The clinical uses of physostigmine are based upon the facts of its pharmacology, as above detailed. It has been recommended in cases of chronic constipation, and of want of tone in the muscular wall of the urinary bladder. It has undoubtedly been of value in many cases of tetanus, in which it must be given in maximal doses. (The tetanus antitoxin should invariably be employed as well.) Sir Thomas Fraser differs from nearly all other authorities in regarding the drug as useless in cases of strychnine poisoning, and the question must be left open. There is some doubtful evidence of the value of the alkaloid in chorea. The oculist uses it for at least six purposes. Its stimulant action on the iris and ciliary muscle is employed when they are weak or paralysed. It is used in all cases where one needs to reduce the intra-ocular tension, and for this and other reasons in glaucoma. It is naturally the most efficient agent in relieving the discomfort or intolerable pain of photophobia; and it is the best means of breaking down adhesions of the iris, and of preventing prolapse of the iris after injuries to the cornea. In fact it is hardly possible to over-estimate its value in ophthalmology. The drug has been highly and widely recommended in general paralysis, but there remains grave doubt as to its utility in this disease.
Toxicology.—The symptoms of Calabar bean poisoning have all been stated above. The obvious antidote is atropine, which may often succeed; and the other measures are those usually employed to stimulate the circulation and respiration. Unfortunately the antagonism between physostigmine and atropine is not perfect, and Sir Thomas Fraser has shown that in such cases there comes a time when, if the action of the two drugs be summated, death results sooner than from either alone. Thus atropine will save life after three and a half times the fatal dose of physostigmine has been taken, but will hasten the end if four or more times the fatal dose has been ingested. Thus it would be advisable to use the physiological antidote only when the dose of the poison—assuming estimation to be possible—was known to be comparatively small.
CALABASH (from the Span. calabaza, a gourd or pumpkin, possibly derived from the Pers. kharlunza, a melon), the shell of a gourd or pumpkin made into a vessel for holding liquids; also a vessel of similar shape made of other materials. It is the name of a tree (Crescentia Cujete) of tropical America, whose gourd-like fruit is so hard that vessels made of it can be used over a fire many times before being burned.
CALABASH TREE, a native of the West Indies and South America, known botanically as Crescentia Cujete (natural order, Bignoniaceae). The fruit resembles a gourd, and has a woody rind, which after removal of the pulp forms a calabash.
CALABOZO, or Calaboso, an inland town of Venezuela, once capital of the province of Caracas in the colonial period, and now capital of the state of Guárico. Pop. (1891) 5618. Calabozo is situated in the midst of an extensive llano on the left bank of the Guárico river, 325 ft. above sea-level and 123 m. S.S.W. of Caracas. The plain lies slightly above the level of intersecting rivers and is frequently flooded in the rainy season; in summer the heat is most oppressive, the average temperature being 88°F. The town is regularly laid out with streets crossing at right angles, and possesses several fine old churches, a college and public school. It is also a bishop's see, and a place of considerable commercial importance because of its situation in the midst of a rich cattle-raising country. It is said to have been an Indian town originally, and was made one of the trading stations of the Compañia Guipuzcoana in 1730. However, like most Venezuelan towns, Calabozo made little growth during the 19th century. In 1820 the Spanish forces under Morales were defeated here by the revolutionists under Bolívar and Paez.
CALABRESELLA (sometimes spelt Calabrasella), an Italian card-game ("the little Calabrian game") for three players. All the tens, nines and eights are removed from an ordinary pack; the order of the cards is three, two, ace, king, queen, &c. In scoring the ace counts 3; the three 2; king, queen and knave 1 each. The last trick counts 3. Each separate hand is a whole game. One player plays against the other two, paying to each or receiving from each the difference between the number of points that he and they hold. Each player receives twelve cards, dealt two at a time. The remainder form the stock, which is left face downwards. There are no trumps. The player on the dealer's left declares first: he can either play or pass. The dealer has the last option. If one person announces that he plays, the others combine against him. If all decline to play, the deal passes, the hands being abandoned. The single player may demand any "three" he chooses, giving a card in exchange. If the three demanded is in the stock, no other card may be asked for. If a player hold all the threes, he may demand a two. The single player must take one card from the stock, in exchange for one of his own (which is never exposed) and may take more. He puts out the cards he wishes to exchange face downwards, and selects what he wishes from the stock, which is now exposed; the rejected cards and cards left in the stock form the "discard." The player on the dealer's left then leads. The highest card wins the trick, there being no trumps. Players must follow suit, if they can. The single player and the allies collect all the tricks they win respectively. The winner of the last trick, besides scoring three, adds the discard to his heap. The heaps are then searched for the scoring cards, the scores are compared and the stakes paid. It is important to remember that the value and the order of the cards are not the same, thus the ace, whose value is 3, is only third as a trick-winner; also that it is highly important to win the last trick. Thirty-five is the full score.
CALABRIA, a territorial district of both ancient and modern Italy.
(1) The ancient district consisted of the peninsula at its southeast extremity, between the Adriatic Sea and the Gulf of Tarentum, ending in the lapygian promontory (Lat. Promunturium Sallentinum; the village upon it was called Leuca—Gr. Λευκά, white, from its colour—and is still named S. Maria di Leuca) and corresponding in the main with the modern province of Lecce, Brundisium and Tarentum being its most north-westerly cities, though the boundary of the latter extends somewhat farther
west. It is a low terrace of limestone, the highest parts of which seldom reach 1500 ft.; the cliffs, though not high, are steep, and it has no rivers of any importance, but despite lack of water it was (and is) remarkably fertile. Strabo mentions its pastures and trees, and its olives, vines and fruit trees (which are still the principal source of prosperity) are frequently spoken of by the ancients. The wool of Tarentum and Brundisium was also famous, and at the former place were considerable dye-works. These two towns acquired importance in very early times owing to the excellence of their harbours. Traces of a prehistoric population of the stone and early bronze age are to be found all over Calabria. Especially noticeable are the menhirs (pietre fitte) and the round tower-like specchie or truddhi, which are found near Lecce, Gallipolli and Muro Leccese (and only here in Italy); they correspond to similar monuments, the perdas fittas and the nuraghi, of Sardinia, and the inter-relation between the two populations which produced them requires careful study. In 272-266 B.C. we find six triumphs recorded in the Roman fasti over the Tarentini, Sallentini and Messapii, while the name Calabria does not occur; but after the foundation of a colony at Brundisium in 246-245 B.C., and the final subjection of Tarentum in 209 B.C., Calabria became the general name for the peninsula. The population declined to some extent; Strabo (vi. 281) tells us that in earlier days Calabria had been extremely populous and had had thirteen cities, but that in his time all except Tarentum and Brundisium, which retained their commercial importance, had dwindled down to villages. The Via Appia, prolonged to Brundisium perhaps as early as 190 B.C., passed through Tarentum; the shorter route by Canusium, Barium and Gnathia was only made into a main artery of communication by Trajan (see Appia, Via). The only other roads were the two coast roads, the one from Brundisium by Lupiae, the other from Tarentum by Manduria, Neretum, Aletium (with a branch to Callipolis) and Veretum (hence a branch to Leuca), which met at Hydruntum. Augustus joined Calabria to Apulia and the territory of the Hirpini to form the second region of Italy. From the end of the second century we find Calabria for juridical purposes associated either with Apulia or with Lucania and the district of the Bruttii, while Diocletian placed it under one corrector with Apulia. The loss of the name Calabria came with the Lombard conquest of this district, when it was transferred to the land of the Bruttii, which the Byzantine empire still held.
(2) The modern Calabria consists of the south extremity of Italy (the "toe of the boot" in the popular simile, while the ancient Calabria, with which the present province of Lecce more or less coincides, is the "heel"), bounded on the N. by the province of Potenza (Basilicata) and on the other three sides by the sea. Area 5819 sq. m. The north boundary is rather farther north than that of the ancient district of the Bruttii (q.v.). Calabria acquired its present name in the time of the Byzantine supremacy, after the ancient Calabria had fallen into the hands of the Lombards and been lost to the Eastern empire about A.D. 668. The name is first found in the modern sense in Paulus Diaconus's Historia Langobardorum (end of the 8th century). It is mainly mountainous; at the northern extremity of the district the mountains still belong to the Apennines proper (the highest point, the Monte Pollino, 7325 ft., is on the boundary between Basilicata and Calabria), but after the plain of Sibari, traversed by the Crati (anc. Crathis, a river 58 m. long, the only considerable one in Calabria), the granite mountains of Calabria proper (though still called Apennines in ordinary usage) begin. They consist of two groups. The first extends as far as the isthmus, about 22 m. wide, formed by the gulfs of S. Eufemia and Squillace; its highest point is the Botte Donato (6330 ft.). It is in modern times generally called the Sila, in contradistinction to the second (southern) group, the Aspromonte (6420 ft.); the ancients on the other hand applied the name Sila to the southern group. The rivers in both parts of the chain are short and unimportant. The mountain districts are in parts covered with forest (though less so than in ancient times), still largely government property, while in much of the rest there is good pasture. The scenery is fine, though the country is hardly at all visited by travellers. The coast strip is very fertile, and though some parts are almost deserted owing to malaria, others produce wine, olive-oil and fruit (oranges and lemons, figs, &c.) in abundance, the neighbourhood of Reggio being especially fertile. The neighbourhood of Cosenza is also highly cultivated; and at the latter place a school of agriculture has been founded, though the methods used in many parts of Calabria are still primitive. Wheat, rice, cotton, liquorice, saffron and tobacco are also cultivated. The coast fisheries are important, especially in and near the straits of Messina. Commercial organization is, however, wanting. The climate is very hot in summer, while snow lies on the mountain-tops for at least half the year. Earthquakes are frequent and have done great damage: that of the autumn of 1905 was very disastrous (O. Malagodi, Calabria Desolata, Rome, 1905), but it was surpassed in its effects by the terrible earthquake of 1908, by which Messina (q.v.) was destroyed, and in Calabria itself Reggio and numerous smaller places ruined. The railway communications are sufficient for the coast districts; there are lines along both the east and west coasts (the latter forms part of the through route by land from Italy to Sicily, ferry-boats traversing the Strait of Messina with the through trains on board) which meet at Reggio di Calabria. They are connected by a branch from Marina di Catanzaro passing through Catanzaro to S. Eufemia; and there is also a line from Sibari up the valley of the Crati to Cosenza and Pietrafitta. The interior is otherwise untouched by railways; indeed many of the villages in the interior can only be approached by paths; and this is one of the causes of the economic difficulties of Calabria. Another is the unequal distribution of wealth, there being practically no middle class; a third is the injudicious disforestation which has been carried on without regard to the future. The natural check upon torrents is thus removed, and they sometimes do great damage. The Calabrian costumes are still much worn in the remoter districts: they vary considerably in the different villages. There is, and has been, considerable emigration to America, but many of the emigrants return, forming a slightly higher class, and producing a rise in the rate of payment to cultivators, which has increased the difficulties of the small proprietors. The smallness and large number of the communes, and the consequently large number of the professional classes and officials, are other difficulties, which, noticeable throughout Italy, are especially felt in Calabria. The population of Calabria was 1,439,329 in 1901. The chief towns of the province of Catanzaro were in 1901:—Catanzaro (32,005), Nicastro (18,150), Monteleone (13,481), Cotrone (9545), total of province (1871) 412,226; (1901) 498,791; number of communes, 152; of the province of Cosenza, Cosenza (20,857), Corigliano Calabro (15,379), Rossano (13,354), S. Giovanni in Fiore (13,288), Castrovillari (9945), total of province (1871) 440,468; (1901) 503,329, number of communes, 151; of the province of Reggio, Reggio di Calabria (44,569), Palmi (13,346), Cittanova (11,782), Gioiosa Ionica(11,200), Bagnara Calabra (11,136), Siderno Marina (10,775), Gerace (10,572), Polistena (10,112); number of communes 106; total of province (1871) 353,608; (1901) 437,209. A feature of modern Calabria is the existence of several Albanian colonies, founded in the 15th century by Albanians expelled by the Turks, who still speak their own language, wear their national costume, and worship according to the Greek rite. Similar colonies exist in Sicily, notably at Piana dei Greci near Palermo.