CONIFERÆ. 1. Araucaria imbricata (Chili Pine); a, stamen; b, one-ovaled pistil. 2. Araucaria co (Silver Fir); one branch with cone, the other with staminate flowers; a, pistil; scale wi anther; c, pistil; d, seeds. 5. Pinus sylvestris (Scotch Pine or Fir); a, young; b, mature branch with staminate and pistillate flowers; b, branch with mature cones. 7. Cedrus Liban

re

lumnaris; a, branch with sterile flowers; b, branch with cones; c, d, e, scales. 3. Abies pectinata

with bract. 4. Abies excelsa (Norway Spruce); cone and branch with staminate flowers; a, leaf; b, cone; c, scale of cone; d, pistil; e, pollen-grain; f, seed. 6. Larix Europea (European Larch: a, hasi (Cedar of Lebanon).

Conjunctions.

time, different kinds or corruption or obliteration, depending upon the nature of the Letters in the root verb. This leads to the verbs of a language being arranged in different classes or conjugations. In Latin, for instance, grammarians recognize four conjugations, and verbs that cannot be brought into any class are called irregular verbs. In English, there are two distinct types of the inflection of verbs; thus, I love, becomes in the past tense, I loved, and in the passive voice, I am loved; while he shakes becomes he shook, and he was shaken. Verbs that, like love, take d (or ed-sometimes t) in their past tense and past participle, form one class or C.; and those resembling shake in their changes form another. The former class is by far the most numerous; but the latter includes the most commonly used and oldest verbs in the language. The mode of change seen in shake, shook, shaken, is believed to be more ancient than the other, and is therefore called the old C., and sometimes the strong C., the other being the new or weak. The verbs belonging to the old C. are all of Saxon origin, and are primitive or root verbs; while derivative verbs belong to the other class. Verbs of the weak C. are pretty uniform in taking d or ed, although after certain letters the d is of necessity pronounced as t, and is sometimes replaced by that letter in writing-dipt. With regard to verbs of the strong C., no rule can be given as to the change of vowel by which the past tense is formed. It was made at first, no doubt, according to felt laws of euphony; and even yet a certain "method" may be discerned "in their madness." Thus:

1. Rise, rose; smite, smote; ride, rode; drive, drove, etc.

2. Cleave, clove; steal, stole; speak, spoke; tear, tore, etc.

3. Swim, swam or swum; sing, sang or sung; ring, rang or rung, etc.

For further information on the C. of English verbs, see Latham's English Language, or Chambers's Information for the People (ed. 1874), vol. ii., art. “English Grammar."

CONJUGATION OF CELLS, a union of two distinct cells of a plant, in order to reproduction. It has been observed only in the confervacea and diatomacea. Two cells come into contact, as by two filaments of a conferva being brought together, and little projections are formed from each, the points of which are absorbed, and thus a tube is formed, through which one of the cells empties itself into the other. The latter then becomes a mother-cell, and produces spores.

CONJUNCT AND CONFIDENT. See INSOLVENCY.

CONJUNCTION, in astronomy, is one of the aspects (q.7.) of the planets. Two heavenly bodies are in C. when they have the same longitude-that is, when the same perpendicular to the ecliptic passes through both. If they have, at the same time, the same latitude-that is, if they are both equally far n. or s. of the ecliptic—they appear from the earth to be in the same spot of the heavens, and to cover one another. The sun and moon are in C. at the period of new moon. In the case of the inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, there is an inferior C. when the planet is between the earth and the sun, and a superior when the sun is between the earth and the planet. In general, a heavenly body is in C. with the sun when it is on the same side of the earth and in a line with him; and it is in opposition to the sun when it is on the opposite side of the earth, the earth being in a line between it and the sun. Planets are invisible when in C. with the sun, except in rare cases when an inferior planet passes over the sun's disk, and may be seen as a speck on his surface. Conjunctions are either geocentric or heliocentric, according as they are actually witnessed from the earth, or as they would be witnessed if observed from the sun. In observing a C. from the earth's surface, it is usual to reduce the observation to what it would be if made from the earth's center. By this means, the exact times of C. are more accurately fixed, and the observations of one astronomer made available to every other, wherever he may be on the earth's surface. Grand conjunctions are those where several stars or planets are found together. The Chinese history records one in the reign of the emperor Tehuenhiu (2514-2436 B.C.), which astronomers calculate to have actually taken place.

CONJUNCTIONS, one of the "parts of speech," or classes, into which grammarians divide words. C. serve the purpose of connecting sentences, parts of sentences, and single words; as "Day ends, and night begins. William and John learn Latin. Charles and James carried the basket between them." In the first sentence, and connects two separate affirmations into one compound sentence. The same is true in the second-the separate affirmations being "William learns Latin," and "John learns Latin." In the third sentence, and connects only the two words, “Charles” and “James,' as it cannot be affirmed of either of them alone that he "carried the basket." In most cases, however, it can be shown that, logically at least, two affirmations are involved, and that the conjunction really connects the affirmations. It is not easy to distinguish C. from adverbs. In fact, C. were all originally other parts of speech; and the greater part of them are still really adverbs, and owe their conjunctive effect to their signification as adverbs. In and and but, whatever may have been the original meaning, we now attend only to the conjunctive effect; or is a shortened form of the pronominal adjective other; and nor is or with the negative prefixed. In such a sentence as, "I believe that you are wrong," that is the demonstrative pronoun, equivalent to-I believe this, viz., "you are wrong." This is clearly seen in the corresponding words in other