CORDON. 409 CORDOVA. CORDON (Fr. cordon, from cordc, cord). A military term for a line of sentries, posted with- in view of eacli other, and designed to prevent forbidden contact or coniniunication between one side of the line thus guarded and the other. When large separate bodies of troops are so dis- posed as practically to shut iu a section of coun- try, they are sjioken of as a cordon of troops. Country inclosed by a series or system of block- houses, as in South Africa under General Kitch- ener I I'JOl). is described as cordoned. A cordon instituted to prevent contagion from an in- fected place or district is a cordon sanitaire. CORDON. A system of training by which a plant that is naturally diffusely branched is made to grow as a single stem in order to induce large fruits. Trees trained as cordons may have one or two stems trained horizontally or oblique- ly: if two stems are retained these are carried horizontally in opposite directions about 18 inches from the groimd, or they may be carried obliquely and parallel ; the laterals of such branches being kept spurred. Any plant which bears its fruit upon spiirs will, therefore, lend itself to this style of training. CORDON BLEU, kOr'dOx' ble (Fr., blue rib- bon). Knights of the ancient French Order of the Saint Esprit, or Holy Ghost, were so called because the jewel of the Order was suspended on a blue ribbon. In late times the term was de- graded to mean a first-rate cook. The cordon grand is any member of the Legion of Honor, the decoration being suspended by a broad riblion. CORDOVA, kor'dova. or CORDOBA, kOr'- do-Bii (Lat. Corduba, from Pluenician Kiirta- iuha, Great City). A city of Spain, and capital of the Province of Cordova, situated on the Gua- dalquivir, 120 miles by rail north of ^Malaga (Map: Spain, C 4). It lies at an altitude ex- ceeding 390 feet at the base of the Sierra de Cordova. In appearance the city is less char- acteristically Jloorish than might be supposed, its aspect being one rather of heterogeneity arising from the conglomerate architecture of various periods; it retains but few marks of the Saracen period, and but faintly recalls the grandeur of the former metropolis of Mohammedan Spain. The streets are with few exceptions narrow and crooked, and the houses gloomy. The finest edifice is the cathedral, once the chief mosque of the 'Infidels,' and one of the most splendid examples of Moorish architecture. Together ■with the court, it occupies a site 570 feet by 425 feet, with a bell - tower 300 feet in height. It is surrounded by a wall with strong btittresses, and was originally both mosque and fortress. The interior is almost a labyrinth of pillars, for they number some 850, in various styles and mostly of marble, porphyry, and jas- ];er. The building has suffered considerably through the changes of different epoclis, made in the endeavor to convert the mosque into a Chris- tian cathedral. A short distance from the cathe- dral, to the south, stands the marble triumphal column, erected 1705. of San Rafael, the patron saint of Cordova. Among the ^Moorish remains are the ruined city walls, part of the AleAzar, and the old bridge of 16 arches, 730 feet long, con- necting Cordova with its suburb. Campo de la Verda. The bridge, originally built by the Eo- mans. was reconstructed on the same foundations by the Saracens. Cordova contains a large num- ^ber of churches and convents, a bishop's palace, a theatre, and a bull-ring. The educational in- .stitutions include a lyccum, a theological sem- inary, a veterinary school, and a library. Once a great centre of conunerce, Cordova is. in a state of decline, her local industries sutTering in the general stagnation of the coun- try. The railroad connection with Seville, Jla- laga, and !Madrid brought in a little new life, but Cordova is still a city of the Middle Ages. There are manufactures of leather, liquors, hats, cloth, silk, and paper, besides the ancient silver-filigree industry for which Cor- dova has long been famous. Iron is mined in the vicinity. Population, in 1900, 50,097. Cordova is said to have been founded by the Pha-nicians, but was acquired B,c. 152 by the Romans, It rose to be the second city of Spain, the seat of a pr.Ttor and a supreme tril)unal, and a centre of industry. Taken by the Goths in the sixth century, it fell in 711 into the hands of the Saracens. In 756 the city became the capital of an Ommiad realm, which existed till 1031 and embraced all Jlohammedan Spain. This State, whose rulers at first were content with the title of Emir and finally assumed that of Caliph, rivaled in splendor the Eastern Caliphate of Bagdad, From the ninth century to the twelfth Cordova was one of the greatest centres of commerce in the world. According to Arabian historians the city at the height of its splendor contained 200,000 houses, a million inhabitants, GOO mosques, 80 institutions of learning, and a ]uiblic library with 600,000 volumes. Such ac- counts are doubtless exaggerations, but certainly when all was dark over the rest of the Occidental World. Cordova held aloft the light of civiliza- tion. After the fall of the caliphate the decline was rapid: the city was taken by Ferdinand III. of Castile in 1236 and never afterwards regained its prosperity. Cordova was plundered by the French under Dujjont iu 1808. It is noted as being the birthplace of the two Seneeas, the poet Lucan, and the philosopher Averroes. CdR'DOVA, Fehjjaxdo Fernandez de (1792- 1S83). A Spanish commander and .statesman, who began military service in 1810, and served in the wars against Xapoleon. In 1841 he was implicated with Concha in the conspiracy against Fspartero: in 1847 he was ^Minister of War, and afterwards was inspector-general of infantry. He was Captain-General of Cuba in 1850. In 1853 he was made general-in-chicf of cavalry. He attempted to support Isahella in the outbreak of 1854. but when revohition became success- ful he fled to France. He returned a few years- later, and in 1864 Xarvaez made him Minister of War. In 1808, in common with most of the Spanish grandees, he took part in the Prim rev- olution against Isabella. In 1870 he was again aiipointcd Captain-General of Cuba, and in 1871 he was made ilinister of State ad interim at ^Madrid by King Amadeus, On the proclamation of the Eepidjlic he was named Minister of War. CdRDOVA, Francisco Hernandez (e.l475- 1526). A Spanish soldier and explorer. He accompanied Pedrarias to Castilla del Oro, Pan- ama, in 1514, and in 1524 was sent by that com- mander to take possession of Nicaragua, ignoring- (he rights of the discoverer, Gil Gonzalez Davila, .fter exploring the country and founding several important settlements, he endeavored
