Encyclopædia americana. A popular dictionary of arts, sciences, literature, history, politics and biography, a new ed.; including a copious collection of original articles in American biography; on the basis of the 7th ed. of the German Conversations-lexicon. Ed. by Francis Lieber, assisted by E. Wigglesworth ...

CARRON-CARSTARES. 541
many kinds of iron articles are made in cattle and horses, either alone or mixed
great quantities, as heavy pieces of ord- with hay; and, if given to cows in winter
nance, cylinders for steam-engines, pumps, or the early part of spring, they are said
boilers, wheels, with all kinds of ponder- to cause a great increase of milk, which
ous apparatus used in the arts. That will have a much less offensive taste and
species of ordnance called a carronade, smell than when they are fed on turnips.
used in the navy, derived its name from IHogs thrive well upon carrots boiled with
being first made here. Immense num- their wash. In some parts of England,
bers of shot and shells, of all sizes, are this vegetable has been cultivated as a
annually sent from Carron. Carron is winter food for deer; and the tops have
about 2 miles north-east of Falkirk, and even been made into hay. Carrots con26 in the same direction firom Edinburgh. tain a large proportion of saccharine matThe banks of the river Carron were the ter, and various but unsuccessful experiboundary of the Roman empire in Britain; ments have been made to extract sugar
for the wall of Antoninus stood within a from them. They have been more adshort distance, and ran parallel to them vantageously employed in distillation.
for several miles. Two mounds, one of Ten pounds weight of carrots will yield
them 50 feet in height, called the hills of about half a pint of very strong ardent
Dunipail, rise about the middle of its spirit; and the carrots produced by an
course. Tradition affirms that they were acre of ground, amounting to 20 tons,
monuments of a peace between the Ro- have been known to yield 240 gallons of
mnans and Caledonians, and that they take spirit. A sirup made of these roots, and
their name from dun, a hill, andpax, peace. clarified with the whites of eggs, has been
It is more probable that they are barrows. found useful for several purposes. An inCARRONADES (from the river Carron, fusion of the seeds, and the expressed
in Scotland, where they were first made); juice of the roots, are said to afford relief
a sort of artillery, resembling howitzers. in fits of the gravel. A marmalade of
They are of very large caliber, and carry carrots has been used with success in seaballs, shells or cartouches. They are scurvy, and a poultice prepared fromn
much lighter than common cannon, and them is sometimes employed in cancerhave a chamber for the powder, like mor- ous ulcers. Crickets are so fond of these
tars. They are mostly used on board of roots, that they may easily be destroyed
ships, in close engagements, from the poop by making a paste of flour, powdered arand forecastle. Sometimes they are em- senic and scraped carrots, and placing
ployed in fortifications. They have been this near their habitation. Parkinson incast from 12 to 68 pounders. They were forms us that, in his day, ladies wore carfirst used in the North American revolu- rot leaves in the place of feathers. In
tionary war. winter, an elegant ornament is sometimes
CARROT (daucus carota, Linneus) is a formed by cutting off a section from the
biennial plant, a native of Britain. The head or thick end of a carrot, containing
leaves are pinnatifid, and much cut. The the bud, and placing it in a shallow vesplant rises to the height of two feet, and sel with water. Young and delicate
produces white flowers, succeeded by leaves unfold themselves, forming a radirough,hispid seeds. The root of the plant, ated tuft of a very handsome appearance,
In its wild state, is small, dry, sticky, of a heightened by contrast with the season
white color, and strong-flavored; but the of the year.
root of the cultivated variety is large, sue- CAaRRYING TRADE. (See Commerce.)
culent, and of a red-yellow or pale straw- CARSTARES, William, a Scotch divine
color, and shows remarkably the improve- of political eminence, was born in 1649,
ment which may be effected by cultivation. at Cathcart, near Glasgow, where his faThough long known as a garden plant, ther was minister. He pursued his studit is comparatively of recent introduction ies at the university of Edinburgh, whence
in agriculture. It appears to have been he was removed to that of Utrecht, was
cultivated from an early period in Ger- introduced to the prince of Orange, and
many and Flanders, and introduced from intrusted with all his views in regard to
the latter country to Kent and Suffolk Britain. IHe, however, returned to Scotearly in the 16th century. The various land, with the view of entering the minisuses of the carrot in cookery are well try, but, after receiving a license to preach,
known. But, although it contains much resolved to return to Holland. As he was
nutriment, it is difficult of digestion, par- to pass through London, he was employed
ticularly if eaten raw or imperfectly boil- by Argyle and his party to treat with the
ed. Carrots are an excellent fodder for English exclusionists, and became privy
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