CANNON 326 CANONICAL HOURS CANNON, ANNIE JUMP, an Ameri- can astronomer, born in Dorer, Del., in 1863. She received her education at Wel- lesley College. In 1897 she became a staff assistant in the observatory of Har- vard College and was made curator of astronomical photographs. She achieved a reputation as an observer and cata- loguer, having discovered three new stars and 150 variable stars, besides a spectro- scopic binary. She was the author of an extensive bibliography of variable stars. Among her publications are "Second Cat- alogue of Variable Stars" (1907) ; "Max- ima and Minima of Variable Stars of Long Period" (1909) ; and "William Pa- ton Fleming" (1911). CANNON, JOSEPH GURNEY, an American public official, born in Guil- ford, N. C., in 1836. He was educated in the public schools and after studying law was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1858. From 1861 to 1868 he was State's attorney of the 27th Judicial District of Illinois. He was elected to the 43d Con- gress in 1873, and was re-elected to suc- cessive Congresses until 1891, when he was defeated. From 1893 to 1913 he was successively re-elected and was defeated again in 1914, but was successful in the election of 1915. He was also re-elected in 1917 and in 1919. He was chairman of the Committee on Appropriations in the 51st, 55th, 56th, and 57th Congresses, and was speaker of the House in the 58th, 59th, 60th, and 61st Congresses. In this position he became one of the most prominent political figures in the country. He also had a large part in the formation of the most important legislation passed during his period of office. He was the oldest member of the House of Representatives in the point of years of service. In the Republican Na- tional Convention of 1908 he received 58 votes for the presidential nomination. He was a frequent contributor to maga- zines on political subjects. CANNON-BALL TREE, a name given to a South American tree — Couropita gidanensis — from the large size and glo- bular shape of its fruit. It belongs to the order Lecythidacex. The fruit is vinous and pleasant when fresh, but emits an intolerably offensive odor when in a state of decay. It is known in Cayenne as the "Abricot Sauvage," i. e., Wild Apricot. The shells are used as drinking utensils; the seeds are eaten by monkeys. CANOE, a boat made of a hollow trunk of a tree, or of the bark shaped and strengthened. Canoes have been made large enough to carry 20 or 30 hogsheads of sugar. Some have decks, and carry sail; but they are generally open boats, propelled by paddles. They are seldom wide enough for two men to sit abreast, but vary greatly in length. Greenland Canoes, or kayaks, are often made of light wooden frames covered with sealskins, which are also drawn across as a deck, with only a hole left for one man to sit in it. In recent years there has been a new and extensive use and development of the craft. There are many Canoe clubs in the United States and in England, and the Canoe may be seen on all the coast-wise and inland waters of the United States and Canada. CANON, in its original sense, a cane or reed used as a measure or rule. Spe- cifically, a law or rule in general. In ecclesiastical history a canon is a book containing the rules of a religious order used in monastic institutions. A list or catalogue of the canonized saints of the Roman Catholic Church. A digni- tary of the Church; one who possesses a prebend, or revenue allotted for the per- * formance of divine service in a cathedral or colleg:iate church. The order of reg- ular canons of St. Augustine was spared at the time of the Reformation, and it continues in the Anglican Church to the present day. They are still nominally what they once actually were — ^the coun- cil of the bishop for the administration of the affairs oi his diocese — and they constitute the chapter of the body known as the Dean and Chapter. In music a Canon is a vocal composi- tion consisting of two, three, or four parts, in which the several voices begin at fixed intervals consecutively; some- times each voice commences wdth the same, sometimes with different notes. In printing a canon is a kind of large type principally used in posting bills. It was used for printing the canons of the Church, whence its name, CANON (kan'yon), the Spanish word for tube, funnel, cannon; applied by the Spanish Americans, and hence in North America generally, to long and narrow river gorges or deep ravines with precip- itous and almost perpendicular sides, oc- curring frequently in the Rocky Moun- tains, the Sierra Nevada, and great western plateaus of North America. CANONESS, a lady holding a similar position to a canon. Canonesses still exist in Germany. CANONICAL BOOKS, the books of Scripture belonging to the canon. CANONICAL HOURS, certain stated times of the day appropriated by ecclesi- astical law to the offices of prayer and devotion in the Roman Catholic Church,
