among founders, is applied to tubes of wax fitted in divers parts of a mould of the same matter; by means of which, when the wax of the mould is removed, the melted metal is conveyed into all the parts which the wax before possessed.

also denotes a cylindrical piece of brass or copper, slit in two, lengthwise, used by the founders in sand, to form a canal or conduit in their moulds, whereby the metal may be conveyed to the different pieces intended to be cast.

among plumbers, denotes a little brazen funnel at one end of a mould, for casting pipes without soldering, by means of which the melted metal is poured into the mould.

or CASTE, in speaking of the eastern affairs, denotes a tribe, or number of families, of the same rank and profession. The division of a nation into casts chiefly obtains in the dominions of the Great Mogul, kingdom of Bengal, island of Ceylon, and the great peninsula opposite thereto. In each of these there are, according to Father Martin, four principal casts, viz., the cast of the brahmins, which is the first and most noble; the cast of the rajahs, or princes, who pretend to be descended from divers royal families; the cast of the choutries, which comprehends all the artificers; and that of the parias, the lowest and most contemptible of all: though Henry Lord, it must be observed, divides the Indians about Surat into four casts, somewhat differently from Martin, viz., into brahmins, or priests; cutlers, or soldiers; fishery, which we call banians, or merchants; and weavers, the mechanics or artificers. Every art and trade is confined to its proper caste, nor is allowed to be exercised by any but those whose fathers professed the same. So that a tailor's son can never rise to be a painter, nor a painter's son fall to be a tailor; though there are some employments that are proper to all the casts, e.g., every body may be a folder or a merchant. There are also divers casts which are allowed to till the ground, but not all. The cast of parias is held infamous, inasmuch that it is a disgrace to have any dealings or conversation with them; and there are some trades in the cast of choutries, which debase their professors almost to the same rank. Thus shoemakers, and all artificers in leather, as also fishermen, and even shepherds, are reputed no better than parias.