY. A term applied to plank when it curves much in short lengths.
CROCHERT. A hagbut or hand cannon, anciently in use.
CROCK [Anglo-Saxon, _croca_]. An earthen mess-vessel, and the usual
vegetables were called crock-herbs. In the _Faerie Queene_ Spenser cites
the utensil:--
"Therefore the vulgar did aboute him flocke,
Like foolish flies about an honey-crocke."
CROCODILES. A designation for those who served in Egypt under Lord
Keith.
CROJEK. The mode of pronouncing _cross-jack_ (which see).
CRONNAG. In the Manx and Erse, signifies a rock that can be seen before
low-water.
CROOKED-CATCH. An iron implement bent in the form of the letter S.
CROOKS. _Crooked timbers._ Short arms or branches of trees.
CROONER. The gray gurnard (_Trigla gurnardus_), so called on account of
the creaking noise it makes after being taken.
CROSS-BARS. Round bars of iron, bent at each end, used as levers to turn
the shank of an anchor.
CROSS-BAR-SHOT. The famed cross-bar-shot, or properly _bar-shot_, used
by the Americans: when folded it presented a bar or complete shot, and
could thus be placed in the gun. But as it left the muzzle it expanded
to a cross, with four quarters of a shot at its radial points. It was
used to destroy the rigging as well as do execution amongst men.
CROSS-BITT. The same as _cross-piece_ (which see).
CROSS-BORED. Bored with holes alternately on the edges of planks, to
separate the fastenings, so as to avoid splitting the timbers or beams.
CROSS-BOW. An ancient weapon of our fleet, when also in use on shore.
CROSS-CHOCKS. Large pieces of timber fayed across the dead-wood
amidships, to make good the deficiency of the heels of the lower
futtocks.
CROSS-FISH. A northern name for the _asterias_ or star-fish; so called
from the Norwegian _kors-fisk_. Also, the _Uraster rubens_.
CROSS-GRAINED. Not straight-grained as in good wood; hence the perverse
and vexatious disposition of the ne'er-do-wells. As Cotton's _Juno_--
"That cross-grained, peevish, scolding queen."
CROSS-HEAD. In a steamer's engine, is on the top of the piston-rod
athwart the cylinder; and there is another fitted to the air-pump, both
having side-rods. (_See_ CYLINDER CROSS-HEAD.)
CROSSING A SHIP'S WAKE. When a ship sails over the transient track which
another has just passed, _i.e._ passes close astern of her.
CROSSING THE CABLES IN THE HATCHWAY. A method by which the operation of
coiling is facilitated; it alludes to hempen cables, which are now
seldom used.
CROSS IN THE HAWSE. Is when a ship moored with two anchors from the bows
has swung the wrong way once, whereby the two cables lie across each
other.--_To cross a vessel's hawse_ is to sail across the line of her
course, a little ahead of her.
CROSSJACK-YARD [pronounced _crojeck-yard_]. The lower yard on the
mizen-mast, to the arms of which the clues of the mizen top-sail are
extended. The term is applied to any fore-and-aft vessels setting a
square-sail, flying, below the lower cross-trees. It is now very common
in merchant ships to set a sail called a cross-jack upon this yard.
CROSS-PAWLS. _See_ CROSS-SPALES.
CROSS-PIECE. The transverse timber of the bitts. Also, a rail of timber
extending over the windlass of some merchant-ships from the knight-heads
to the belfry. It is furnished with wooden pins to fasten the
running-rigging to, as occasion requires.--_Cross-pieces._ Short pieces
laid across the keel of a line-of-battle ship, and scarphed to the lower
ends of the first futtocks, as strengtheners.
CROSS-SEA. A sea not caused by the wind then blowing. During a heavy
gale which changes quickly (a cyclone, for instance), each change of
wind produces a direction of the sea, which lasts for some hours after
the wind which caused it has changed, so that in a part of the sea which
has experienced all the changes of one of these gales, the sea runs up
in pyramids, sending the tops of the waves perpendicularly into the air,
which are then spread by the prevailing wind; the effect is awfully
grand and dangerous, for it generally renders a ship ungovernable until
it abates.
CROSS-SOMER. A beam of timber.
CROSS-SPALES OR SPALLS. Temporary beams nailed across a vessel to keep
the sides together, and support the ship in frame, until the deck-knees
are fastened.
CROSS-STAFF. _See_ FORE-STAFF.
CROSS-SWELL. This is similar to a cross-sea, except that it undulates
without breaking violently.
CROSS-TAIL. In a steam-engine, is of the same form as the cylinder
cross-head: it has iron straps catching the pins in the ends of the
side-levers.
CROSS-TIDE. The varying directions of the flow amongst shoals that are
under water. (_See_ CURRENT.)
CROSS-TIMBERS. _See_ CROSS-PIECE.
CROSS-TREES. Certain timbers supported by the cheeks and trestle-trees
at the upper ends of the lower and top masts, athwart which they are
laid to sustain the frame of the tops on the one, and to extend the
top-gallant shrouds on the other.
CROTCHED-YARD. The old orthography for _crossjack-yard_ (which see).
CROTCHES. _See_ CRUTCH.
CROW, OR CROW-BAR. An iron lever furnished with a sharp point at one
end, and two claws on a slight bevel bend at the other, to prize or
remove weighty bodies, like pieces of timber, to draw spike-nails, &c.
Also, to direct and manage the great guns.
CROWDIE. Meal and milk mixed in a cold state; but sometimes a mere
composition of oatmeal and boiled water, eaten with treacle, or butter
and sugar, as condiment.
CROWD SAIL, TO. To carry an extraordinary press of canvas on a ship, as
in pursuit of, or flight from, an enemy, &c.
CROW-FOOT. A number of small lines spreading out from an uvrou or long
block, used to suspend the awnings by, or to keep the top-sails from
striking violently, and fretting against the top-rims. (_See_ EUPHROE.)
Also, a kind of stand, attached to the end of mess-tables, and hooked to
a beam above.--_Crow-foot_ or _beam-arm_ is also a crooked timber,
extended from the side of a beam to the ship's side, in the wake of the
hatchway, supplying the place of a beam.--_Crow's-foot_ is the name of
the four-pointed irons thrown in front of a position, to hamper the
advance of cavalry, and other assailants, for in whatsoever way they
fall one point is upwards. The phrase of _crow's-feet_ is also jocularly
applied to the wrinkles spreading from the outer corner of the eyes--a
joke used both by Chaucer and Spenser.
CROWN. A common denomination in most parts of Europe for a silver coin,
varying in local value from 2_s._ 6_d._ sterling to 8_s._ (_See also_
PREROGATIVE.)--_Crown of an anchor._ The place where the arms are joined
to the shank, and unite at the throat.--_Crown of a gale._ Its extreme
violence.--In fortification, to crown is to effect a lodgment on the top
of; thus, the besieger _crowns_ the covered way when he occupies with
his trenches the crest of the glacis.
CROWN, OR DOUBLE CROWN. A knot; is to pass the strands of a rope over
and under each other above the knot by way of finish. (_See_ KNOT.)
CROWNING. The finishing part of some knots on the end of a rope, to
prevent the ends of the strands becoming loose. They are more
particularly useful in all kinds of stoppers. (_See_ WALL-KNOT and
CROWN.)
CROWN-WORK. In fortification, the largest definite form of outwork,
having for its head two contiguous bastioned fronts, and for its sides
two long strait faces, flanked by the artillery fire of the place. Or a
detached work, according to the circumstances of the ground, requiring
such advanced occupation.
CROW-PURSE. The egg-capsule of a skate.
CROW-SHELL. A fresh-water mussel.
CROW'S NEST. A small shelter for the look-out man: sometimes made with a
cask, at the top-gallant mast-head of whalers, whence fish are espied.
Also, for the ice-master to note the lanes or open spaces in the ice.
CROY. An inclosure on the sea-beach in the north for catching fish. When
the tide flows the fishes swim over the wattles, but are left by the
ebbing of the water.
CRUE. _See_ KREEL.
CRUE-HERRING. The shad (_Clupea alosa_).
CRUER. _See_ CRARE.
CRUISE, OR CRUIZE. A voyage in quest of an enemy expected to sail
through any particular tract of the sea at a certain season,--the seeker
traversing the cruising latitude under easy sail, backward and forward.
The parts of seas frequented by whales are called the cruising grounds
of whalers.
CRUISERS. Small men-of-war, made use of in the Channel and elsewhere to
secure our merchant ships from the enemy's small frigates and
privateers. They were generally such as sailed well, and were well
manned.
CRUIVES. Inclosed spaces in a dam or weir for taking salmon.
CRUMMY. Fleshy or corpulent.
CRUPPER. The train tackle ring-bolt in a gun-carriage.
CRUSADO. _See_ CRUZADO.
CRUTCH, OR CROTCH. A support fixed upon the taffrail for the main boom
of a sloop, brig, cutter, &c., and a chock for the driver-boom of a ship
when their respective sails are furled. Also, crooked timber inside the
after-peak of a vessel, for securing the heels of the cant or
half-timbers: they are fayed and bolted on the foot-waling. Also,
stanchions of wood or iron whose upper parts are forked to receive
masts, yards, and other spars, and which are fixed along the sides and
gangways. Crutches are used instead of rowlocks, and also on the sides
of large boats to support the oars and spars.
CRUZADO. A Portuguese coin of 480 reis, value 2_s._ 7-1/4_d._ sterling
in Portugal; in England, 2_s._ to 2_s._ 2_d._
CUBBRIDGE HEADS. The old bulk-heads of the forecastle and half-decks,
wherein were placed the "murderers," or guns for clearing the decks in
emergency.
CUBE. A solid body inclosed by six square sides or faces. A cubical foot
is 12 inches square every way, of any solid substance.
CUB-HOUSE, OR CUBBOOS. _See_ CABOOSE.
CUBICULATAE. Roman ships furnished with cabins.
CUCKOLD'S-KNOT OR NECK. A knot by which a rope is secured to a spar--the
two parts of the rope crossing each other, and seized together.
CUDBEAR. (_See_ CORKIR.) A violet dye--archil, a test.
CUDBERDUCE. The cuthbert-duck, a bird of the Farne Isles, off
Northumberland.
CUDDIC, CUDDY, OR CUDLE. All derived from cuttle-fish varieties of sepia
used for baits.
CUDDIE, OR CUDDIN. One of the many names for the coal-fish, a staple
article of the coast of Scotland. The _Gadus carbonarius_ is taken
nearly all the year round by fishing from the rocks, and by means of
landing nets. If this fish be not delicate, it is at least nutritious,
and as it contains much oil, it furnishes light as well as food.
CUDDING. A northern name for the char.
CUDDY. A sort of cabin or cook-room, generally in the fore-part, but
sometimes near the stern of lighters and barges of burden. In the
oceanic traders it is a cabin abaft, under the round-house or poop-deck,
for the commander and his passengers. Also, the little cabin of a boat.
CUDDY-LEGS. A name in the north for large herrings.
CUIRASS. Armour or covering for the breast, anciently made of hide.
CUIRASSIERS. Horse soldiers who wear the cuirass, a piece of defensive
armour, covering the body from the neck to the waist.
CUISSES. Armour to protect the thighs.
CULAGIUM. An archaic law-term for the laying up of a ship in the dock to
be repaired.
CULCH. _See_ OYSTER-BED.
CULLOCK. A species of bivalved mollusc on our northern shores, the
_Tellina rhomboides_.
CULMINATION, in nautical astronomy, is the transit or passage of any
celestial body over the meridian of a place.
CULRING. An old corruption of _culverin_.
CULTELLUS. _See_ COUTEL.
CULVER. A Saxon word for pigeon, whence Culver-cliff, Reculvers, &c.,
from being resorted to by those birds. [Latin, _columba_; _b_ and _v_
are often interchanged.]
CULVERIN. An ancient cannon of about 5-1/4 inches bore, and from 9 to 12
feet long, carrying a ball of 18 pounds, with a first graze at 180
paces. Formerly a favourite sea-gun, its random range being 2500 paces.
The name is derived from a snake (_coluber_), or a dragon, being
sculptured upon it, thus forming handles.
CULVER-TAIL. The fastenings of a ship's carlings into the beams.
CULVER-TAILED. Fastened by dove-tailing--a way of letting one timber
into another, so that they cannot slip asunder.
CULWARD. The archaic term for a coward.
CUMULO-CIRRO-STRATUS. A horizontal sheet of cloud, with cirrus above and
cumulus beneath; it is better known as the _nimbus_ or _rain-cloud_.
CUMULO-STRATUS. This is the twain-cloud, so called because the stratus
blends with the cumulus; it is most frequent during a changeable state
of the barometer.
CUMULUS. A cloud indicative of fair weather, when it is small: it is
sometimes seen in dense heaps, whence it obtained the name of _stacken
cloud_. It is then a forerunner of change.
CUND, TO. To give notice which way a shoal of fish is gone.
CUNETTE. _See_ CUVETTE.
CUNN, OR CON. _See_ CONN.
CUNNENG. A northern name for the lamprey.
CUP. A solid piece of cast-iron let into the step of the capstan, and in
which the iron spindle at the heel of the capstan works. Also,
colloquially used for come, as, "Cup, let me alone."
CUPOLA-SHIP. Captain Coles's; the cupola being discontinued, now called
_turret-ship_ (which see).
CUR. An east-country term for the bull-head.
CURE, TO. To salt meat or fish.
CUR-FISH. A small kind of dog-fish.
CURIET. A breast-plate made of leather.
CURL. The bending over or disruption of the ice, causing it to pile.
Also, the curl of the surf on the shore.
CURL-CLOUD. The same as _cirrus_ (which see).
CURLEW. A well-known coast bird, with a long curved bill, the _Numenius
arquatus_.
CURRACH. A skiff, formerly used on the Scottish coasts.
CURRA-CURRA. A peculiarly fast boat among the Malay Islands.
CURRENT. A certain progressive flowing of the sea in one direction, by
which all bodies floating therein are compelled more or less to submit
to the stream. The _setting_ of the current, is that point of the
compass towards which the waters run; and the _drift_ of the current is
the rate it runs at in an hour. Currents are general and particular, the
former depending on causes in constant action, the latter on occasional
circumstances. (_See_ DIRECTION.)
CURRENT SAILING. The method of determining the true motion of a ship,
when, besides being acted upon by the wind, she is drifting by the
effect of a current. A due allowance must therefore be made by the
navigator.
CURRIER. A small musketoon with a swivel mounting.
CURSOR. The moving wire in a reading microscope.
CURTAIN. In fortification, that part of the rampart which is between the
flanks of two opposite bastions, which are thereby connected.
CURTALL, OR CURTALD. An ancient piece of ordnance used in our early
fleets, apparently a short one.
CURTATE DISTANCE. An astronomical term, denoting the distance of a body
from the sun or earth projected upon the ecliptic.
CURTLE-AXE. The old term for cutlass or cutlace.
CURVED FIRE. A name coming into use with the increasing application of
the fire of heavy and elongated shells to long-range bombardment and
cannonade. It is intermediate between horizontal and vertical fire,
possessing much of the accuracy and direct force of the former, as well
as of the searching properties of the latter.
CURVE OF THE COAST. When the shore alternately recedes and projects
gradually, so as to trend towards a curve shape.
CUSEFORNE. A long open whale-boat of Japan.
CUSHIES. Armour for the thighs. The same as _cuisses_.
CUSK. A fine table-fish taken in cod-schools. _See_ TUSK or TORSK.
CUSPS. The extremities of a crescent moon, or inferior planet.
CUSSELS. The green-bone, or viviparous blenny.
CUSTOM. The toll paid by merchants to the crown for goods exported or
imported; otherwise called duty.--_Custom of the country_, a small
present to certain authorities in the less frequented ports, being
equally gift and bribe.
CUSTOM-HOUSE. An office established on the frontiers of a state, or in
some chief city or port, for the receipt of customs and duties imposed
by authority of the sovereign, and regulated by writs or books of rates.
CUSTOM-HOUSE AGENT. He who transacts the relative business of passing
goods, as to the entries required for the ship's clearance.
CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICERS. A term comprehending all the officials employed
in enforcing the customs.
CUT. A narrow boat channel; a canal.--_To cut_, to renounce acquaintance
with any one.
CUT AND RUN, TO. To cut the cable for an escape. Also, to move off
quickly; to quit occupation; to be gone.
CUT AND THRUST. To give point with a sword after striking a slash.
CUT A STICK, TO. To make off clandestinely.--_Cut your stick_, be off,
or go away.
CUTE. Sharp, crafty, apparently from _acute_; but some insist that it is
the Anglo-Saxon word _cuth_, rather meaning certain, known, or familiar.
CUTH. A name given in Orkney and Shetland to the coal-fish, before it is
fully grown; perhaps the same as _piltock_ (which see).
CUTLAS, OR COUTELAS. A sabre which was slightly curved, but recently
applied to the small-handled swords supplied to the navy--the _cutlash_
of Jack. By Shakspeare called a curtle-axe; thus Rosalind, preparing to
disguise herself as a man, is made to say,
"A gallant curtle-ax upon my thigh."
CUT-LINE. The space between the bilges of two casks stowed end to end.
CUT OFF. A term used to denote a vessel's being seized by stratagem by
the natives, and the crew being murdered. Also, to intercept a retreat.
CUT OF THE JIB. A phrase for the aspect of a vessel, or person.
CUT OUT, TO. To attack and carry a vessel by a boat force; one of the
most dashing and desperate services practised by Nelson and Cochrane, of
which latter that of cutting out the _Esmeralda_ at Callao stands
unequalled.
CUTTER. A small single-masted, sharp-built broad vessel, commonly
navigated in the English Channel, furnished with a straight running
bowsprit, occasionally run in horizontally on the deck; except for
which, and the largeness of the sails, they are rigged much like sloops.
Either clincher or carvel-built, no jib-stay, the jib hoisting and
hanging by the halliards alone. She carries a fore-and-aft main-sail,
gaff-topsail, stay-foresail, and jib. The name is derived from their
fast sailing. The cutter (as H.M.S. _Dwarf_) has been made to set every
sail, even royal studding-sails, sky-scrapers, moon-rakers, star-gazers,
water and below-water sails, that could be set by any vessel on one
mast. One of the largest which has answered effectually, was the
_Viper_, of 460 tons and 28 guns; this vessel was very useful during the
American war, particularly by getting into Gibraltar at a critical
period of the siege.
CUTTER-BRIG. A vessel with square sails, a fore-and-aft main-sail, and a
jigger-mast with a smaller one. (_See_ KETCH.)
CUTTERS of a ship are broader for their length, deeper and shorter in
proportion than the barge or pinnace; are fitter for sailing, and
commonly employed in carrying light stores, passengers, &c., to and from
the ships; some are clench-built. They generally row ten oars; others of
similar build only four, which last are termed jolly-boats. The cutters
for ships of the line are carvel-built of 25 feet, and fit for anchor
work.
CUTTER-STAY FASHION. The turning-in of a dead-eye with the end of the
shroud down.
CUT THE CABLE, TO. A man[oe]uvre sometimes necessary for making a ship
cast the right way, or when the anchor cannot be weighed.
CUTTIE. A name on our northern coasts for the black guillemot (_Uria
grille_).
CUTTING. The adjusting of a cask or spar, or turning it round.
CUTTING A FEATHER. It is common when a ship has too broad a bow to say,
"She will not cut a feather," meaning that she will not pass through the
water so swift as to make less foam or froth.
CUTTING DOWN. Taking a deck off a ship; as ships of the line are
converted into frigates, the _Royal Sovereign_ into a turret ship,
&c.--_Cutting down_ is also a dangerous midshipman's trick, and
sometimes practised by the men: it consists in cutting the laniard of a
cot or hammock in which a person is then asleep, and letting him
fall--_lumpus_--either by the head or the feet.
CUTTING-DOWN LINE. An elliptical curve line used by shipwrights in the
delineation of ships; it determines the depth of all the floor timbers,
and likewise the height of the dead-wood fore and aft. It is limited in
the middle of the ship by the thickness of the floor timbers, and abaft
by the breadth of the keelson, and must be carried up so high upon the
stern as to leave sufficient substance for the breeches of the rising
timbers.
CUTTING HIS PAINTER. Making off suddenly or clandestinely, or "departed
this life."
CUTTING IN. Making the special directions for taking the blubber off a
whale, which is flinched by taking off circularly ribbons of the skin
with blubber attached; the animal being made to turn in the water as the
purchases at the mast-heads heave it upwards.
CUTTING-OUT. A night-meal or forage in the officer's pantry.
CUTTING OUT OR IN. In polar phraseology, is performed by sawing canals
in a floe of ice, to enable a ship to regain open water.
CUTTING RIGGING. This includes the act of measuring it.
CUTTLE-FISH. A common marine animal of the genus _Sepia_, and class
_Cephalopoda_. It has ten tentacles or arms ranged around the mouth, two
being of much greater length than the others. When in danger it ejects a
black inky substance, darkening the water for some distance around. The
oval internal calcareous shell, "cuttle-bone," often found lying on the
beach, was formerly much used in pharmacy.
CUTTS. Flat-bottomed horse-ferry boats of a former day.
CUTTY-GUN. A northern term for a short pipe.
CUT-WATER. The foremost part of a vessel's prow, or the sharp part of
the knee of a ship's head below the beak. It cuts or divides the water
before reaching the bow, which would retard progress. It is fayed to the
fore-part of the main stem. (_See_ KNEE OF THE HEAD.)
CUVETTE, called also CUNETTE. A deeper trench cut along the middle of a
dry moat; a ditch within a ditch, generally carried down till there be
water to fill it.
CWM, OR COMB. A British word signifying an inlet, valley, or low place,
where the hilly sides round together in a concave form; the sides of a
_glyn_ being, on the contrary, convex.
CYCLE. A term generally applied to an interval of time in which the same
phenomena recur.
CYCLE OF ECLIPSES. A period of about 6586 days, which is the time of a
revolution of the moon's node; after the lapse of this period the
eclipses recur in the same order as before, with few exceptions. This
cycle was known to the ancients under the name of Saros.
CYCLOID. A geometrical curve of the higher kind.
CYCLONE. _See_ TYPHOON.
CYLINDER. The body of a pump; any tubular part of an engine.--_Charge
cylinder_ of a gun, is the part which receives the powder and ball, the
remaining portion being styled the _vacant cylinder_. Especially in
marine steam-engines, the cylindrical metal tube, with a diameter
proportionate to the power of the engine, of which it may be termed the
chief part, since it contains the active steam. Also, a cartridge box
for the service of artillery. (_See_ CARTRIDGE-BOX.)
CYLINDER-COVER. In the steam-engine, is a metal lid with a hole in the
centre for the piston-rod to work through.
CYLINDER CROSS-HEAD. An adaptation on the top of the piston-rod,
stretching out athwart the cylinder, from the ends of which the
side-rods hang.
CYLINDER ESCAPE-VALVES. Small conical valves at each end of the
cylinder, for the purpose of letting off any water that may collect
above or below the piston.
CYLINDER POWDER. That made upon the improved method of charring the wood
to be used as charcoal in iron cylinders. All British government
gunpowder is now made thus.