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Scranton, George Whitefield

(Encyclopedia)Scranton, George Whitefield, 1811–61, American manufacturer, b. Madison, Conn. With his brother Selden he bought (1839) the lease and stock of the ironworks of Oxford Furnace, near Washington, N.J. ...

cattail

(Encyclopedia)cattail or reed mace, any plant of the genus Typha, perennial herbs found in almost all open marshes. The cattail (also called club rush) has long narrow leaves, sometimes used for weaving chair seats...

cassiterite

(Encyclopedia)cassiterite kəsĭtˈərīt [key], heavy, brown-to-black mineral, tin oxide, SnO2, crystallizing in the tetragonal system. It is found as short prismatic crystals and as irregular masses, usually in v...

cycad

(Encyclopedia)cycad sīˈkăd [key], any plant of the order Cycadales, tropical and subtropical palmlike evergreens. The cycads, ginkgoes, and conifers comprise the three major orders of gymnosperms, or cone-bearin...

Coues, Elliott

(Encyclopedia)Coues, Elliott kouz [key], 1842–99, American ornithologist, b. Portsmouth, N.H., grad. Columbian College, later Columbian Univ. and now George Washington Univ. (B.A., 1861; M.D., 1863; Ph.D., 1869)....

Cushman, Charlotte Saunders

(Encyclopedia)Cushman, Charlotte Saunders ko͝oshˈmən [key], 1816–76, one of the first outstanding American actresses, b. Boston. Cushman turned from opera to drama and in 1835 first played Lady Macbeth, the ro...

Hambletonian

(Encyclopedia)Hambletonian hămbəltōˈnēən [key], 1849–76, American trotting horse, foaled at Chester, N.Y. Originally owned by Jonas Seely, Hambletonian was bought for little money by Bill Rysdyk and won few...

Lucifer

(Encyclopedia)Lucifer lo͞oˈsĭfər [key] [Lat.,=light-bearing], in Christian tradition a name for Satan. In the Vulgate, Lucifer served as a translation of the Hebrew epithet meaning “Day Star,” a name associ...

bud

(Encyclopedia)bud, in lower plants and animals, a protuberance from which a new organism or limb develops; in seed plants, a miniaturized twig bearing compressed rudimentary lateral stems (branches), leaves, or flo...

grease

(Encyclopedia)grease, mixture of lubricant and thickener. It is used to reduce friction between surfaces from which oils would leak away or cause damage by dripping, or where lubrication must be assured for extende...