CRUCIBLE

(Lat. crucio, / torment; because, in the language of old chemistry, the metals were tortured by fire to yield up their various virtues.) A ve el, generally made of very refractory earthenware, in constant use in the chemical laboratory for performing fusions of metals and other substances. CRUCIFER^. (Lat. crux, a cro ; the flowers being in the form of a Maltese cro .) A naturcd order of Exogens, inhabiting most temperate countries. They are allied to Capparidacece, but differ in their tetradynamous stamens; and also to Papaveracece and Fumariace<e, but are distinguished by their seeds, and haviftg no albumen. They are characterized e entially by their deviation from the ordinary sjTnmetry observable in the relative arrangement of the parts of fructification of other plants. Linnaeus divided this order into Siliquosce and Siliculosce, from tlie forms of their fruits; but more recently divisions have been founded upon the nature of the plicature of the cotyledons, and the position of the radicle with respect to them. They po e universally antiscorbutic and stimulant properties, combined with an acrid flavour; and their seeds uniformly abound in a fixed oil, — properties of which cre , mustard, and rape may be taken as representatives. [s. 315]