CASEMENT (from a Lat. form casamentum), in architecture, a frame in wood or metal, which holds the glass of a window, and is hung by hinges either at the top, bottom or sides.
CASERTA, a town and episcopal see of Campania, Italy, the capital of the province of Caserta, situated 21 m. N. by E. of Naples by rail via Accerra, and 23 m. via Aversa. Pop. (1901) town, 19,180; commune, 33,373. The modern town (229 ft.) was a mere village belonging to the Caetani family of Sermoneta, who were counts of Caserta, until its purchase from them by Charles IV. of Naples, and the erection of the royal palace, begun by Luigi Vanvitelli (van Wittel) in 1752, but not completed until 1774 for Charles’s son Ferdinand IV. It forms a rectangle, the south front being 830 ft. long and 134 ft. high, with 37 windows in each storey. The interior is richly decorated with marbles, almost all of which, except the white Carrara marble, are Neapolitan or Sicilian. The staircase, the chapel and the theatre are especially sumptuous. The extensive gardens which occupy the hillside behind the palace are adorned with fountains and cascades; the botanical garden contains many trees from northern climates. Two miles north is S. Leucio, a village founded by Ferdinand IV. in 1789, with a royal casino, and large silk factories which are still active. The old town (Caserta Vecchia) lies high (1310 ft.) about 3 m. to the north-east. It was founded in the 9th century by the Lombards of Capua. The cathedral has not suffered from restoration. It was completed in 1153. It is a copy of that of Sessa Aurunca, and preserves the type of the Latin basilica. The campanile, Sicilian in style, was completed in 1234, while the dome, which betrays similar motives, is even later. Its pulpit is decorated with the richest polychrome mosaic that can be found anywhere in Sicily or south Italy, and is quite Moslem in its brilliance. It is indeed remarkable to find these motives in a church so far inland (Bertaux, L’Art dans l’Italie méridionale, Paris, 1904, i. 353, &c.). There are also the ruins of the old walls.
CASE-SHOT, a projectile used in ordnance for fighting at close quarters. It consists of a thin metal case containing a large number of bullets or other small projectiles (see [Ammunition]). Case-shot was formerly called “canister,” though the term now used occurs as early as 1625.
CASH, (1) (From O. Fr. casse, mod. caisse, a box or chest; cf. “case”), a term which, originally meaning a box in which money is kept, is now commonly applied to ready money or coin. In commercial and banking usage “cash” is sometimes confined to specie; it is also, in opposition to bills, drafts or securities, applied to bank-notes. Hence “to cash” means to convert cheques and other negotiable instruments into coin. In bookkeeping, in such expressions as “petty cash,” “cash-book,” and the like, it has the same significance, and so also in “cash-payment” or ready-money payment as opposed to “credit,” however the payment may be made, by coin, notes or cheque.
The “cash on delivery” or “collect on delivery” system, known as C.O.D., is one whereby a tradesman can, through a delivery agency, send goods to a customer, and have the money due to him collected on the delivery of the same, with a guarantee from the carrier that, if no money be collected, the goods shall be returned. The function of such an agency is performed in the United States of America by the express companies (see [Express]). In most countries of the continent of Europe the post office acts as such an agent, as in Germany (where the system is known as Post-Nachnahme) and in France (contre remboursement). It is also in use in India, where it is known as “value payable,” and was introduced in 1877 in Australia. The advantages of the system are obvious, from the point of view both of the customer, who can, by post or telegram, order and obtain speedy delivery from large towns, and of the tradesman, whose area of trade is indefinitely extended. The system does away with credit or the delay and inconvenience of paying in advance. The success of the large “catalogue” houses in America has been mainly due to the system as operated by the express companies. At various times, notably in 1904, it has been proposed that the General Post Office of the United Kingdom should adopt the system. The consistent opposition of the retail traders in large urban centres other than the large stores, and of the country shopkeeper generally, has been sufficient to secure the refusal of the postmaster-general to the proposed scheme, but a commencement was made in 1908 for orders not exceeding £20 between the United Kingdom and Egypt, Cyprus and Malta, and certain British post offices in Turkey and Tangier.
(2) (From Tamil kasū, Sinhalese kasi, a small coin, adopted by Portuguese as caixa, a box, and similarly assimilated in English to “cash” above), a name given by English residents in the East to native coins of small value, and particularly to the copper coinage of China, the native name for which is tsien. This, the only coin minted by the government, should bear a fixed ratio of 1000 cash to one tael of silver, but in practice there is no such fixed value. It is the universal medium of exchange throughout China for all retail transactions. The tsien is a round disk of copper alloy, with a square hole punched through the centre for stringing. A “string of cash” amounts to 500 or 1000 cash, strung in divisions of 50 or 100.