Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/253

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CROYDON 209 CRUELTY TO CHILDREH" monarchical practice of wearing crowns on state occasions is of considerable an- tiquity. Tarquinius Priscus, 616 B. c. is said to have been the first Roman sovereign who wore one. Constantine, who began to reign in A. D, 306, wore a crown. From him, it is said, the several European kings, from the 4th to the 8th centuries, borrowed the practice. CROYDON, a municipal and parlia- mentary borough of England, in Courkty Surrey, 10 miles S. of London, of which it is practically a suburb; near the sources of the Wandle, and near the Ban- stead Downs. The town, which is a favorite residence of merchants and busi- ness men, retired tradesmen, etc., is sur- rounded by fine villas, mansions, and pleasure-grounds. It is a place of ancient origin, but from its recent rapid increase is almost entirely new. Of special in- terest are the remains of the ancient pal- ace, long a residence of the archbishops of Canterbury. Pop. (1919) 184,239. CROZET ISLANDS, a group of four uninhabited islands in the South Indian Ocean, between Kerguelen and Prince Edward Islands. They are all of vol- canic origrin, and the most easterly of them. East Island, has peaks exceeding 4,000 feet. The largest, Possession Island, is about 20 miles long by 10 broad. CROZIER, WILLIAM, an American military officer, bom in Ohio, Feb. 19, 1855, and graduated from West Point in 1876. After rising to the rank of major in the regular army he was offered a pro- fessorship in the West Point Academy, but declined the appointment to become brigadier-general, chief of ordnance, in 1901. In July, 1918 he was made a major-general and retired from active service at the close of that year. General Cvozier served in several campaigns aga'nst the Indians and was with General Buffirarton, the inventor of the disappear- ing guii carriage. In addition to his re- gular duties as an army officer he was military adviser to the American delega- tion to the Hague Conference and Presi- dent of the Army War College during 1901 and 1902. CRUCIBLE, a melting of earthenware, porcelain, or of refractory metal, _ or of plumbago, adapted to withstand high temperatures, without sensibly softening, to stand sudden and great alterations of temperature without cracking, to resist the corrosive action of the substance fused in them and the action of the fuel. They are mentioned by the Greek authors, are shown in the ancient Egyptian paint- ings, and were made by the old alchemists for their own use. Metallic crucibles are of platinum, silver, or iron. CRUCIFER.ffi, an order of hypogynous exogens, alliance cistales. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS, PREVEN- TION OF. In the common law animals were considered merely as property and cruelty to them was punishable only when it became a nuisance. The general humanitarian movement in England which took many phases tending to rem- edy abuses did not fail to make the a;t- tempt here. In 1824 a society was or- ganized and after some years secured the passage of a statute fining anyone who "shall cruelly beat, ill-treat, over- drive, abuse, or torture" animals men- tioned in the statute. Henry Bergh was the leader in securing similar acts of the State legislat;;res in the United States, and before the end of the century nearly all the States had made cruelty to ani- mals a punishable offense. One of the most effective societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals is that of Pennsyl- vania. Its aim is the education of the owners of animals rather than by threat- ening them with the law. It has agi- tated to secure the use of proper harness, the abolition of the check rein, and the discontinuance of the practice of dock- ing horses' tails. In 1874 they provided the first ambulance for the removal of disabled animals and devised a derrick for hoisting them out of holes. Some States have societies providing homes for stray cats and dogs and places where they can be put to death without pain. King Edward VII., when Prince of Wales, was much interested in the move- ment to prevent cruelty to horses and his precept and example greatly aided the work of the societies in England. CRUELTY TO CHILDREN, PRE- VENTION OF. The influence of the Roman law in conferring such absolute power over children in the parents oper- ated to restrain any attempts to inter- fere on the part of outsiders. It was not until 1875 that the first Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, that * of Nov/ York, was founded. By 1920 societies having for their object the pre- vention of cruelty to children numbered more than 350. Their work is to discover cases of cruelty and present the facts to the courts for action. The main object of the societies is to see that the acts passed by the legislature are enforced, and in this respect also they perform an invaluable service. In general the so- cieties are maintained by private sub- scriptions, but in some States, such as Colorado, the State makes a semi-annual appropriation, and in 1901 the Legisla- l^ ture of that State made the society the -?