Carpet

(kar'pet.) [Etymol. uncertain.] (Manuf.) A kind of thick cloth, used principally for covering the floors of apartments. They were first used in the Eastern countries, where the custom of sitting cro -legged on the floor still renders them especially useful. They were introduced into Europe by the French in the reign of Henri IV., and the manufactory of the Gobelins, established by Colbert in 1664, still produces unrivalled fabrics. In the U. States, chiefly in the States of Ma achusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania, the manufacture of C. is very extensive, and carried on to great perfection, owing chiefly to the perfected loom and other inventions of Mr. Bigelow, of Boston. The pp. varieties of C. made in this country or in England are: 1. The Bru els C., a mixture of linen and worsted, in which the worsted only is shown on the upper surface. 2. The Will on C. (the Moquette of the French), differs from the Bru els in that the wire has a groove in its upper surface, and is liberated by pa ing a sharp knife through the worsted loop into the groove, and thus making a velvet pile surface. 3. The Kidder minster, or Scotch C., presents the same pattern on both sides, with the colors reversed. 4. Tapestry C., differs from the Bru els in that but one yarn is dyed at different parts of its length, to suit the requirements of the pattern, instead of five or more yarns of different colors, as in the C. just named. 5. Axminster C., made in the English town of that name, is manufactured by tying tufts of worsted to a warp of strong linen and securing them by a linen weft. It is a tedious and expensive proce . 6. Ingrain C., chiefly manufactured in Philadelphia, and so called because made of only two ply or thickne es, with the colors reversed on either side, and the warp as well as the filling may be cotton or worsted. 7. The Dutch and Venetian carpets, in which the chain consists of stripes of woollen yarns of different colors, and the filling is of wool, hemp, or cotton. 8. The Printed Felt C, is made of coarse wools, brought into a compact ma by the proce of felting, and the pattern is imprinted in colors by means of rollers on which it is cut. Car'pet-bag'ger. (Pol.) A cant term applied in the S. States of the Union to one of a cla of Northern adventurers who seek political preferment. Carpholite, (karfo-lit.) [FromGr. karp hos, a dry stalk, and lithos, stone.] (Min.) A hydrated silicate of alumina, iron, and manganese, occurring in tufts of minute rhombic prisms, straw-yellow in color. Carp in us, (kar'pe-nus.) (Bot.) The Horn-beam, a gen. of trees, O. Corylacex. The species C. American a is a small tree, whose wood is very fine-grained, compact, and white. It is common in woods throughout the U. States. Carpocrates, (kār-po-krā'teez,) a Gnostic philosopher of Alexandria, who lived in the 2d cent. Carpology, (kur-polo-je.) [From Gr. kar pos, fruit, and logos, discourse.] (Bot.) That branch of the science which treats of fruits and seeds. Carpophore, (kar'po-för.) [Gr. kar pos, fruit, and phora, a bearing.) (Bot.) The name given to the stalk of a pistil when bearing only the gynæcium. Carpus, (kar pūs.) [Gr. kar pos, the wrist.] (Anat.) The human wrist. It is composed of 8bones, forming an arch, the convexity of which is next the arm. These bones consist of 2 rows of 4 each, the first row articulating above with the radius, and the second row with the metacarpal bones, i. e. those forming the palm of the hand. Carrageen. (Bot.) See CHONDRUS. Car'ran Tu'al, the highest mountain in Ireland, being one of the peaks of the range called Mac Gill i cuddy's Reeks, 5 m. S.W. of Killarney, co. Kerry. Height, 3,410 ft. above sea-level. Carrara, (kar-rai'rah,) a city of Central Italy, prov. Ma a-Carrara, on the Lavenza, about 4 m. from the Mediterranean coast, and 60 W.N.W. of Florence, celebrated for its quarries of marble, which somewhat resembles the Parian, and is largely employed by sculptors. Pop. 15,328. [s. 147]