Core

[Fr. cœur, Lat. cor, the heart.] The heart or inner part of a thing; particularly, the central part of fruit containing the kernels or seeds; as, the core of a subject, the core of an apple, . "They wasteful eat Through buds and bark, into the blackened core." -Thomson. (Metall.) The internal mould, which forms a hollow in the casting of metals. (Mining.) In Cornwall, Eng., a division of tin-miners' time and labor. (Farriery.) A malady among sheep, resembling the rot. (Used in some parts of England.) -v. a. To take out the core of; as, to core a fruit. Core'a, or Kore'a (called by the natives Chaou - seen, by the Chinese Keaou - le , and by the Mantchoo-Tartars, Solho ), a country of N.E. Asia, long tributary to China, consisting of an oblong-shaped peninsula with an adjoining portion of the continent, and a large number of islands. The whole of the territory lies between Lat. 33° and 43' N., and Lon. 123° 50 and 129° 30′ Ε., having E. the Sea of Japan; S. the Strait of Corea; W. the Yellow Sea, and Gulf of Leao-tong; N.W. the prov. Leao-tong; and N. Mantchoo-Tartary, (from which it is separated by a mountain-chain), and the Thu-men-kiang river. Length, N.W. to S.E., 550 m.; average breadth of the peninsula, abt. 150 m. C. is generally mountainous. All the principal rivers run W., and discharge themselves into the Yellow Sea; the chief is the Ya-lukiang in the N.W., which is navigable for large ships to about 22 m., and for small ve els for about 120 m., above its mouth. The climate in the N. is very rigor ous; but in the S. cotton, rice, and hemp are produced. Agriculture may be better farther inland, but on the coast it is much neglected. The mountainous parts of the N. are covered with forests; pines are very common on the coasts. Oxen, hogs, and other common domestic animals are reared. Panthers, bears, wild boars, cats, dogs, sables, and deers are found; also caymans of many feet in length are said to be met with in the rivers, and venomous serpents are not rare. The Coreans are superior in strength and stature to the Chinese and Japanese, but they are inferior to either in mental energy and capacity. They are gro in their habits, eat voraciously, and drink to exce . Their dre is very similar to that of the Chinese, but they wear their hair differently. Their language is peculiar; differing from those of their immediate neighbors. In writing they use alphabetical characters, though the symbolic characters of the Chinese are also understood, and sometimes resorted to. They have a copious literature, and are fond of reading, as well as of music, dancing, and festivities. Polygamy is not permitted, but concubinage is recognized. The religion of the upper order is that of Confucius, while the ma are attached to Buddhism; but neither appears to have much influence. Christianity has been introduced, but is not prospering. Their trade is chiefly with Japan, their best known export being a very fine and transparent fabric woven with the filaments of the Urtica japonica . The government is an hereditary and absolute monarchy, and is carried on through three ministers, besides whom there are six departmental ministers. Seoul, the capital, has a population of 192,940. Phyöng-yang, 36 miles from the sea, has over 20,000 population, and is the center of a silk industry, while at Keum-san, 20 miles distant, gold washings exist. Kai-söng gains its importance from its having been the capital of the old dyLasty and its cultivation of ginseng. The population in 1890 was 6,510,955, mainly Mongolian in type. C. occupies about the same latitude as Italy, and is, like it, hemmed in at the north by an alpine chain and traversed from north to south by a branch chain. Among its highest summits is Hien-fung, 8,114 feet above sea level. Various kinds of timber trees abound, except in the west, where wood is scarce. In other parts many hillsides have been denuded of timber on account of the lack of coal. The government was long very jealous of intercourse with for eigners, not permitting Chinese to settle in the country nor any Corean to leave it. Foreigners were not suffered to land or make any stay on the coast, and the N. frontier was abandoned for many miles to avoid communication with the Mantchoo-Tartars. This seclusion has been given up of recent years.- Continued in SECTION II.