Castanets

“ My eyes were smarting with cold tears: it was like swimming with one’s eyes open in a stiff current. And all the time I watched the shadow-shapes gathering closer. Faintly luminous pale yellow blots seemed to grow in the dingy black of the racing forms. They were phosphorescent, as I think of them now. Something brushed my hair. A clicking sound like castanets came from the empty tonneau behind me, and then a whistling, like the speech of a man with no palate. ”

“ Faster and faster grows the pace as the impetus of the decline is more and more felt, the shoes rattle like castanets, and the long line of white-coated, blue-capped figures undulates in and out among the tree clumps, appearing, vanishing, and reappearing like some monstrous serpent in full chase after its prey. ”

“ Fancy represented them as strongly built, with flat noses, pointed ears, small horns growing out of the forehead, and the tails of horses or goats. They were a roguish but faint-hearted folk, lovers of wine and women, roaming to the music of pipes and cymbals, castanets and bagpipes, dancing with the nymphs or pursuing them and striking terror into men. ”

“ Songs and castanets are heard; youths and girls mingle in the dance under the blossoming acacias; whilst beggars sit upon the sculptured blocks of marble, and refresh themselves with the juicy water-melon. Life dozes here: it is all like a charming dream, and one indulges in it. ”

“ And then to lean over the parapet of the Tocador and gaze down upon Granada and the Albaycin spread out like a map below; all buried in deep repose; the white palaces and convents sleeping in the moonshine, and beyond all these the vapory Vega fading away like a dreamland in the distance.
Sometimes the faint click of castanets rise from the Alameda, where some gay Andalusians are dancing away the summer night. Sometimes the dubious tones of a guitar and the notes of an amorous voice, tell perchance the whereabout of some moonstruck lover serenading his lady’s window. ”

“ Plate I. Stringed instruments played by twanging the strings:— i. Gourd lute. 2. "Krachappi" lute. 3. "Cha Khe" lute. Plate II. Stringed instruments played by drawing the bow across the strings:— 1. "Saw Ū" fiddle. 2. Three-stringed fiddle. 3. "Saw Duang" fiddle. Plate III. Instruments of percussion:— Top row: 1. "Bandoh" drum. 2. Multiplo castanets (Krap Puang) . 3. Single gong ("Khong Mong") . Second row: 1. Alto cymbals ("Ching") . 2. Basso cymbals ("Chap") . 3. Two pairs of castanets. Plate IV. Instruments of percussion which have evolved from the single gong:— Above: Single gong. ”

“ Castanea, (pp. 85, 87) .—Of the 5 or more species of chestnuts belonging to this genus, none is found in the western part of North America and 3 species are native to the eastern part of the United States. Castanea alnifolia, Nutt., is a shrub found in the southern Atlantic states. The European Chestnut (Castanea sativa) , the Japanese Chestnut (Castanea Japonica) and the Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollissima) are all planted in this country for their nuts. ”

“ The tanners and related interests of the country are now scouting around to find some species of tree to use as a substitute for tanning operations. Castanea mollissima is capable of developing into a good sized tree. From an economic standpoint the texture of its lumber is good, while the quality of its fruit is fair, and as an ornamental tree it has a future. It has resistance to the chestnut bark disease. ”

“ Castalian, kas-tā′li-an, adj. pertaining to Castalia, a fountain in Parnassus, sacred to Apollo and the Muses.
Castanet, kas′ta-net, n. a musical instrument of percussion in the form of two hollow shells of ivory or hard wood, which are bound together by a band fastening on the thumb, and struck by the fingers to produce a trilling sound in keeping with the rhythm of the music—much used in Spain as an accompaniment to dances and guitars. [Sp. castañeta—L. castanea, a chestnut.] ”

“ Those canaries, that have the upper part of the body of a dusky grey or linnet brown, and the under part the yellowish green of the green-bird, with dark brown eyes, are the strongest, and most nearly resemble the primitive race53. The yellow and white often have red eyes, and are the most tender. The chestnut are the most uncommon, and hold a middle rank for strength and length of life between the two extremes. But as the plumage of the intermediate ones is a mixture of these principal colours, their value depends on the pretty and regular manner in which they are marked. ”

“ In the only other group of Lepidoptera we can here notice, the Sphingina, the Neotropical region possesses some peculiar forms. The magnificent diurnal butterfly-like moths, Urania, are the most remarkable; and they are rendered more interesting by the occurrence of a species closely resembling them in Madagascar. Another family of day-flying moths, the Castniidæ, is almost equally divided between the Neotropical and Australian regions, although the genera are more numerous in the latter. The American Castnias are large, thick-bodied insects, with a coarse scaly surface and rich dull colours ”

“ The dazzling blue creature is more than a yard long, and the beak is so powerful that it can gnaw through the tough hull of the castanha, or Brazil nut, a feat unequalled, perhaps, by any other bird. It is a powerful flyer and usually there were only two or four together; but some of the flocks we saw numbered ten or twelve birds. But as a whole, the bird is rare, and as it inhabits the wildest pantanales and jungles, its graceful flight and loud screams are one of the rare rewards of those only who venture far beyond the beaten route of travel. ”

“ The Amadina castanotus is gregarious, collecting together in hundreds on bushes never very far from water, to which they regularly go at sunset. They build in small trees, many nests being together in the same tree, and hatch their young in December. It was met with in every part of the interior wherever there was water, but hundreds must perish yearly from thirst, for the country must frequently dry up round them, to such a distance as to prevent the possibility of their flying to another place of safety. ”

“ Although I have given the resulting plants much attention they continually die back each year so that we have only two or three individuals that are more than six feet high. But Professor Pavari says in recent correspondence (July 15, 1947) "Referring to Spanish chestnuts, after we have been assured that the fungus we have found and observed on Castanea crenata in Spain is really Endothia parasitica, we must admit that our hypothesis may be exact that Castanea vesca [sativa] presents in Spain races or types resistant to the disease." ”

“ While thus engaged, their attention was attracted by the peculiar "cawing" of a crow that flew over the shop, and, a moment afterward, a whole chorus of the harsh notes sounded in the direction of the woods. The boys hurried to the door, and saw a multitude of crows pouring from every part of the woods, cawing with all their might, and directing their course toward a large pine-tree, which stood in the meadow back of the orchard, and which was already covered with them.
"What's the matter?" inquired Archie.
"They act as if they had discovered an owl," answered Frank. ”

“ A species readily recognized by its bright yellow underparts and the black stripes on the face and sides; several bright chestnut spots are in the middle of the greenish back. These birds will be found on dry scrubby hillsides and valleys, where they nest in low bushes, and the male will be found in the tops of the tallest lookout trees delivering his quaint and very peculiar lisping song. Their nests are handsomely made of vegetable fibres and grasses, closely woven together and lined with hair ”

“ Castanea crenata, the familiar Japan chestnut, appears everywhere to show greater blight resistance than any other species that has been tried out and is therefore the most hopeful parent to be used for developing a useful race of disease-resistant hybrids and cross-breeds. It has the further merit of bearing very profuse crops of large nuts at an early age, but they are often lacking in quality, being usually harsh to the taste in the raw state though palatable when cooked. ”

“ One species, the Cassida farinosa, frequent in the jungle which surrounded my official residence at Kandy, is covered profusely with a snow-white powder, arranged in delicate filaments, which it moves without dispersing: but when dead they fall rapidly to dust. ”

“ The third spring brings him nearer towards perfection, as at that time the deep chestnut colour has taken possession of the lower parts, the black has deepened on the upper parts, and over the whole head, as well as on the wings and tail-feathers. ”

“ Then also men click the castanet in wine-shop and cottage; and in such old-world towns as Eija, where no railway has penetrated, a breast-plate of eccentrically strung bones—slung round the neck and played with sticks—is still seen and heard. ”

“ Among the North American species are the foetid or Ohio buckeye, Ae. glabra, and Ae. flava, the sweet buckeye. Ae. californica, when full-grown and in flower, is a beautiful tree, but its leaves often fall before midsummer.
(2) The Spanish or sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa (natural order, Fagaceae) , is a stately and magnificent tree, native of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, but also ripening its fruit in sheltered situations as far north as Scotland. It lives very long, and attains a large size, spreading its branches widely. ”

“ Both chinquapins have prickly burrs containing one, or sometimes two, sweet edible nuts. Three of the four known species of the genus Castanea grow in North America, one the common chestnut (Castanea vulgaris) ; another the Chinquapin (Castanea pumila) ; the third a plant never attaining to the size of a tree. The Chinquapin (Castanopsis chrysophylla) is the only North American representative of a genus including twenty-five species. Keeler says that Castanea is from a town of that name in Thessaly, or from another town of that name in Pontus. ”

“ Caston raised his head in a quick protest.
"No, there is no one." He tried to laugh easily. "That's my trouble. There is no one, I am afraid."
They had driven his visitor away, without a doubt; and though he sat very still in his arm-chair that night, careful as a hunter by no abrupt movement to scare away his quarry, he sat undisturbed. He waited until the light was grey and the birds singing upon the lawn. He went to bed disappointed as a lover whose mistress had failed to keep her tryst. ”

“ But we have not as yet touched on the acme of the difficulty; namely, the fact that the neuters of several ants differ, not only from the fertile females and males, but from each other, sometimes to an almost incredible degree, and are thus divided into two or even three castes. The castes, moreover, do not generally graduate into each other, but are perfectly well defined; being as distinct from each other as are any two species of the same genus, or rather as any two genera of the same family. ”

“ Some brilliant scarlet berries—the cassena—were growing along the roadside, and on every hand we saw the live-oak with its moss-drapery. The palmettos disappointed me; stiff and ungraceful, they have a bristling, defiant look, suggestive of Rebels starting up and defying everybody. The land is low and level,—not the slightest approach to a hill, not a rock, nor even a stone to be seen. It would have a desolate look, were it not for the trees, and the hanging moss and numberless vines which festoon them. ”

“ Crossing the Japan and the New England chestnut (Castanea
Ten Varieties of Plums grown from the Seed of the Burbank Plum crossed with the Apricot Plum, showing Variations. japonica and C. americana) , the trees, leaves, growth and nuts are midway; second generation and later generations as usual show more varied combinations and variations. To breed the burrs off from chestnuts is dangerous, because it allows the birds to get in at the nuts. The
Bed of Seedlings from Spineless Cactus, showing here and there Reversion to the Original Spine Form. ”

“ The horse chestnut produces showy spotted flowers. There are thirteen species of this genus, eight of which are North American. The name "horse chestnut" may refer ironically to the coarse nuts, or may arise from the fact that they are occasionally eaten by cattle, or from a horseshoe marking seen on young twigs. Hippocastanum is from hippos, a horse, and castanea, a chestnut. The name buckeye refers to the appearance of the brown nut through the paler husk partly separated when ripe, suggesting the eye of the common deer. [p097] ”

“ I had animals from Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, America, Europe, and, in fact, from all parts of the globe. Especially do I wish to remark that I raised a large number of young Eland antelopes. Indeed, I raised over forty of those graceful creatures myself, as well as watching and tending many other wild animals during the same period.
The first specimens I had the pleasure of breeding and raising at the Zoölogical Gardens were a set of birds called the Cassowary. A family of birds belonging to the ostrich order, natives of India, Mexico, Guiana, and the Brazils. ”

“ The bird seems to love cascades, and often nests by one. It also shows its fondness for water by often flying along the brook, following every bend and break made by the stream, keeping close to the water all the time and frequently touching it. Over the quiet reaches it goes skimming; it plunges over the waterfalls, alights on rocks in the rapids, goes dashing through the spray, its every movement showing the ecstasies of eager life and joy in the hurrying water. Our ouzel was quietly feeding on the edge of the brook, when Harriet said good-bye as our ponies started up the trail. ”