CASERTA 371 CASPIAN SEA bility that his mind was unbalanced. Their pleas, however, were ineffectual, and Casement was hung at Pentonville prison, Aug. 3, 1916. CASERTA, a town of Italy; capital of the province of the same name; on a plain 20 miles N. N. E. of Naples by rail. It is chiefly remarkable on account of its magnificent palace, one of the finest in Europe, which was founded by Charles III. in 1752. Pop. about 32,000. CASERTA, or TERRA DI LAVORO, a province of Italy, N. of Naples, along the Mediterranean Sea. Its chief in- dustries are agriculture and cattle rais- ing; there are also some flourishing manufactures. Area, 2,033 square miles. Pop. about 820,000. CASE SCHOOL OF APPLIED SCI- ENCE, an institution for technical edu- cation, founded in 1890 in Cleveland, O. There are departments of engineering, astronomy, and other scientific subjects. In 1919 there were 572 students and 52 instructors. President, C. S. Howe. CASHEL, a town in Tipperary county, Ireland, about 49 miles N. E. of Cork; noted as containing the most interesting ruins in Ireland. These consist of a cathedral, founded in 1169; a stone- roofed chapel, built in 1127; Hore Ab- bey, founded in 1260; the palace of the Munster Kings; and a round tower, 90 feet in height and 56 feet in circumfer- ence. They are built on the summit of the slope which the town occupies, and called collectively "Rock of Cashel." Here was held the great synod, in 1172, when the Irish priests first acknowledged the authority of the English Church and State. Cashel is a Roman Catholic Arch- diocese. Pop., about 3,000. CASHMERE. See Kashmir. CASIMIR, properly KAZIMIERZ ("founder of peace") , was the name of many Polish princes and kings. With the establishment of the power of Casi- mir I. in 1041, the predominance of Christianity was decided in Poland. But the most distinguished of this name was Casimir III., called Casimir the Great, who succeeded his father, Vladislav Loketek, as King of Poland in 1333. He added Little Russia and Red Russia to his dominions and repelled the Tartars, who then threatened Poland. He found- ed the University of Cracow (1364), as well as several schools and hospitals, and showed great anxiety for the ad- vancement of the arts and of learning in his kingdom, and for the improvement of the condition of the most oppressed classes, which won him the title of King of Peasants, while a Jewish mistress ob- tained from him special liberties for her race. He died Nov. 5, 1370. CASIMIR-PERIER, JEAN PAUL PIERRE (kas-e-mer' per-ya'), a Presi- dent of the French Republic, born in Paris, Nov. 8, 1847. He served in the Franco-Prussian War, and received the decoration of the Legion of Honor for bravery. In 1876, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies; in 1890, Vice- President of the Chamber; and in 1893, President. He resigned to become Premier, which ofl^ce he held till the as- sassination of President Carnot, when he was chosen his successor on the first ballot (June, 1894). He resigned the office of President, Jan. 16, 1895. He died March 12, 1907. CASPER, a town of Wyoming, the county-seat of Natrona co. It is on the Chicago and Northwestern, and the Chi- cago, Burlington, and Quincy railroads, and on the Platte river. The town has an important trade in wool, live-stock, and oil. It is the seat of the Wyoming General Hospital, and has a library and other public buildings. Its chief in- dustry is a large petroleum by-product plant. Pop. (1910) 2,639; (1920) 11,447. CASPIAN SEA (ancient Mare Hyrcanum), a great salt lake on the boundary of Europe and Asia, wholly in- closed, having no outlet whatever to the ocean, and surrounded by Persia, the Azerbaijan republic, the Caucasian coun- tries, the Russian governments of Oren- burg and Astrakhan, and the Siberian provinces of Uralsk and Transcaspia. Its greatest length from N. to S. is 760 miles; average breadth, 200; area, about 150,000 square miles. The waters of this inland sea are less salty than those of the ocean. The water has a bitter taste, ascribed by some to the great quantities of naphtha with which the surrounding soil abounds, but by others to the pres- ence of Glauber salts, among the sub- stances held in solution. The fish are principally salmon, sturgeons, and ster- lets; a kind of herring is also found, and there are porpoises and seals. One of the most important industries of its shore towns is the manufacture and ex- port of caviar. The Caspian Sea has no tides, but its navigation is dangerous because of violent storms, especially from the S. E., by which its waters are some- times driven for many miles over the adjacent plains. The depth near the S. end is about 600 feet; and in some places near the center it attains a depth of nearly 3,000 feet; but near the coast it is very shallow, seldom reaching a depth
