greater than that of Teheran ; but the place has been repeatedly shaken by earthquakes, and many of the streets are in ruins, as are most of the magnificent buildings seen here by Chardin in 1674. The most remarkable remains are the palace of the Sufi princes, and the mosque, with its large dome. The city is said to have been, founded in the 4th century. In the 16th century Shah Tamasp made it the capital ; and it remained so till Shah Abbas the Great transferred the seat of government to Ispahan. The town still bears the name of Dar-el-Sultanet, or the " seat of royalty." The dust and heat of the place are very oppressive ; it is furnished, however, with baths, and with cisterns fed by underground canals. The system of irrigation formerly carried on by these canals or kanauts rendered the Plain of Casbin one of the most productive regions of Persia. They are now mostly choked up, except in the immediate vicinity of the city. The manufactures of Casbin are velvet, brocades, carpets, a kind of coarse cotton-cloth termed kerbas, and sword-blades. The trade of the city is still considerable ; great quantities of rice, and of silk for Baghdad and India, are brought to it from the Caspian provinces; and the bazaars are large. Casbin is also of some military importance, lying as it does at the entrance of the defile which leads into Ghilan. It is the birthplace of the poet Lokman, and of the geographer
Ham el Oullah. Population in 1868 estimated at 25,000.CASCIANO DEI BAGNI, a village of Italy in the province of Siena and district of Montepulciano, in the valley of the Paglia. It possesses warm mineral springs, and its bathing establishments attract a large number of visitors. Population, 3585.
CASERTA, the capital of the district of Terra di Lavoro, in the province of Naples, and an episcopal see. It is situated on a rich alluvial plain, and has nearly 30,000 inhabitants. Caserta is mainly noticeable for its huge palace built by Vanvitelli for Charles III., which has a reputation that most architectural judges would probably deem to be superior to its merits. It is one of the stock sights for visitors to Naples, and has for many years served to but little other purpose. The length of the south front is stated to be 780 feet, the height 125 feet, and the number of windows in each floor 37 ; and such details as these best express the merits of a pile, which is in truth a monument of vulgar ostentation and wasted wealth. The harmony of the design is praised, and the building in truth possesses that easily-attained harmony which results from perfect symmetry. The travertine of which it is built was brought from the quarries of St Jorio, near Capua. The great staircase, gorgeously lined with lumachello marble from Trapani, has, however, some originality of conception and merit of design and execution. Besides all the usual appurtenances of a palace, including a chapel gorgeous with lapis-lazuli and gilding, the building contains a theatre, with, as the visitor is told, forty boxes, besides that of the royal family. The palace is at present wholly useless, and serves only to lay an additional burden on the king of Italy s civil list, which is charged with the maintenance of so vast a number of now unneeded palaces, the heritage of all the sovereigns he has superseded. The gardens, adorned with numerous cascades and much decorative sculpture after the old Italian fashion, are perhaps better worthy of mention than the palace. They are extensive and command some fine points of view. The " English garden" was made by Queen Caroline in 1782. The property was bought by Charles III. from the dukes of Sermoneta, and the palace was begun in 1752. Caserta Vecchia old Caserta was situated on the hills behind the modern town. It was built by the Lombards, as is said, in the 8th century, and some remains of its old walls and bastions may still be seen.
CASHAN, or Kashan, a city of Persia, in the province of Irak, 92 miles north of Ispahan, in a dry and stony plain, in 33 52 N. lat. and 51 20 E. long. The city is said to have been founded by Zobeide, wife of Haroun el Raschid. The manufactures are silk-brocades, carpets, cottons, gold and silver articles, and copper kettles. The city has a palace, many fine mosques, bazaars, and cara- vanseries. At the foot of the neighbouring hills, four miles away, are the villa and beautiful gardens of Feen, the scene of the official murder, 9th January 1852, of Amiru- n- Nizam, one of the ablest ministers that Persia has had in modern times. The chief pavilion of the villa is in the form of a kiosk, with a projecting portico in front. The interior is decorated with fine arabesques. The vicinity of Cashan is famous for its scorpions. The city suffered from an earthquake in 1853. Population, 25,000.
CASHEL, an inland city of Ireland, in the county of Tipperary, 108 miles south-west from Dublin, and within 5 miles of the Great Southern and Western Railway. The town, which lies at the base of the Rock of Cashel, consists for the most part of a wide and well-built main street, and contains several public buildings, such as a court-house, a market-house, a fever hospital, barracks, and an infirmary. There are also the new cathedral, the deanery house (once the bishop s palace), and a Roman Catholic church, while immediately outside the town there is the union workhouse. Formerly an archiepiscopal see, Cashel was reduced in 1833 to a bishopric, but the bishop does not now reside there. The town s revenue is derived from landed estates in the neighbourhood, the gift of Bishop Maurianus. It formerly returned one member to Parliament, but was disfranchised in 1870. Population in 1851, 4798, and in 1871, 4562.
The Rock of Cashel is the object of chief interest in the place. This elevation of limestone formation rises abruptly from the plain to a height of about 300 feet, and is a commanding object for many miles around. Its summit is occupied by the most interesting assemblage of ruins in Ireland, consisting of the remains of St Patrick s Cathedral, around tower, Cormack s Chapel, and an ancient cross. The chapel, which is said to have been erected by King Cormack M Carthy in the 12th century, is considered to be the oldest stone edifice in the country. In its style it combines the high stone roof with the richest Norman decoration. The cathedral is cruciform in its design, and contains many interesting sculptures and tombs. In the adjoining cemetery there stands, on a rude pedestal, the "Cross of Cashel," with an effigy of St Patrick sculptured on its side. The round tower, situated at the north-east angle of the cathedral, rises about 90 feet, with a circumference of 58 feet, and unlike the neighbouring ruins has been built not of the limestone of the "Rock" but of freestone.
The history of Cashel belongs to the early period of Irish chronology. A stronghold in the time of Brian Boroimhe it afterwards became noteworthy as the place where Henry II. received the homage of O Brien, king of Limerick, and still later, where Edward Bruce held his Irish parlia ment. The cathedral was burnt in 1495 by the earl of Kildare. Two other interesting ruins exist at the base of the Rock, viz., Horn Abbey, founded in the 13th century, and the Dominican Priory, belonging to the same period.
Acajou tree, Anacardium occidental (Nat. Ord. Ana- car diacece), a native of the West Indian Islands. The fruit is kidney-shaped, about an inch in length, and the kernel is enclosed in two coverings, the outer of which is smooth, grey, and leathery. Inside this external rind is a dark- coloured layer, containing an excessively acrid juice. The kernels have a bland, oily, pleasant taste. They are much eaten, both raw and roasted, in the tropical regions in
which the tree is cultivated, and they yield a light-coloured,