CINEAS, a Thessalian, the chief adviser of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. The most famous event of his life was the visit which he made to Home for the purpose of con cluding the war, after the defeat of the Eomans by Pyrrhus at Heraclea (280 B.C.) He performed the feat of learning in one day the name of every man of importance in the city, and displayed besides the most marvellous tact and eloquence ; but the effects of his persuasion being destroyed through the patriotic vehemence of the venerable Appius Claudius Crecus, he returned to his master with the report that Rome was a temple, and its senate an assembly of kings. Cineas also served as an ambassador in Sicily. He is perhaps the Cineas referred to by Cicero as the author of a work De Re Militari.
CINNA, Lucius Cornelius, a Roman patrician, con spicuous in the contest between Marius and Sulla. After serving in the war with the Marsi as pretorian legate, he was elected consul in 87 B.C. Breaking the oath he had sworn to Sulla that he would not attempt any revolution in the state, Cinna allied himself with Marius, raised an army of Italians, and took possession of the city. Soon after his triumphant entry and the massacre of the friends of Sulla, by which he had satisfied his vengeance, Marius died. L. Valerius Flaccus became Cinna s colleague, and on the murder of Flaccus, Cn. Papirius Carbo, In 84, however, Cinna, who was still consul, was forced to advance against Sulla ; but while embarking his troops he was killed in a mutiny. See Roman History.
CINNABAR, the KivvdfiapLs of Theophrastus, is the native sulphide of mercury, and the only commercial source of that metal and its compounds. It crystallizes in the rhombohedral form, in which condition it is sometimes found; but generally it occurs in fibrous or amorphous masses bedded in slate rocks and shales, and more rarely in veins in granitic or porphyritic rocks. In hardness it is intermediate between gypsum and calcspar ; its specific gravity is 8 99S, and its colour varies from a fine bright red to a reddish-brown and leaden-grey hue. It possesses the same composition as the ordinary vermilion of com merce for which it may, when pure and fine in colour, sometimes be used after simple levigation, although the greater part of that brilliant pigment is artificially prepared. Pure cinnabar should contain 8G 21 per cent, of mercury, combined with 13 79 of sulphur ; but in its native state the ore is frequently contaminated with oxide of iron, clay, and bituminous matter. The principal European localities for cinnabar are at Idria in Carniola, and at Almaden in Spain, whence the British demand is mainly supplied. It is also extensively worked at Xew Almaden and several other localities in California, in the southern part of Peru, and in Borneo, Japan, and China. See Vermilion.
CINNAMON is the inner bark of Cinnamomum Zeylani- um, a small evergreen tree belonging to the Xatural Order Lauracece. The leaves are large ovate-oblong in shape, and the flowers, which are arranged in panicles, have a greenish colour and a rather disagreeable odour. Cinnamon has been known from the most remote antiquity, and it was so highly prized among ancient nations that in very small quantities it was regarded as a present fit for monarchs and other great potentates. It is mentioned in Exod. xxx. 23, where Moses is commanded to use both sweet cinnamon (Kinnamon and cassia. It is likewise alluded to by Herodotus under the name KUO-GI/AW/XOV, and it is frequently mentioned by many other classical writers. It is now almost exclusively a product of Ceylon, but the origin of the plant and tho derivation of its name are matters of considerable doubt and dispute. The Arab traders, by whom the trade in this and other Oriental spices was con ducted in ancient times, surrounded the history and produc tion of these precious and lucrative products with grotesque tales of mystery. It is contended by some that cinnamon was originally obtained from the promontory of Gardafui (the regio cinnamomifera of classical geographers), while others lean to the opinion that it was brought from China, whence the chief portion of the closely allied cassia bark is still derived. Although as the produce of Ceylon, cinnamon did not come prominently into the market till the settlement of the Portuguese in the island, it is the opinion of the best authorities that the tree yielding it is indigenous, and certainly no other situation and climate have yet been found where the trees flourish so well and yield a bark so fine and so delicately aromatic.
The cinnamon gardens are confined to a strip of country in the neighbourhood of Colombo. "When the trade was at its best, five of the principal gardens measured from 15 to 20 miles in circumference, but now the area of cultiva tion is very much restricted, and plants which were at one time tended with the greatest care, and guarded with inhuman jealousy, are choked with the natural profusion of jungle vegetation. The bark is taken from shoots of eighteen months or two years growth, in which time they attain a length of from G to 10 feet, and a thickness of from
Cinnamon of an inferior quality is grown in Southern India at Tellicherry and Tinnevelly ; and in Java the cul tivation was introduced by the Dutch about the year 1825. The plant has also been grown in the colony of French Guiana, and in other localities. The produce of none of these places, however, approaches in quality to the cinna mon of Ceylon, whence also the largest proportion of the entire consumption is supplied. Xearly the whole quan tity prepared in Ceylon is brought to the British market. The value of Ceylon cinnamon submitted to the English Board of Trade, was in 1874 more than 2s. 2d. per lb, that from other localities being estimated at about lOd.
Ceylon cinnamon of fine quality is a very thin smooth bark, with a light-yellowish brown colour, a highly fragrant odour, and a peculiarly sweet, warm, and pleasing aromatic taste. Its peculiar flavour is due to an aromatic oil which it contains to the extent of from 5 to 1 per cent. The essential oil of cinnamon, as an article of commerce, is pre pared chiefly in Ceylon, where the coarser pieces of bark are used for its extraction. These are roughly powdered and macerated in sea water for two days, when the whole is quickly distilled. The oil is of a golden-yellow colour, with the peculiar odour of cinnamon and a very hot aromatic taste. It consists essentially of cinnaniic aldehyde or the hydride of cinnamyl, and by the absorption of oxygen as it becomes old it darkens in colour and develops resinous compounds with cinnamic acid.
diment and flavouring material, being largely used in the preparation of some kinds of chocolate and liqueurs. In
medicine it acts as an aromatic stimulant and cordial ; but