Careening

( Naut.) The operation of heaving a ship down on one side by the application of a strong purchase to her masts, which are generally supported for the occasion, to prevent their breaking with so great a strain; and by which means, one side of the bottom being elevated above the surface of the water, it may be cleansed or repaired. Career, ( ka - rer ',) n. [Fr. carr ière, from car, Lat. car Care'-worn, a. Worn or fretted with care; as, a care worn man. Carex, ( kai'reks .) [From Lat. careo , I want, the upper spikes being without seeds.] ( Bot .) A genus of plants, order Cyperaceæ, the Sedge family, distinguished by having spikelets 1 or more, either androgynous (with both staminate and pistillate flowers), or with the two kinds in separate spikelets, rarely diœcio us; glumes single, 1-flowered, lower ones often empty; stamens 3, stigmas 2 or 3; perigynium of various forms, 1-valved, persistent, enclosing the lenticular or triangular achenium. This genus consists of upwards of 450 species, 138 of which are natives of N. America. Some of the species are plants of the very humblest growth, others are 2 or 3 feet in height; all are of unpretending, gra y, or rush-like appearance. Some grow in wet, and others in dry situations; some are of great value in the economy of nature, as forming the principal part of the vegetation of swamps, which they gradually convert into fertile ground. The running roots, or rather rhi zomes , are of some help to bind the sands of sea-shores, particularly C. arenaria, which is carefully planted for this purpose on the dikes of Holland. None are valued by the agriculturist, as they are very deficient in nutritive quality, and in general they abound only in very inferior pastures, and good tillage and drainage lead to their speedy disappearance. The rhizomes of C. arenaria, C. hirta , and C. distich a, are sometimes used under the name of German Sarsaparilla , as a diaphoretic and demulcent medicine-a bad substitute for sarsaparilla. The dried leaves of C. sylvatic a are used by the Lap landers to cover their legs and hands as a protection from frostbites and chilblains, being worn in the inside of their shoes and gloves. The C. vulpinoidea (fig. 518) is very common in fields in the U. States.