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PRICE Is., OR IX CLOTH, 4s. (id. 
 
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 A MANUAL 
 
 NATURAL HISTOET: 
 
 BEING A 
 
 C0mpimicm to % Series 
 
 OF 
 
 PICTORIAL DIAGRAMS & NATURAL SPECIMENS, 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF 
 
 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, GEOLOGY, AND 
 MINERALOGY. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 A. /JBOJJCARD, 
 
 Corresponding Member of the Zoological ftncirtu, London; de la Mission Kcientifiyue da Mexique 
 ile l\ti-is : t-f<\, ff<\, etc. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, REYISFD AND CORRECTED. 
 
 Bonbon : 
 A. BOUCARD, 55, GREAT RUSSELL STREET. 
 
 THOMAS MURBY, 
 
 32, BOUVERIE STKEET, FLEET STREET. 
 
 J);ms: E. DEYROLLE, 23, RUE DE LA MONNAIE. 
 
 1876. 
 
 [RIGHT OF TRANSLATION RESERVED.] 
 
t "l 4y>//4r cx/xv /, 
 
 / 
 ^ fci A MANUAL 
 
 Q^ \fcV^ 
 
 NATUEAL HISTOET: 
 
 BEING A 
 
 t0iT t0 % juries 
 
 OF 
 
 PICTORIAL DIAGEAMS & NATURAL SPECIMENS, 
 
 ILLTJSTEATIVB OF 
 
 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, GEOLOGY, AND 
 MINERALOGY. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 A. B9UCARD, 
 
 Corresponding Member of the Zoological Society, London; de la Minion Scientifique du MeaAque 
 de Paris; etc., etc., etc. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED. 
 
 A. BOUCARD, 55, GREAT RUSSELL STREET. 
 
 THOMAS MURBY, 
 32, BOUVERIE STREET, FLEET STREET. 
 
 $aris: E. DEYROLLE, 23, RUE DE LA MONNAIE. 
 
 1876. 
 
 [BIGHT OF TRANSLATION RESERVBD.] 
 
LONDON : 
 
 W. J. JOHNSON, PRINTER, 
 121, PLEET STREET. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IF the study of the Sciences is so much neglected in England 
 at present, it is certainly not for the want of illustrious professors. 
 Nevertheless, the great majority of all classes are scarcely ac- 
 quainted with even the rudiments of these branches of knowledge, 
 because the primary instruction of children does not include any of 
 these very useful sciences, which would be a real amusement to 
 them, and which are of such numerous and frequent application 
 in the arts, industry, agriculture, commerce, and, in short, the 
 ordinary business of life. 
 
 What is to be done to remedy this state of things? We 
 must inspire and develop a taste for the sciences from infancy, 
 and for this purpose must select one of the simplest and most 
 attractive practical sciences, which is also of very frequent appli- 
 cation. Natural History will certainly answer our purpose best. 
 In truth, the peculiar attraction which natural history possesses 
 for children is so striking, that most writers of elementary 
 books try to make them interesting to the scholars by 
 giving pictures and descriptions of animals. Unfortunately, these 
 pictures are often bad, and represent the rat of the same size as 
 the lion, and thus tend to mislead the notions of children ; and 
 the descriptions are generally no better than the pictures in this 
 respect. We were inclined to think that natural objects, or good 
 diagrams, of the natural size, and coloured, would amuse the pupil, 
 
 M375502 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 by showing him how he feels and breathes ; how the grain of corn 
 germinates ; how the trunk of the oak-tree is developed; or by 
 showing him iron and copper ores, and telling him how brass and 
 steel are made, etc., etc., all subjects the application of which will 
 be met with at every step in the ordinary course of life. 
 
 The first instruction for the child cannot be designed to teach 
 many things, but ought to succeed in instilling into his mind 
 the love of study, and to lead him to reflect. It is therefore 
 necessary that while teaching him we should also amuse and 
 interest him, show him the value of knowledge, and improve 
 his mind by awakening his intelligence. 
 
 The results of such a study are easy to foresee. The mind 
 of the child is accustomed to compare objects with each other, 
 and he becomes more exact in his appreciation of different 
 things, his reason is developed, and is especially raised by 
 the instinctive admiration which he feels for all the wonders 
 of Creation, as he learns to know all their perfection and 
 admirable order. 
 
 To make our work as practically useful as possible, we have 
 made use of words easily understood by children, and we have given 
 good and clear explanations. We have also availed ourselves of 
 the assistance of eminent professors, who have kindly undertaken 
 to revise all the diagrams in detail, and to whom the scrupulous 
 fidelity of the representations is due. 
 
 We are, then, confident of having produced a work which will 
 be understood by the uninitiated, for whom it is intended ; and 
 the encouragement of professors of the highest standing gives 
 us the assurance that it will be appreciated by the learned. 
 
 The execution of the work is based upon the following 
 principles, which we believe to be incontrovertible : 
 
 1st. Education by the eyes is that which is least fatiguing to 
 the intelligence and memory. When a fact is stated, and illus- 
 trated by a figure, or by a natural object, it is better understood, 
 and is more firmly impressed on the memory. 
 
 2nd. Nothing is more attractive to children than the coloured 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 representations of natural objects with which they are acquainted, 
 and especially when they find their name and use explained at the 
 same time. 
 
 3rd. This education can only produce good results if all the 
 ideas instilled into the child's mind are rigorously exact. 
 
 This work has been arranged in diagrams, composed either of 
 natural objects, whenever this was possible, or of good coloured 
 figures, representing with the greatest accuracy the types which 
 we wished to illustrate, of their natural size ; and we have always 
 given the preference to those objects which come most frequently 
 under the notice of children. 
 
 In the twenty diagrams which compose this work, we have at- 
 tempted to illustrate all branches of natural history, by teaching 
 children the most indispensable elements, or those which were 
 most suitable to excite their curiosity, and to lead them to the 
 desire of knowledge, from the special interest that they possess. 
 
 That the study of these diagrams should be really instructive, 
 some explanations besides the objects or figures were necessary ; 
 and we have supplied them as briefly and concisely as possible, and 
 arranged in such a manner as to attract all possible attention. 
 
 To render the work complete, we have been requested to add a 
 Manual. By means of brief, clear, and scrupulously exact 
 definitions, we illustrate those points where it was necessary, and 
 we give particulars which could not be introduced into the diagrams. 
 This book is not intended for the use of the master only, but the 
 pupils also will be able to read it with pleasure and profit. 
 
 While always insisting on the practical side of this instruction, 
 which is not only the indispensable introduction to the elements of 
 agriculture and horticulture taught in the universities, but also 
 the basis of all practical or technical instruction on general science, 
 we have not neglected the purely scientific side, because system 
 and classification are a great assistance to children in arranging 
 what they are taught into an orderly series of ideas ; but we have 
 explained it in the most simple manner, so that it may be easily 
 understood. 
 
Yl PREFACE. 
 
 The rapid sale of the first edition has given us an early oppor- 
 tunity for the thorough revision of this work. We have been 
 assisted in this revision by several scientific professors of this 
 country, to whom our thanks are due. 
 
 A. B. 
 
METHOD OF TEACHING. 
 
 THE best method of teaching, by means of these diagrams, is to 
 spread them before the pupils in the course of their lessons. 
 
 If they are shown the whole series at the commencement, they 
 will look at them at first with interest, and read the names of the 
 objects, but having much to see and to read, they will not be able 
 to remember everything accurately, and as their curiosity is no 
 longer stimulated by novelty, they will soon forget all. 
 
 On the contrary, by showing them those which form the 
 subject of the lesson, they will always look upon them with great 
 interest. Having less to read and examine at once, they will 
 do so with much profit, and will remember them more easily ; and 
 then, when the teacher has explained those points which they 
 do not quite understand, and they fully comprehend everything, 
 the diagrams can be left at their disposal without fear. Children 
 are fond of reading again what they already know : and the 
 figures and names will then be firmly fixed in their memory with- 
 out any fatigue, and even without knowing it. 
 
 Every time that the teacher can procure actual specimens to 
 complete his illustrations, it will make the lesson still more pro- 
 fitable for the pupils by making the definitions more striking 
 It is often very difficult to procure the necessary types in the 
 
Vlll METHOD OF TEACHING. 
 
 animal kingdom, but specimens of the vegetable kingdom are 
 particularly useful, and very easy to obtain. 
 
 As regards the lessons, the best plan is to follow the manual 
 step by step, for it is .in reality the detailed explanation of the 
 names and objects on the diagrams to which it refers throughout ; 
 and by thus following it, repetitions and omissions will be 
 avoided. But the teacher will often have to add his own observa- 
 tions to what is said, and to enlarge upon the parts which are 
 most interesting in his neighbourhood. 
 
 Besides regular lessons, accidental circumstances will frequently 
 give opportunities for a lesson, which should be taken advantage 
 of. The return of the swallows, for instance, will give a good 
 opportunity for a lesson on the migration of these birds, and the 
 service which they render us, like nearly all birds which feed on 
 insects in the spring. The children should be forbidden to molest 
 birds or take their nests, and be taught to appreciate the mischief 
 which their destruction causes at this season of the year in 
 particular, etc., etc. 
 
 In order to follow the lessons in their regular and proper 
 order, it would be necessary to begin by giving the pupils a 
 general idea of the value of instruction in the natural sciences ; 
 but we must remember that the practical part of this instruction 
 will appear in a much more striking light to the pupils after they 
 have gone through the course; and it will therefore be better 
 not to speak of this till afterwards. In fact, it is manifest that 
 it is extremely useful to know our organization, and to know 
 by what mechanism our movements follow the directions of our 
 thoughts ; how we breathe, see, and feel. It is not less useful to 
 know those animals which are real aids to agriculture, and without 
 which our crops would be injured, and our ruin imminent. Alas, 
 most of these true friends who do us nothing but good, are 
 generally as pitilessly destroyed as our real enemies. 
 
 What absurd fables have been related about the poor bat, 
 which has nothing formidable about it but its reputation, and 
 which unceasingly pursue our enemies, the night-flying insects. 
 
METHOD OF TEACHING. IX 
 
 The children who destroy the nests of tit-mice, to put nestlings, 
 which they think they can feed on seed, into a cage, do not 
 suspect the mischief which they are doing to the crops. 
 These nestlings, in fact, can only live when supplied with plenty 
 of insects ; caterpillars, which are so numerous at the time 
 of their birth, are their favourite food, and it has been calculated 
 that a nest of tit-mice destroys about 600 caterpillars per day. 
 If we attentively examine what each caterpillar devours in the 
 course of its life, we shall be able to judge how costly to agri- 
 culture are these fragile strings of small bird's eggs that children 
 delight to make, and which their parents do not forbid them 
 from making because they are ignorant of the mischief which 
 is done. 
 
 Are not toads often pursued, hunted out, and killed? Yet 
 what services they render us. It is true that they were created 
 to live in the shade, and have neither elegant forms nor brilliant 
 colours, but they ought always to be encouraged, as they 
 live almost entirely on slugs and injurious insects. 
 
 The study of plants is perhaps of still more general interest, 
 and certainly of more direct utility, for they actually form the 
 principal part of our food, and the chief source of the wealth of 
 our country. It is therefore indispensable to learn to know 
 them, to know how corn grows, how the trunk of the oak or the 
 tuber of the potato is formed, etc., etc. ; and which are the 
 commonest edible, industrial, and poisonous plants of our 
 country. 
 
 The earth also contains an immense store of wealth. Here are 
 the day and kaolin to make pottery ; there sandstone and flint for 
 paving, for the manufacture of glass, etc. One country produces 
 coal seams, the fossil remains of ancient forests buried for hun- 
 dreds or perhaps thousands of years, which not only serve for 
 warmth, but from which abundance of useful industrial products 
 are extracted tars, essences, beautiful red and blue dyes, etc. 
 Another country, which is marshy, possesses peat bogs, a mass of 
 sodden vegetabls debris, which when dried and prepared, forms 
 
X METHOD OF TEACHING. 
 
 a valuable fuel. Nearly all the products of tlie soil can be utilized 
 for our requirements, and it is therefore important to know them 
 in order to be able to use them, and to draw from them all possible 
 advantages. 
 
 It is ignorance of these elements of science which leads to 
 those gross errors and absurd prejudices which are really relics of 
 barbarism, and which must be unceasingly opposed by demon- 
 strating the simple truth, and disseminating this indispensable 
 knowledge. 
 
 This elementary course of Natural History may be divided 
 into about thirty lessons, and we shall rapidly point out what each 
 of them may include ; but it is obvious that they may be extended, 
 shortened, or modified, according to the time which can be given 
 to them, and the special interest which such and such a portion 
 may possess in connection with the district where the lesson is 
 given, etc., etc. 
 
 1st Lesson. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Division into Three 
 Kingdoms (pp. 1-5). Man Races of Men (pp. 6-7). 
 
 Three diagrams, one of each kingdom, must be necessarily 
 consulted to furnish examples. 
 
 The importance of the study of Man has given him a separate 
 and comparatively large section in the work. We have therefore 
 gone more into particulars in this chapter than the others, and 
 have kept it quite distinct. 
 
 2nd Lesson. MAN. Structure of the Human Body. Skeleton, 
 Muscles. Organs of Digestion, of the Circulation of the Blood, 
 and Respiration ; General Observations. Respiration and Circu- 
 lation (pp. 7-15, diagrams 1 and 2). 
 
 3rd Lesson. MAN. Digestion. Nervous System. Organs of 
 the Senses. Voice (pp. 15-25, diagrams 1 and 2). 
 
 4th Lesson. ANIMAL KINGDOM. Sub-kingdoms. VERTEBRATA 
 MAMMALIA, General Remarks. Quadrumana. Insectivora 
 (pp. 26-36, diagram 3). 
 
 5th Lesson. MAMMALIA. Carnivora. Rodentia (pp 36-45, 
 diagram 3). 
 
METHOD OF TEACHING. XI 
 
 6th Lesson. MAMMALIA Pachydermata ; Ruminantia ; Marsu- 
 pialia ; Cetacea (pp. 45-56, diagram 3). 
 
 1th Lesson. BIRDS. General Observations ; Division into 
 Orders (pp. 57-65, diagram 4). 
 
 8th Lesson. BIRDS. Raptores ; Scansores (pp. 65-69, dia- 
 gram 4). 
 
 $th Lesson. BIRDS. Passeres (pp. 70-77, diagram 4). 
 
 10th Lesson. BIRDS. Gallinacese ; Grallse ; Palmipedes (pp. 
 78-85, diagram 4). 
 
 llth Lesson. REPTILES (pp. 86-94, diagram 5). 
 
 12th Lesson. FISHES (pp. 95-103, diagram 5). 
 
 13th Lesson. ARTICULATA. Insects; General Remarks (pp. 
 104-109, diagram 6). 
 
 14^ Lesson. INSECTS. Coleoptera (pp. 110-120, diagram 6). 
 
 15th Lesson. INSECTS. Lepidoptera (pp. 120-126, diagram 6j. 
 
 16th Lesson. INSECTS. Hemiptera ; Orthoptera ; Neuroptera 
 (pp. 126-134, diagram 6). 
 
 17th Lesson. INSECTS. Hymenoptera (pp. 135-142, dia- 
 gram 6). 
 
 18th Lesson. INSECTS. Diptera ; Parasita ; Arachnida (pp. 
 143-150, diagram 6). 
 
 1 $th Lesson. MYRIAPODA. CRUSTACEA. ANNELIDA. INTES- 
 TINAL WORMS (pp. 151-159, diagram 7.) 
 
 20th Lesson. MOLLUSCA. RADIATA (pp. 160-166, diagram 7). 
 
 21st Lesson. VEGETABLE KINGDOM General Remarks (pp. 
 167-174, diagrams 8, 9, 10.) 
 
 22nd Lesson. DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. Umbelliferse ; Sola- 
 nacese ; Euphorbiaceas ; Chenopodiacese ; Polygonaceaa ; Pap aver- 
 acese; Ranunculaceae (pp. 175-182, diagram 13). 
 
 23rd Lesson. DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. Leguminosse ; Labi- 
 atae; Rubiaceae ; Urticaceae ; Lauraceae (pp. 182-190, diagrams 12 
 and 15). 
 
 24^ Lesson. DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. Malvaceae ; Lina- 
 cese; OleaceaB ; Rosaceae ; Cruciferaa ; Ampelideas (pp. 191-195, 
 diagrams 14 and 15). 
 
Xll METHOD OF TEACHING. 
 
 25th Lesson. DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. Composite ; Cupuli- 
 feraj ; S alicaceae ; Betulacese ; Conifene ; MONOCOTYLEDONOCS 
 PLANTS. Liliaceae ; Iridae (pp. 196-204, diagrams 16 and 17). 
 
 26th Lesson. MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. Amaryllideae ; 
 Palmaceae ; Gramineae. ACOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. Ferns ; 
 Mosses; Fungi; Lichens; Algas (pp. 205-214, diagrams 17 
 and 18). 
 
 27th Lesson. MINERAL KINGDOM. Geology (pp. 215-221, 
 diagram 19). 
 
 28th Lesson. MINERAL KINGDOM. Industrial Minerals (pp. 
 221-229, diagram 20). 
 
 29fA Lesson. MINERAL KINGDOM. Ores (pp. 229-234, dia- 
 gram 20). 
 
 30A Lesson. Recapitulation ; Use and Application of the 
 Natural Sciences. 
 
A MANUAL 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY relates to all objects upon the earth, whether 
 Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral. 
 
 Kingdoms. Natural objects are divided into three kingdoms. 
 The first includes animals, and is called the Animal Kingdom; the 
 second includes plants, and is called the Vegetable Kingdom ; lastly, 
 we place in the Mineral Kingdom all objects which are neither 
 animals nor plants, that is, those which have no life stones, 
 rocks, crystals, liquids such as the water we drink, and gases 
 such as the air we breathe. 
 
 Animals have a mouth with which they eat their appropriate 
 food. They can also run, fly, swim, or walk. If we approach 
 them, or attempt to seize and annoy them, they try to escape, 
 or show that they feel pain. Even the oyster will forcibly close 
 itself and resist if we try to open it, and we therefore say that 
 it feels. 
 
 Plants also take nourishment, but in a different way from 
 
Z INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 animals. They suck up the water contained in the ground by 
 means of their roots. They cannot move from place to place 
 like animals, but always remain fixed where the seed fell, and 
 took root; and, lastly, if we cut off a branch from a tree, it does 
 not seem to experience any pain it does not feel. 
 
 Minerals are always easy to recognize. They have no life 
 like plants and animals, and they do not reproduce their species 
 like these, by young ones, eggs, or seeds. 
 
 The mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms supply man 
 with everything which he requires for his food ; to build houses, 
 to clothe and warm himself, or to construct tools. 
 
 The study of these three kingdoms forms what is called, collec- 
 tively, the Natural Sciences, and as these concern all the beings 
 and objects which surround us, and without which we could not 
 live, it is clear that we ought to know them, and that the 
 study of the Natural Sciences is very useful indeed. 
 
 To enable us to recognize objects among the innumerable 
 number of animals, plants, and minerals which the earth contains, 
 it is necessary to establish an arrangement which allows of our 
 distinguishing every object. This arrangement is what is called a 
 classification. To attain this end, it has first been attempted to 
 group together all those animals which have certain points of 
 resemblance in common ; all those, for instance, which suckle 
 their young with teats have been called mammals ; all those 
 with feathers are called birds. The same with reptiles, fishes, 
 insects, and molluscs. All those large groups of animals which 
 have certain very important characters in common, have been 
 called classes. We speak of the class of birds, the class 
 of fishes, etc.; but each class comprises within itself so large a 
 number of animals that these great divisions would not be 
 sufficient. The class of mammals, for instance, alone includes 
 very different animals. The bat which flies like a bird, the 
 whale which lives in the water like a fish, and the horse which 
 runs on the ground, are all three mammals ; they all three 
 forth young which they suckle, and yet these three 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARK8. O 
 
 animals are not at all alike. Therefore, the animals of a class 
 have been divided into several c refers, including all those which 
 have certain resemblances in common, but still somewhat dis- 
 tant. Lastly, in each order, those animals which have a 
 great resemblance, though different from each other, have been 
 put together to form first a genus, and then a family. Thus, the 
 lion, tiger, and panther, are all very like a cat, and are placed 
 in the same family ; on the other hand, they feed on flesh like 
 the fox and wolf. The family of cats, and that which contains 
 the fox and wolf, will, therefore, both be included in the order 
 Carnivora. 
 
 Each class, either of animals or plants, is thus divided into 
 orders and families in such a manner that all the beings which 
 inhabit the earth are always arranged side by side with those 
 that most resemble them. 
 
 Now, suppose we see an animal and wish to know its history ^ 
 we shall immediately be able to find it in a book which con- 
 tains the system of classification. Here, for instance, is a 
 pole-cat ; we know immediately where we ought to look for it 
 it is covered with hair; it produces young which the female 
 nourishes ; we already know that it belongs to the class of 
 mammals ; it lives on flesh, which shows us that it will be 
 placed in the order Carnivora ; and we shall soon see that it 
 belongs to a family including the marten, the martlet, the 
 ferret, and the weasel, all which have a long body, short legs, 
 live in holes, and like flesh as much as the cats. We shall 
 notice in succession the different classes and the principal 
 orders or families of animals. 
 
 Plants have likewise been divided into classes and families. 
 These also are always composed of plants which have a great 
 common resemblance, but this resemblance is not always, as in 
 the families of animals, easily recognizable. It is generally 
 limited to the flower and fruit. 
 
 We shall mention only the principal families, and specify 
 the principal plants which ought to be known. 
 
4 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 From another point of view, all animals and plants may be 
 divided into two large groups the useful and the injurious. 
 The useful animals are all those which man rears for his food, 
 for clothing, or for any other purpose. The ox which supplies 
 us with meat, leather, and bone, is a peculiarly useful animal ; 
 the field mouse which devours the crops is a peculiarly in- 
 jurious animal. Man must wage war with the latter, and he 
 is assisted by other animals, which are themselves great 
 enemies to injurious animals ; and, therefore, all these which 
 thus assist man, are called indirectly useful animals : the cat is 
 one of these, because it eats the mice, which destroy corn and 
 other stores. And as the greatest enemies of man are neither 
 lions nor wolves, nor even venomous serpents, but the insects 
 which eat his crops, it follows that all the animals which eat 
 insects, whether mammals, birds, reptiles, or insects themselves, 
 are useful to man. 
 
 In order to have useful animals always at hand, man has 
 determined to make them live with him at home. The animal 
 is then said to be domesticated ; the horse, ox, sheep, dog, cat, 
 fowl, and duck, are domesticated animals. In other countries 
 the elephant and camel are also domestic animals. 
 
 Plants, like animals, are also divided into the useful and the 
 injurious. They are injurious when they interfere with the 
 growth of cultivated plants, or when they are poisonous. But 
 at least man, with a little instruction, can always detect those and 
 destroy them. 
 
 There are different kinds of useful plants. Some yield 
 valuable medicines, like the poppy which produces opium, or 
 the cinchona which cures fevers. These plants are called 
 medicinal. Other plants are esculent, and we sometimes eat their 
 roots, as the carrot, sometimes their leaves, as the salads ; but 
 most often their fruits. There are other plants which, without 
 being articles of food, yield what are called spices, such as 
 pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, parsley, chervil, garlic ; 
 there is a considerable number of these plants. Lastly, there are 
 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 the textile plants, which yield materials which are employed in 
 making fabrics, such as the flax, hemp, and cotton. We 
 should never finish enumerating everything that man obtains 
 from the vegetable world, beverages, oils, woods, dyes, and 
 a great number of different substances, as will be seen when 
 we proceed to the history of animals and plants, after having 
 spoken of man. 
 
MAN RACES OF MEW. 
 
 MAN, 
 
 RACES OF MEN. 
 
 THERE are several races of men, which are distinguished by their 
 colour. 
 
 Four principal races of men are recognized ; the White, the 
 Yellow, the Red, and the Black. 
 
 The White Race comprises those nations whose skin is more or 
 less white, the hair silky, and the eyes blue or brown. It is 
 the race in which civilization is most advanced. It inhabits 
 part of Asia and Africa, and nearly all Europe. Among the 
 blonde nations, we include the English, Swedes, Danes and 
 Germans ; among the brown races are the Indians, Persians, 
 Arabs, Greeks, Italians, and Spanish. The French resemble 
 either the blonde or the brown nations around them, according 
 to the district which they inhabit. 
 
 White Kace. 
 
 Red Eace. 
 
 Yellow Eace. 
 
 Black Eace. 
 
 The Yellow Race is widely spread in Asia ; it includes the 
 Cochin-Chinese, the Chinese, and Japanese, who are also civilized 
 nations, having like ourselves been acquainted with the use of 
 writing for a very long time. They have a yellow skin, black 
 and straight hair, a flattened nose, and oblique eyes. 
 
STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BODY SKELETON. 7 
 
 The Red Race comprises the American savages generally called 
 (but incorrectly) American Indians ; their skin has a reddish 
 hue, their hair is black and straight, as in the yellow race, but 
 they have neither oblique eyes nor a flattened nose. They are, 
 for the most part, warlike nations who live by the chase. 
 
 Lastly, the Black Race, the most miserable of all, inhabits the 
 whole of Central Africa, and a great part of the islands of 
 Oceania. The skin of the negroes is entirely black, their nose 
 flattened, their lips thick, and their hair woolly. They live in 
 small scattered tribes, cannot write, and live by the chase. They 
 hunt with bow and arrows, and can only build huts, while 
 the other races, even the red race of America, have been able 
 to raise monuments, and to make great roads. 
 
 STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BODY, 
 
 SKELETON. The body of man is supported by a solid frame- 
 work called the Skeleton, The parts which compose it are 
 called bones, of which there are a great number, especially in the 
 hands and feet. The head is also composed of several small 
 bones, but they are all soldered together, except the lower jaw, 
 which is movable. They form a great cavity which contains 
 the brains. The skull has also two deep hollows in front, which 
 contain the eyes, and which are called orbits, 
 
 In man the lower jaw is formed of a single bone, while it is 
 composed of two parts in the sheep, ox, and a great many 
 other animals. 
 
 When we examine a human skeleton (in which there is 
 absolutely nothing alarming), we see that the head is supported 
 by a sort of column formed of massive little bones arranged one 
 upon another. These small bones are called vertebra, and 
 collectively the vertebral column. It is sometimes called the spine, 
 or back-bone. All the vertebrae are pierced with a hole from 
 above to below. These holes correspond to each other .qnd form 
 a kind of canal which itself corresponds to the hole a .he base 
 
STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BODY SKELETON. 
 
 of the skull. This canal contains the spinal 7/iarroiv, which is con- 
 nected with the brain 
 through the hole in 
 the skull. All the 
 vertebrae are very 
 firmly joined toge- 
 ther. Nevertheless 
 it is always very 
 wrong to lift children 
 by the head, as is 
 sometimes done, for 
 they are liable to be 
 killed on the spot. 
 
 At the level of the 
 chest the vertebrse 
 form a support for 
 the ribs, which ex- 
 tend forward and 
 meet against a bone 
 placed under the 
 skin, and called the 
 sternum or breast- 
 bone. . There are 
 twelve ribs on each 
 side. Every human 
 being, therefore, ~h as 
 twenty-four ribs. 
 
 The hips are formed 
 by a kind of com- 
 plete bony girdle 
 which is called the 
 pelvis. The shoulder 
 is formed of two 
 bones, the clavicle, or 
 
 collar-bone in front, 
 Skeleton of Man. 
 
STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BODY SKELETON. 9 
 
 and the shoulder-blade behind. The clavicle can be felt under the 
 skin above the chest on each side, and can be seen very well 
 outlined in thin persons. The shoulder-blade is a flat triangular 
 bone, surrounded by the flesh of the back, find it can also be 
 seen very well in very thin people. It is not fixed, and follows 
 the motions of raising and lowering the arms. The upper arm 
 and thigh have only one bone ; that of the thigh is called the 
 femur. The fore- arm and leg hav.e two bones placed alongside 
 of one another ; the hand and foot have a great number. The 
 fingers and toes are divided into three parts called phalanges ; the 
 thumb and great toe have only two phalanges. 
 
 The bones of the limbs, for facility of movement, rotate on 
 their extremities by means of a kind of joints called articulations. 
 The shoulder, the elbow, the hip, and the knee, are the principal 
 articulations ; the phalanges are also all articulated together. 
 The surfaces of the bone which thus slide one upon another are 
 perfectly smooth, and in addition are always kept moistened by 
 a sticky and oily liquid, which prevents their being rubbed 
 together too roughly. 
 
 In order to complete our study of the skeleton, we ought to 
 speak of organs which are not so hard as the bones, and 
 which also serve for a solid framework for the flesh ; we mean 
 the cartilages. The solid and elastic portions of the ear, and the 
 sides and end of the nose are formed of cartilages. They are 
 also formed at the extremity of all the ribs, which are osseous 
 behind, and always cartilaginous in front. 
 
 MUSCLES. The Muscles form the principal part of what is 
 called flesh ; they are red in man as well as in the ox 
 and horse, but are much paler in the sheep, the calf, and 
 especially in the fowl. The muscles consist of fleshy masses, 
 generally long, and continued at both ends by what are called 
 tendons. The largest and best known in the body is that which 
 ascends from the heel to the calf of the leg, and is called the 
 tendon of Achilles. The calf is formed by a muscle attached above 
 to the thigh, and which is continued below by the tendon of 
 
10 STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BODY SKELETON. 
 
 Achilles, which is inserted into the bone of the heel. The kind 
 of cords which are seen under the skin of the back of the hand 
 when the fingers are moved, are also finer tendons, which run 
 from the fingers to the muscles of the fore-arm. The tendons 
 are often confounded with the nerves, and it is said, for instance, of a 
 thin man making a great effort, that you can see the nerves 
 stretch under his skin ; but this is a mistake, it is the tendons 
 of his muscles which are seen. 
 
 There is in the front of the arm a well-known muscle called 
 the biceps, the movements of which are very easy 
 to follow. To see it act well, it is simply necessary 
 to lift a tolerably heavy weight with the fore-arm 
 only by bending the elbow. The tendon which 
 connects the biceps with the bone of the fore-arm 
 may then be very well seen under the skin. We 
 also perceive that the muscle contracts and 
 thickens, at the same time, in proportion as the 
 fore-arm bends upon the elbow. This is really 
 how the muscles act : Attached by their extremities 
 to the bones of the skeleton, they contract at our 
 wish, and consequently cause the bones of the 
 skeleton to act upon each other. Each finger 
 has also tendons which are drawn up to extend it, 
 and drawn down to close it. Those men who 
 have the largest muscles are generally the 
 strongest ; but we frequently meet with very thin 
 people who are very strong, and they are then 
 said to be nervous, owing to the same error of 
 confounding the tendons with the nerves. We 
 generally judge of the strength of a man by the size of the 
 muscles of his chest, or the pectoral muscles. (See Diagram 1.) 
 It is these which assist in all forward motions of the arms. 
 
RESPIRATION, CIRCULATION, DIGESTION DIAGRAM 1. 11 
 
 ORGANS OF 
 RESPIRATION, CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD, 
 
 DIGESTION. 
 [ DIAGRAM 1. ] 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 The Neck. The neck contains the larynx, which communicates 
 with the throat above, and joins the wind-pipe below which 
 conducts air to the lungs. 
 
 The larynx makes a projection in man, which is felt in the neck, 
 and is called Adam's apple. When the larynx is stopped up 
 suffocation ensues, and this is what occurs in the croup of children. 
 The surface of the larynx is exceedingly sensitive ; and if it is 
 touched by anything but air, a violent fit of coughing is the 
 result. This happens when we swallow anything the wrong way, 
 that is, when a drop of water or a morsel of food penetrates into 
 the larynx instead of falling into the oesophagus behind the 
 larynx. 
 
 Below the larynx, near the wind pipe, is a gland called the 
 thyroid gland. It is not usually felt under the skin, and we only 
 mention it because it produces goitre, when it swells to a large 
 size. Goitre is very common in some countries, and seems to- be 
 caused through bad water. 
 
 The Chest. The chest is protected in front by the ribs, and is 
 separated below from the abdomen by a partition called the 
 diaphragm. The chest contains the oesophagus and the wind- 
 pipe at the back, the heart in front, and the lungs on each side. 
 The heart is not situated wholly on the left side, as is often 
 supposed, the point only is a little inclined to this side ; and as 
 
12 RESPIRATION, CIRCULATION, DIGESTION DIAGRAM 1. 
 
 it is this which is felt to beat, it was said that the heart was on 
 the left. The two lungs fill the greater part of the chest to the 
 right and left, but without adhering to its surface, against which 
 they slide. 
 
 The Abdomen. The cavity of the belly, or of the abdomen, ex- 
 tends from the diaphragm to the pelvis. It is protected above 
 only by the last ribs, and below by the hip bone. The liver is 
 situated on the right, in the upper part of the abdomen. This 
 secretes the bile, called also the yall, which collects in a small 
 bladder called the gall-bladder. Further to the left is the 
 stomach, a kind of closed bag furnished with only two openings 
 that of the oesophagus, by which food enters, and that of the 
 intestines, by which it passes out. To the left of the stomach, 
 in the upper part of the abdomen, is the spleen. It is there 
 where we feel pain when we have a stitch in the side from having 
 run too much. It was thought on this account that animals 
 would be able to run faster if their spleen was removed, but 
 this operation is no longer practised. Below the liver, the 
 stomach, and the spleen, the intestines are coiled, which are at 
 least four or five times the length of the body. They form a 
 long tube, narrow throughout the first part of its course, which 
 is called the small intestines, and larger towards the end, where 
 it is called the large intestines. Behind the intestines are the 
 kidneys. They secrete the urine, which drops into the bladder 
 before being expelled from the body. 
 
 RESPIRATION. It is not sufficient for man to eat to sustain 
 life ; he must also breathe atmospheric air. This is composed 
 of a mixture of three gases, which it is necessary to mention. 
 The first is called oxygen, the second azote or nitrogen, aud 
 the third carbonic acid. These three gases are mingled in very 
 unequal proportions, and we cannot separate them at will ; but 
 chemistry teaches us the properties of each of them. 
 
 Oxygen is indispensably necessary to the life of animals, as 
 well as for the combustion of wood or coal. Where there is no 
 oxygen, all ilarae is extinguished, and every animal dies. For 
 
RESPIRATION, CIRCULATION, DIGESTION DIAGRAM 1. 13 
 
 this reason, when we are about to descend into a well, or mine, or 
 a cistern, where no one has been for a long time, we must let 
 down a lighted candle by a cord; if it is not extinguished, 
 oxygen is present, and we can descend without fear ; but if 
 the candle goes out, there is no oxygen left, and a man would 
 die there. 
 
 Nitrogen is a gas like oxygen, but it can neither support 
 combustion, nor sustain life. 
 
 Carbonic acid is the gas which causes the froth of bottled beer, 
 seltzer-water, cider, or of sparkling w r ine. Carbonic acid, like 
 nitrogen, is neither fitted to support combustion nor to sus- 
 tain life. 
 
 Air contains about one part of oxygen to three parts of 
 nitrogen, with a very small quantity of carbonic acid. During 
 respiration, the air which enters the lungs leaves behind a certain 
 quantity of oxygen, and returns charged with a larger proportion 
 of carbonic acid. Therefore, if a man is shut up in a room where 
 the air cannot be renewed, he gradually exhausts all the oxygen, 
 and at last dies. He dies very quickly, under water, because the 
 oxygen no longer reaches his lungs, and he can no longer 
 breathe ; and this also happens when the neck is squeezed 
 sufficiently to compress the windpipe. 
 
 The air expelled from the lungs during respiration, contains 
 some aqueous vapour, as well as a large quantity of carbonic 
 acid ; this forms the moisture of the breath, and we can thus 
 perceive if a patient still breathes, by holding a glass to his 
 mouth. 
 
 CIRCULATION. The body contains a great number of vessels 
 which proceed from the heart and return to the heart. The 
 first are the arteries, and the second are the veins. These 
 vessels, which grow finer and finer the further they extend from 
 the heart, and larger and larger according as they approach it, 
 nre all filled with blood. But it is not the same colour in the 
 veins and in the arteries ; and it has no longer the same 
 quality. It is often believed that venous blood is blue, and it 
 
14 CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD DIAGRAM 1. 
 
 is generally represented of this 
 colour, which is that of the veins 
 which can be seen under the skin, 
 either on the back of the hand or 
 foot, or at the fold of the elbow. 
 But when one of these blue veins 
 is opened, as in bleeding, to draw 
 blood from it, it is seen to be of 
 a very dark red. It does not run 
 with much force. If, on the con- 
 trary, a wound has unfortun- 
 Heart cut open. ate iy opened an artery, the blood 
 
 spurts out to a distance of several yards, and it is seen to be of a 
 vermillion red. The blood has this colour when it has been to the 
 lungs, and has taken up the oxygen of the air derived from respi- 
 ration ; it loses this fine red colour in proportion as it deposits this 
 oxygen in the tissues. Consequently, when a man is suffocated, he 
 turns blue, as we say, because all his blood is of the colour of that 
 in the veins. 
 
 The heart never ceases to beat from birth to death, in order 
 to drive the blood into the arteries ; it beats about 75 to 80 
 times in a minute, but sometimes much less ; when it beats 
 quicker it is a symptom of fever. The beatings of the heart can 
 be counted by laying the hand on the chest, but as the pulsation 
 is communicated to all the arteries, it is easier to feel it in those 
 parts of the body where the arteries do not lie very deep. It 
 is so at the wrist ; and this is the place where doctors 
 generally count the pulse. The beating will be found by drawing 
 the finger once or twice above the bend of the wrist, from the 
 side of the palm of the hand towards that side of the fore-arm 
 which corresponds to the thumb. 
 
 The heart is somewhat conical in shape ; it contains several 
 divisions or chambers through which all the blood successively 
 passes. It drives the blood to the lungs, where it becomes red ; 
 and the blood then returns to the heart, which drives it through 
 
DIGESTION DIAGRAM 1. 15 
 
 another artery into all the body. There it loses its vermillion 
 colour, and returns to the heart by a large vein to be sent back 
 to the lungs, and so on. This is circulation. 
 
 DIGESTION. Man must eat and drink in order to live. All 
 the solids and liquids which he employs for this purpose are 
 called food. But they are not all equally nourishing. It is 
 generally necessary that a diet should be a little varied to be 
 wholesome ; but it is a mistake to suppose that one cannot live 
 without such "and such a food. In towns, one is too apt to 
 believe that meat is indispensable to health. It may very 
 advantageously be replaced by milk or cheese. Nor is bread 
 indispensable, and some people eat hardly any. Habit has 
 much to do with all this. Certainly, we may be a little in- 
 convenienced, or even made ill, if we suddenly discontinue a 
 diet to which we have long been accustomed ; but we generally 
 soon become accustomed, especially in youth, to a very different 
 diet to what we had formerly been used'to. 
 
 The most nourishing foods, and those which are consequently 
 styled nutritious, are meats and vegetables. But not to grow 
 tired of these, we generally add small quantities of other 
 substances to them, which are not so nutritious, but which, 
 nevertheless, greatly assist digestion, such as salt and pepper. 
 These foods, of a special kind, have been called condiments. 
 
 The best and most wholesome of all beverages is undoubtedly 
 spring water. Nevertheless, custom has almost everywhere 
 abandoned it for the use of fermented liquors, either made of 
 grapes, apples, or barley. Beer, cider, and especially wine, 
 are excellent drinks, so long as they are not used to excess. 
 But we should always be very cautious in the use of brandy, 
 rum, and all alcoholic liquors. They have at first the serious 
 inconvenience of causing drunkenness, in which state a man 
 no longer knows what he is doing ; but repeated drunkenness 
 leads to much more serious consequences in time ; and men 
 who have fallen into this habit grow old before old age, their 
 speech is confused, their hands shake, and they often end their 
 
16 
 
 DIGESTION DIAGRAM 1. 
 
 existence in a lunatic asylum. This is the usual consequence 
 of the abuse of brandy, and especially of absinthe, a liquor 
 much used in France, but happily almost unknown in England. 
 
 There are other slightly stimulating beverages, very different 
 from the preceding, such as coffee and tea. Coffee, taken 
 in moderation, is an excellent beverage. Tea is very wholesome 
 when good. 
 
 Digestion is the process by which food is transformed in the 
 body into flesh and blood. Food placed in the mouth passes 
 through the throat into the stomach and intestines, where it is 
 digested. The mouth is always kept moist by the saliva, which 
 is secreted by large glands placed in the thick part of the 
 cheeks, near the ears. It flows faster than usual when we eat, 
 and it is enough to think of a good dinner to make the mouth 
 water immediately. The teeth serve to cut, tear, and mash the 
 food, which they form into a kind of pulp mixed with saliva. 
 The tongue and cheeks press this pulp constantly between the 
 teeth, till it is almost liquid. It is then only that it can be 
 
 Upper Jaw. 
 
 Lower Jaw. 
 
 swallowed. This function of the 
 teeth is called mastication. When 
 the teeth have come out, the gums 
 often become very hard, and we 
 see old people who eat without 
 teeth nearly as well as if they had 
 them. 
 
 The Teeth. There are 28 teeth 
 in the child, and 32 in the adult. 
 They grow after birth, then come 
 out, and are replaced by others 
 which are only lost in old age. 
 There are three kinds of teeth : 
 the incisors, the canines, and the 
 molars. The incisors, which serve 
 to cut the food are the front teeth ; 
 there are four in the upper jaw, 
 
DIGESTION DIAGRAM 1. 17 
 
 and four in the lower jaw ; eight in all. On each side of 
 the incisors, above and below, is another tooth, stronger and 
 more pointed, which lias been compared to those of dogs, and 
 is only used when we wish to tear something ; these are the 
 canines, of which there are four. As to the molars, they serve 
 to grind like mills ; there are three on each side in each jaw 
 in children, and five in adults. 
 
 The first teeth which make their appearance after birth are the 
 lower incisors. They show themselves first, and then all the 
 other teeth gradually appear, to the number of 24. Towards the 
 age of six years they come out, and 28 large ones grow up in 
 their places. The four last, which complete the number of 
 32, only appear much later, at an age when one ought to be 
 wiser ; they are called the wisdom teeth. These are the last in 
 each row. 
 
 The teeth are formed of a very hard kind of bone which is 
 called ivory. They are divided into two portions, the root, which 
 is buried in the gum ; and the crown, which is the visible part. 
 This is covered with a kind of brilliant varnish, called enamel. 
 In the centre of the tooth is a hole containing the pulp, or the 
 flesh and nerves, which sometimes cause us so much suffering. 
 The teeth, like the hair, should be kept very clean, and brushed 
 with soft brushes. One should always avoid breaking too hard 
 substances with the teeth, as is sometimes done ; without men- 
 tioning the risk of breaking a tooth, it often happens that they 
 crack without its being noticed, and these teeth afterwards 
 decay. 
 
 When anyone opens his mouth very wide, and we look down 
 to the back, we see behind the tongue a kind of curtain called 
 the uvula, (see Diagram 2) which separates the mouth from the 
 throat. On each side, below the point where the uvula com- 
 mences, are the tonsils (see Diagram 2), which very often swell 
 in children, impeding their respiration, and causing them much 
 suffering. The part at the back of the uvula communicates 
 above with the openings of the nostrils, and below with the 
 
 c 
 
18 NERVES AND BRAIN DIAGRAM 1. 
 
 Ottophaytt* (see Diagram 2), through which the food passes, and 
 with the larynx, where the air for respiration enters. The food 
 passes from the throat into the resophagus, and through that 
 into the stomach. There it changes its nature entirely, and 
 acquires an exceedingly disagreeable taste and odour. We 
 perceive this when we vomit; the stomach rejects its contents, 
 and we can already perceive how greatly the food has been 
 altered. It is still more altered when it passes into the intestines, 
 where it is mixed with the bile. Then it is absorbed by the surface 
 of the intestines, and is converted into blood ; and this in its turn 
 becomes flesh, muscles, tendons, bones, cartilages, skin, hair, nails, 
 humours in short, all the substances which compose the various 
 organs of the body. What is not thus absorbed and transformed 
 is expelled from the body. 
 
 NERVES AND BRAIN. The Nerves are small white cords which 
 penetrate the whole body, and convey our wishes to every part. 
 If we wish to move the foot or hand, it is by means of the nerves 
 that our will contracts the muscles which move them. We 
 also feel by means of the nerves. If the nerves of the leg, for 
 instance, have been severed by a wound, the leg immediately 
 becomes insensible and incapable of movement, it is, as doctors 
 say, paralysed. 
 
 The nerves sometimes cause great suffering, and produce what 
 is called neuralgia. 
 
 All the nerves in the body return to the spinal cord and to the 
 brain, which is a continuation of it. The spinal cord and the 
 brain are composed of a very soft substance, fortunately protected 
 by the skull and the vertebra, for the least touch which it sustains 
 is always followed by the most serious consequences. Part of this 
 substance is grey, and the rest white ; the first forms the surface 
 of the brain, the second is in the centre. The whole surface 
 of the brain is covered with large folds, which are called convo- 
 lutions. 
 
 The Brain is the organ by which we feel, think, remember, 
 or ecide upon any action, such as reaching out the arm, or 
 
NERVES AND DRAIN DIAGRAM 2. 
 
 closing the hand. Mad- 
 men, who are de- 
 ranged, or who no 
 longer know what they 
 do, are persons whose 
 brain is diseased. 
 When we say that 
 wine and brandy go 
 to the head we are 
 right, for they cause 
 disease of the brain 
 for some time, and 
 this disease produces 
 drunkenness. When 
 we place our hand 
 upon a hot or hard 
 body, the sensation of 
 heat or hardness is 
 transmitted to the 
 brain by the nerves of 
 the skin. If we want 
 to extend the arm, or 
 close the hand, the 
 nerves transmit the 
 wish to the muscles of 
 the -hand and arm 
 to make the move- 
 ment which the brain 
 desires. The brain 
 may be compared to 
 a central telegraph 
 office, connected with 
 all parts of the body 
 by wires, which are 
 nothing else than the 
 
 Xervous System of Man. 
 
20 ORGANS OF THE SENSES THE SKIN DIAGRAM 2. 
 
 nerves. "VYe are informed by these wires of everything which 
 acts agreeably or disagreeably on the different parts of the 
 body ; and we send orders to the muscles by the same wires to 
 make the movements which we desire. 
 
 ORGANS OF THE SENSES. 
 [ DIAGRAM 2. ] 
 
 ORGANS OF THE SENSES. There are Five Senses by which we 
 know what is passing around us Touch, Sight, Hearing, Smell, and 
 Taste> By touch, we ascertain if bodies are hard or soft, hot or 
 cold, rough or smooth. In the dark, touch also teaches us the 
 forms of objects. It is thus that the blind can perceive with 
 their fingers all the objects which it is enough for us to see 
 with our syes, to know that they are there. The skin is the 
 organ of touch, as the eye is the organ of sight. 
 
 The eyes perceive the most distant objects, and inform us of 
 their presence, even when we cannot touch them, as the clouds 
 and stars. They also show us the colour of objects. The ear 
 hears the sounds produced by sonorous bodies. Smell informs 
 us of the odour of surrounding bodies, when we breathe through 
 the nostrils the air which has passed over them. Taste is 
 situated on the tongue and in the mouth, and the object which we 
 wish to taste must be laid directly on the tongue itself. 
 
 The Skin. The skin covers the whole 
 body, but it is not everywhere of equal 
 thickness. It is especially thin on the 
 eyelids, and especially thick on the 
 back, under the foot, and on the palm of 
 the hand. It exhibits undulating lines 
 which form elegant patterns at the end 
 Skin (highly magnified). of the fingers. These lines are separate 
 
ORGANS OF THE SENSES THE EYE DIAGRAM 2. 21 
 
 little ridges, which we can see very well if we look with a little 
 attention. And on these small ridges we observe rows of points 
 like the holes which might be made by the point of a very fine 
 needle. These are openings, and in warm weather we may 
 observe that there is a very small drop of sweat in each of these 
 holes. It is in reality from these that it flows. 
 
 There are other holes in the skin, through which the hairs 
 of the head and beard pass, the roots of which lie deeper. 
 They are very seldom entirely removed when the hair is pulled 
 out, and it nearly always grows again. The hair and beard, 
 if left uncut, do not grow indefinitely, and after reaching a 
 certain length, do not grow longer. The hair in children, as 
 well as in older persons, ought always to be brushed, combed, 
 soaped, and kept very clean. Whatever may be the current 
 ideas on this subject, cleanliness of the heads of children is 
 necessary to their health. 
 
 When we are slightly scalded with too hot water, or apply a 
 blister, a portion of the skin rises, and water collects underneath. 
 This is called a blister. If this skin is cut, we see that it has no 
 feeling, and that no pain is caused. The bottom of the blister. 
 on the contrary, is exceedingly tender, and cannot be touched 
 without causing pain. The raised and insensible portion is 
 called the epidermis, and it is only the outermost part of the skin. 
 By working with the hands, the epidermis thickens, and then 
 becomes horny. The lower-part of the skin, much thicker than 
 the epidermis, is called the true skin. 
 
 The Eye. The eye is the organ of the sense of sight. It is 
 protected by the eyelids, and when these are closed, the eye 
 sees no longer. It can, however, distinguish darkness and 
 light through them, as we may perceive by standing in the sun, 
 and bringing the hand or a dark object before the closed eyelids. 
 When we look at the eye of any one, we first notice a black 
 hole in the centre, which is the pupil. Round the pupil is a 
 coloured membrane in which the hole is pierced, and this is 
 called the iris. The iris is blue, grey, or brown, in different 
 
22 ORGANS OF THE SENSES THE EYE DIAGRAM 2. 
 
 persons. These tints are also sometimes slightly green, or 
 yellowish. If we look at the eyes of the same person in the 
 sun and in a dark place, we see that the pupil is not always of 
 the same size, it enlarges in the shade, and contracts in full 
 daylight. This is particularly noticeable in cats. We have 
 only to look at their eye in the sunlight to see the pupil reduced 
 to a narrow vertical line, not the tenth part of an inch in 
 breadth, which no longer occupies the whole height of the eye. 
 In the evening, and especially on a dark night, the pupil en- 
 larges till the iris can be no longer distinguished, or is only 
 visible as a narrow border all round the eye. 
 
 In front of the eye is a convex transparent part extended 
 before the iris ; this is the cornea,. Behind the pupil, and con- 
 sequently behind the iris, is an organ like a magnifying glass, 
 and as transparent as crystal, which is called the crystalline lens. 
 Behind this, the eye is filled with a kind of transparent jelly, 
 the aqueous humour. Lastly, the back of the eye is curtained by 
 an extremely delicate nervous membrane, which is called the 
 retina. It is connected with a large nerve, which runs from the 
 back of the eye to the brain. External objects paint them- 
 selves on the retina through the pupil, and then we see them. 
 If the crystalline lens grows dim, sight is lost, which happens 
 in cataract. The eye can very well be compared to the apparatus 
 used by photographers, and called a camera obscura. In front 
 the object-glass represents the crystalline lens and the cornea. 
 At the back, external objects are painted on an unpolished glass, 
 which is entirely analogous to the retina. 
 
 The eye, or as we say, the ball of the eye, moves in its orbit 
 to the right and left, and up and down, by means of muscles which 
 draw it in these four directions. When one of these muscles 
 is shorter than the three others, the eye is drawn to the side of 
 this muscle, and it is then said that the person squints. Every- 
 one does not see distinctly at the same distance. Some are 
 obliged to hold a book very close to their eyes to read, and 
 others are obliged to hold it at a distance. The first are said 
 
ORGANS OF THE SENSES THE EAR DIAGRAM 2. 23 
 
 to be short-sighted, and the second long-sighted. Sight generally 
 becomes longer with age. It is generally during the first years 
 of school that persons become short-sighted. To prevent this 
 as much as possible, children ought not to bring their eyes too 
 near their books and copy-books ; they ought to read and write 
 holding the head straight, and at a little distance from their 
 desk. It is the master's duty to attend to this, and the number 
 of short-sighted children in his school will much depend on the 
 attention which he pays to the position of the children when 
 they work. 
 
 Too short or too long sight is corrected by means of spectacles ; 
 but the selection of these is always a matter which requires much 
 attention, and anyone who supposes that he requires spectacles 
 ought always to consult the doctor before going to the optician. 
 The doctor, if he is skilful, will not only advise what spectacles 
 should be used, but in many cases will be able to give good ad- 
 vice to correct the sight, and render spectacles unnecessary for 
 the remainder of life. Tears are secreted by a gland placed in 
 the corner of the eye, outside and above, which is called the 
 lachrymal gland. 
 
 The Ear. The ear hears the sounds produced by vibrating 
 bodies. It is always easy to ascertain by placing the hand on a 
 clock when it strikes, or on the cord of a musical instrument 
 while it is played, that bodies, when they produce a sound, 
 experience a kind of trembling or vibration which is very per- 
 ceptible to the fingers. We distinguish between the outer and 
 inner ear. The first, visible externally, is not indispensable to 
 hearing ; it is pierced with a hole called the auditory canal, which 
 penetrates into the head, and communicates with the internal 
 ear. The bottom of the auditory canal is closed by a small 
 membrane stretched like the parchment of a drum, and called 
 the tympanum. It is therefore necessary to be always very 
 careful not to put hard bodies into the auditory canal as they 
 might break the tympanum, and cause serious accidents and 
 dreadful sufferings. 
 
24 OUGANS OF THE SENSES NOSE AND MOUTH D1AGHAM 2. 
 
 Behind the tympanum are three very small bones of a singular 
 form : one resembles a hammer, the second an anvil, and tho 
 third a stirrup. They are known by these names. Lastly, we 
 find in the internal ear a narrow canal twisted into a spiral like 
 a snail-shell, and called, on this account, the cochlea. 
 
 After certain diseases, the internal ear is destroyed, and 
 deafness results. If a child is born deaf, it hears nothing, and 
 as it does not hear words, it cannot repeat and learn to say them, 
 and is then dumb. Those who are born in this state are called 
 deaf-mutes. 
 
 The Nose. The nose seryes for respiration as well as the 
 mouth ; and can also perceive odours. It communicates at the 
 back with the throat, and we can therefore return smoke taken 
 by the mouth through the nose, and can also swallow water 
 which has been snuffed up strongly. The whole space 
 between the nose and the throat is called the nostrils. They are 
 prolonged by cavities which rise as far as the forehead, and 
 hence it is supposed, when an irritating powder such as 
 tobacco, pepper, or camphor has been taken, that it has pene- 
 trated to the brain ; but .this is a mistake, for the brain is 
 always separated from the nose by bones, and nothing can 
 penetrate to it. We often speak of a cold in the head ; but 
 it is not the brain which is affected, it is only the lining mem- 
 brane of the nostrils, or the pituitary membrane. The brain is 
 separated from the nose, and is not affected, and therefore cold in 
 the head is never a serious complaint. 
 
 The Mouth serves to breathe, eat, and speak : the mucous inem- 
 brane, or skin which covers the inside of the mouth, also serves 
 to taste our food. The flavour is perceived by small papilli ou 
 the tongue, each of which is connected with a nervous thread. 
 
ORGANS OF THE VOICE DIAGRAM 2. 20 
 
 ORGANS OF THE VOICE. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 2. ] 
 
 The Voice is formed by the air driven from the lungs, where it 
 passes into the larynx. The larynx is situated above tlie windpipe; 
 and it communicates with the throat by a narrow opening. It is 
 composed of several pieces jointed together, and the interior is 
 covered with a very fine skin, and furnished with two folds called 
 vocal chords. These folds produce the sound, or voice, by being 
 more or less tightened. The sound thus formed is articulated by 
 the tongue with the assistance of the palate, teeth, and lips ; and 
 then constitutes speech. 
 
26 ANIMAL KINGDOM CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 AJHMAL KINGDOM, 
 
 CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 SUB-KINGDOMS. In classifying animals they are first divided into 
 four large groups, called Sub-kingdom*. These are: 
 
 I. Sub-kingdom Vertebrata. 
 
 II. Sub-kingdom Articulata. 
 
 III. Sub-kingdom Mollusca. 
 
 IV. Sub-kingdom Radiata. 
 
 The first of these four great divisions is so named because all 
 the animals which compose it, without exception, possess an in- 
 ternal skeleton, that is, a bony framework covered with flesh, like 
 that of man, and consequently a vertebral column i.e., a column 
 composed of vertebras. This is the origin of the name of vertebrate, 
 which is applied to this sub-kingdom. It comprises Four Classes 
 Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes. The sub-kingdom Arti- 
 culata is composed of animals whose body is formed of segments, 
 or separate rings, arranged in a regular series. Moreover, they 
 have no internal skeleton, and, on the contrary, the external parts 
 are generally the hardest and toughest, as in the crayfish and 
 the centipede. Sometimes these animals are only protected by a 
 hard skin, like that of the earth-worm, or the leech. The princi- 
 pal classes of this sub-kingdom are Insects, Crustacea, and 
 Worms. 
 
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS MAMMALIA DIAGRAM 3. 27 
 
 The sub-kingdom Mollusca only contains one class, that of the 
 molluscs. Their skin is always soft, with no appearance of 
 rings ; the greater part are protected by a stony substance, some- 
 times rolled into a spiral form, as in the snail, and sometimes 
 forming two separate parts called valves, as in the mussel. 
 
 Lastly, the sub-kingdom Radiata comprises animals which are 
 constructed nearly like flowers, and all the parts of which radiate 
 from a common centre. The madrepores and corals belong to 
 this sub-kingdom. 
 
 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. 
 
 CLASS MAMMALIA. 
 [ DIAGRAM 3. ] 
 
 The first class among the Vertebrata is that of the Mammalia. 
 Their name means "having teats." They all bring forth and 
 suckle their young. They have generally four limbs, and are 
 covered with hair or spines. Nevertheless, there are mammals, 
 which we shall mention further on, which have no hair, and 
 resemble fishes externally. In many of them the vertebral 
 column extends beyond the pelvis, forming a tail. The number 
 of young which mammals can produce at a birth is very variable 
 the goat, the ass, the ewe, the mare, and the cow, have generally 
 only one ; the hare three or four ; the dog and cat five or six ; 
 the sow as many as fifteen. 
 
 The Mammalia are divided into several orders. 
 
 1st. The Quadrumana, or four-handed animals, which includes 
 all the apes. 
 
28 
 
 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS MAMMALIA DIAoL'AM 
 
 Skull of Hedgehog. 
 
 2nd. The Insect iuora, which arc 
 all small mammals, feed on insects, 
 In order to crush them, they 
 have molar teeth, set with pro- 
 jecting points. Among the in- 
 sectivora may be mentioned the 
 bats, the moles, the shrew-mouse, 
 and the hedgehog. 
 
 3rd. The Carnivora form an order, 
 including the large mammals which 
 generally feed on flesh ; their molar 
 teeth are always more or less pointed 
 in order to divide their food, and they 
 Skull of a Dog. have very strong canines to tear it. 
 
 In the order carnivora we find the family of the bears, the badger, 
 the family of the weasels, those of the cats and dogs, and lastly 
 that of the seals. 
 
 4th. The Rodentia. The 
 mammals of this order 
 feed exclusively on vege- 
 table matters, as the car- 
 nivora feed principally on 
 animals. Consequently we 
 find the most injurious 
 mammals among the ro- 
 Skull of a Rodent. dents. Some of them are 
 
 valued for their skins. It is sufficient to compare the teeth of a 
 rodent a rabbit, for instance, with those of a carnivorous animal, 
 to see that they cannot feed in the same manner. The rodents 
 have very strong incisors, which cut crosswise, with which they 
 can cut wood ; they have no canines, and their molars are flat to 
 crush their food. But this is not all ; the incisors are quickly 
 worn down by cutting such hard substances, and, therefore, 
 while the teeth of man and carnivora do not grow after they 
 
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS MAMMALIA DIAGRAM o. 29 
 
 liave acquired their full size, the incisors of rodents keep on 
 growing all their life, as fast as they are worn away. This may 
 be verified by cutting the teeth of a rat or a rabbit, when they 
 will very soon regain their length. 
 
 We may mention among the rodents, the squirrels, the dor- 
 mice, the moles, the marmot, the family of the rats, the field- 
 mice, the beaver, the porcupine, and the family of the hares. 
 
 5th. Next come the Edentata. These are animals which 
 inhabit tropical countries. They have no incisor teeth nor 
 canines ; and some of them have no teeth at all. They are 
 seldom brought to Europe. 
 
 6th. The Packydermata form an order which derives its name 
 from two Greek words, meaning "thick skin." Nearly all are 
 large animals with a thick skin, and never having the feet 
 simply cloven like the ruminants. The elephant, the rhinoceros, 
 the horse family, the wild boar, and the hog are placed in the 
 order of pachyderms. 
 
 7th. The order Ruminantia com- 
 prises a great many animals which 
 have a cloven hoof to each foot. 
 Many have incisors only in the 
 lower jaw, and none in the upper; 
 and alone of all the mammalia, 
 they ruminate. We often see a cow 
 lying down in the fields motionless, 
 and masticating all the time, al- 
 though she crops no grass. On 
 opening her mouth, we see that 
 she is eating afresh the food she 
 has previously swallowed. This 
 is rumination. Digestion is not Skull of Ox. 
 
 effected in ruminants in the same way as in other mam- 
 malia ; they have a very complicated stomach, or rather four 
 stomachs, between the end of the oesophagus and the begin- 
 ning of the intestines. The first and largest is called the 
 
30 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS MAMMALIA DIAGRAM o. 
 
 paunch ; it is alone larger than 
 the three others together. The 
 second is called the honeycomb 
 from, its cellular appearance. 
 The third stomach is called 
 the manyphis, because its sur- 
 face is lined with membranous 
 folds. Last comes the red, 
 called in calves the rennet. 
 Stomach of a Ruminant. If apiece of this is put into 
 
 milk it almost immediately causes it to curdle. 
 
 This is what takes place. When the ruminating animal is in 
 the meadow, it eats as much as ever it can, and swallows the grass 
 almost without chewing it. All this grass goes into the paunch, 
 where it is moistened with saliva, but does not digest, Then the 
 animal leaves off browsing, and [it is then that it really begins 
 its meal. It returns by the oesophagus a mouthful of the grass 
 that it has in the paunch, chews it afresh leisurely, and then 
 swallows it ; and it is only then .that the food, well chewed, 
 passes into the last stomach, where it is digested. All animals 
 of the order of ruminants eat thus ; among others, camels, 
 giraffes, deer, antelopes, goats, sheep, the ox, and the 
 musk-ox. 
 
 8th. After the order of ruminants follows that of the Mursu- 
 pialia, thus called from a Latin word which means pocket. 
 These are mammals which are only found in the most distant 
 countries. They are remarkable because the female has 
 a pouch under the belly, in which she rears her young. 
 When they are a little older, they may be seen putting 
 their heads out of this pouch, and then drawing back 
 and hiding there. If any danger threatens the female, she 
 escapes carrying off her young in this manner. The best 
 known marsupials are the opossums of America, and the 
 kangaroos which inhabit Australia. These last mentioned 
 animals have very short fore legs, and large hind legs, 
 
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS MAMMALIA DIAGRAM O. 
 
 and instead of running, 
 they take great leaps. 
 
 9th. The last order of 
 mammals is that of Ce- 
 tacea, and these are ani- 
 mals which at first sight 
 have altogether the ap- 
 pearance of fish ; such as 
 the whale and the dol- 
 phin. They have no hair ; 
 they have fins instead of 
 arms, and a tail behind JJ "V 
 instead of hind limbs. /' ^ ]>> - 
 Nevertheless we after- ^~' 
 wards perceive a great 
 difference from fish. 
 While the tail of the 
 latter is vertical, and they beat the water on the right and 
 left to advance, that of the cetacea is horizontal, and they 
 move it up and down. Lastly, the cetacea have no gills ; 
 they have lungs, and breathe air like other mammals, and are 
 obliged to return frequently to the surface to take breath. 
 They have a nose called the blow-holes, by which they blow 
 out water, which rises in a jet from the sea. 
 
 An Opossum and Young. 
 
 Skeleton of a Whale. 
 
 The order Cetacea includes various animals of moderate size, 
 
o2 MAMMALIA QUADRUMANA 1NSECTIVORA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 sucli as the dolphins and porpoises, which are found on our 
 coasts ; and it also includes the cachalot and the whale. 
 
 ORDER QUADRUMANA. 
 
 The APES, which we find placed at the head of the mammals, 
 inhabit warm countries. The most intelligent of all is the 
 
 chimpanzee ; the strongest and 
 most savage is the gorilla. Both 
 these inhabit Africa. The gorilla 
 is as large as a man, but its 
 limbs are of very extraordinary 
 strength, and can, it is said, twist 
 the barrel of a gun. Its teeth 
 are formidable as those of a lion. 
 
 Skull of Ape. 
 
 ORDER INSECTIVORA. 
 
 The BATS are the only 
 mammals which can fly, 
 but they achieve this 
 with far less gracefulness 
 than birds or insects. They 
 are covered with hair, have 
 Bat Flying. a mouth furnished with 
 
 small sharp teeth, like all carnivorous animals, and when they 
 are killed, the female is often found carrying her young one 
 hanging on her shoulders, and its head downwards ; she flies 
 everywhere with it. 
 
MAMMALIA INSECTIVORA DIAGRAM G. 33 
 
 Bats are nocturnal animals ; they only- 
 go to seek their food in the evening, and 
 sleep during the day. They hide in the 
 darkest places caves, hollow trees, and 
 abandoned cellars ; and it is probably be- 
 cause they have often been met with in- 
 habiting tombs that these little animals 
 have been considered ill-omened, and ob- 
 jects of fear. Nothing is more absurd. It 
 is enough to take a bat and look at it a sku11 of Bat - 
 
 little while, to see that it is truly a very singular animal, but 
 that it has nothing terrible about it except its small teeth, with 
 which it bites those who tease it. We then see that the wing is 
 raised by an arm, all the parts of which are visible ; the arm 
 and fore arm, at the end of which is an extremely large hand, 
 between the fingers of which the wing is expanded. The thumb 
 is free, and forms a kind of hook. The hind legs have also hook- 
 like fingers, and the animal uses them to suspend itself. It 
 clings with its sharp claws to the roof of the places which it 
 inhabits, and if we go there in the day time without making a 
 noise, we shall see the bats sleeping thus with their heads down- 
 wards ; hanging on all sides. 
 
 Bats have a great appetite, and when we see them flying in the 
 twilight, they are in search of food. They only eat insects, 
 which are injurious animals. Bats are therefore destroyers of 
 our enemies, and far from driving them away and killing them, 
 we ought, on the contrary, to be exceedingly glad to see them, 
 because they are the farmer's friends, and not, as is believed 
 erroneously, animals of ill-omen. It is therefore very wrong to 
 kill them, and nail them to the doors of houses, where these poor 
 animals are good for nothing, whereas they were useful when 
 living. 
 
 We sometimes hear of a terrible bat called a Vampire, which is 
 said to suck the blood of men. It is true that there is in the 
 warm countries of South America a small bat which sometimes 
 
 D 
 
34 MAMMALIA INSECTIVORA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 sucks the blood of sleeping persons. But it does not take much 
 to fill its stomach, and if the wound does not bleed after the 
 departure of the vampire, it would not do much more harm than a 
 leech. 
 
 MOLES are still more 
 insectivorous than bats, 
 if this is possible, and 
 have also very peculiar 
 habits. They burrow 
 Mole eating a Mole Cricket. ^ the groun ^ au d 
 
 make galleries in fields and meadows, and clear out the soil. This 
 forms mole-hills. The mole lives constantly underground, and has 
 no need to see clearly, and it is therefore nearly blind ; its eyes arc 
 not visible, as they are very small, and hidden under the fur. It 
 uses its fore paws for digging. They are altogether dispro- 
 portioned to its size, being large, great, and armed with strong 
 claws. It burrows in the earth with this implement. There is 
 certainly no more laborious animal. The mole sleeps very little, 
 and works almost day and night to find its food. It is very 
 voracious, and may be said to be always hungry. When it has not 
 eaten for six hours, it dies of want. But it is carnivorous, and eats 
 absolutely nothing but animals : earthworms, wireworms, mole 
 crickets, and in short all the insects that it can find. It is a serious 
 error to suppose that it eats the roots of plants ; it dies of hunger 
 when it has not fresh flesh to eat. The mole would thus be a very 
 useful animal if it did not turn up the soil. In some countries, men 
 called mole-catchers make a trade of destroying them, by setting traps 
 in their galleries. In other countries they are valued, and the 
 farmers buy them in the market to turn into their fields. Every- 
 thing depends on the crops which are raised. If the field is full 
 of mole crickets, and if the mole-hills do not interfere with the 
 crops, it will be an advantage to have moles ; if the earth 
 removed by the moles causes more damage to the crop than the 
 insects which it eats, it is better not to have moles in the field. 
 The fanner must calculate which is best for the produce of his land. 
 
MAMMALIA INSECTIVORA DIAGRAM 3. 35 
 
 THE SHREW-MOUSE. This is the smallest 
 of all mammals. It is smaller than the 
 mouse ; it may be known by its much 
 longer and more pointed muzzle, and by 
 its teeth, which, like those of the bats and Shrew Mouse, 
 
 moles, are the teeth of a carnivorous animal, short, sharp, made 
 for crushing insects, whereas the mouse has teeth made for gnaw- 
 ing wood. 
 
 The shrew-mouse lives in the fields where it makes burrows ; 
 it destroys as many insects as it requires to nourish its little 
 body. It is therefore a friendly animal, and although its aid is 
 not of much importance on account of its size, we ought never- 
 theless to refrain from destroying it. It was thought that the 
 bite of the shrew-mouse would produce a very serious disease 
 in the feet of horses ; but this is a mistake. 
 
 The HEDGEHOG is the largest of our native insectivorous animals. 
 It destroys a great number of insects and snails of all kinds ; it 
 does not perhaps eat so much as the mole ; but at any rate it 
 does not injure the crops. When it is very hungry it probably 
 eats field-mice, moles, and rats, rodent animals as destructive as 
 insects, and which likewise appear to dread the hedgehog, as 
 
 Hedgehog. 
 
 they shun the places which it inhabits. It passes the winter 
 asleep in a hole. Its skin is covered with prickles, but they 
 would not protect it well if it did not roll itself up into a ball 
 
 D 2 
 
36 MAMMALIA CARNIVORA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 when attacked by an enemy. Neither head nor legs are then 
 visible ; and it remains thus until the danger is past. 
 
 ORDER CARNIVORA. 
 
 BEARS. The animals of which we are now about to speak are 
 still carnivorous; but they no longer feed on insects. Never- 
 theless, if some of them are fierce and formidable animals, man 
 has been able to turn them to profit ; he hunts them for their 
 skin, which is sometimes very valuable. 
 
 The bears are the first we come to. The White Bear lives on 
 ice in the North, and feeds on fish. The Brown Bear inhabits 
 high mountains. It is often trained to dance and exhibited at 
 fairs, care being taken to muzzle it well. However, the brown 
 bear seems to prefer fruits to flesh. It eats roots which it turns 
 up with its claws ; it is very fond of honey, and climbs trees, in 
 spite of its apparent clumsiness, to eat bees' 'nests. Young bears 
 are lively, and will play like kittens. Bearskin was long used for 
 the fur caps of grenadiers ; now this ridiculous head dress is no 
 longer used. It makes good blankets in cold countries. The 
 flesh of the bear is very wholesome, and yields abundance of fat. 
 
 The BADGER is closely allied to the bear, although it is much 
 smaller. It lives in this country, and is hunted, both for its 
 fur, and because it destroys game. When the badger is attacked 
 by dogs, it defends itself fiercely ; it lies on its back, and repels 
 the attacks of its adversaries with teeth and claws ; but by dint 
 of numbers, they always succeed in overcoming it. 
 
 THE WEASELS. We have now to deal with a family of true 
 carnivorous animals, which are much alike ; it includes the pole-cat, 
 the ferret, the weasel, the ermine, the pine-marten, the beech-marten 
 and the otter, all animals which must be mentioned. 
 
MAMMALIA CARNIVORA DIAGRAM 3. 37 
 
 The Pole-cat emits a very offensive odour; it hides itself in 
 winter in barns and granaries, and in summer it is found in 
 hollow trees and rabbit-warrens. It is a very mischievous 
 animal ; it kills rabbits, and sometiines poultry. It darts on 
 hares like an arrow, clinging to their neck, and never loosening 
 its hold, in spite of their flight. 
 
 The Ferret has long been domesticated in Africa, from whence 
 many are brought. It is a domestic animal like the dog, but 
 belongs to the weasel family. It sleeps almost constantly, and 
 only rouses itself to eat. It is the most terrible enemy to rab- 
 bits ; it darts into their burrows and drives them out ; but for 
 this purpose it must be muzzled, for otherwise it would strangle 
 them, suck their blood, and then fall asleep in their burrow. 
 
 The Weasel is the smallest of this family, but not the least 
 voracious. It is scarcely larger than a rat, its fur is nut-brown 
 and the belly white. It also hides in out-houses in winter, and 
 in summer it lives in woods, and chases birds on the bushes. It 
 attacks young chickens, but fowls are too large for it. Sparrows 
 are sometimes seen to assemble in troops, and drive away a 
 weasel by flying and chirping round it. On the other hand, the 
 weasel destroys rats and mice, so that while it is disliked in 
 poultry-yards, it is liked in granaries, as its small size allows it 
 to chase the rats in their holes. 
 
 The Ermine is a little larger 
 than the weasel, and much re- 
 sembles it ; it lives in northern 
 countries. The ermine is red- 
 dish brown in summer, and is 
 then called the stoat, but becomes Ermine. 
 
 quite white in winter, when it is hunted to obtain the fur called 
 ermine. As the animal is very small, great numbers of skins 
 are required to make a single mantle. For this purpose the 
 ends of the tail of the animal, which remain black at all seasons, 
 are generally used. 
 
 The Pine-marten and the Beech-marten are great destroyers of 
 
38 MAMMALIA CARNIVORA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 eggs and poultry. They are consequently hunted. The pine- 
 marten is known by its yellow throat, and the beech-marten by 
 its white one. Their back is yellowish-brown, and they yield a 
 valuable fur. 
 
 Otters live on fish, and are, so far, mischievous animals ; but, 
 on the other hand, they yield a highly valuable fur. The otter 
 is not very active on land, but when it swims it displays so much 
 ease and agility that it is easy to see that fish cannot escape 
 from it. Nevertheless, as it is a mammal which is obliged to 
 breathe air, it is often obliged to return to the surface, and cannot 
 remain long under water. Otters are often found which have 
 been drowned in attempting to enter the weirs in search of fish, 
 and have not been able to get out. 
 
 The Civet is an animal found in North Africa, larger than the 
 otter, and somewhat resembling a cat in appearance. The civet 
 is hunted for the sake of an odoriferous substance, which is 
 found in a kind of pouch situated near the tail. 
 
 THE CATS. The family of cats in- 
 cludes the lion, the tiger, the panther, 
 and the lynx, which altogether resemble 
 our domestic cat, except in size. They 
 are all armed with the best teeth for 
 Cat's Claw. tearing flesh, claws which retreat into 
 
 the toes so that they cannot be blunted, and pads under the feet, 
 which allow them to walk as noiselessly as robbers when 
 approaching their prey. 
 
 The Domestic Cat is derived from the wild cat, which is found 
 in the woods. The position which it occupies in the house is 
 not quite the same as that of the dog. The dog never leaves it, 
 even when it is not very well treated. The cat is more par- 
 ticular and more independent. It seems to have made a bargain 
 with the master of the house, in which each is pledged to some- 
 thing. The cat must be fed, have a place near the fire, and full 
 liberty to come and go, on condition of destroying the rats and 
 mice in the house. If it is badly treated it runs away. The 
 
MAMMALIA CARNIVORA DIAGRAM 3. 39 
 
 cat does not confine herself to the house, however well off it is 
 there. It likes those who caress it and give it titbits, but its 
 friendship is not proof against ill-treatment, and if it is teazed it is 
 not slow to scratch. 
 
 The eyes of cats sometimes shine at night, and are liable to 
 frighten children, who see only the two eyes without being able 
 to perceive the animal. However, cat's eyes are not luminous 
 of themselves, but only reflect the light like a mirror. If we 
 see their eyes shine at night there must be a door or window 
 behind us from which comes a little light, which is reflected by 
 the eyes of the animal. During dry weather, in winter, when 
 the cat is lying near a warm fire, we hear slight cracklings, 
 which are also distinctly felt by the hand when we stroke her. 
 These are slight electrical discharges, and in a dark place we can 
 see a shower of sparks fly from the fur of the animal when stroked 
 by the hand. 
 
 Lions and Tigers hunt oxen, as the wild cat hunts rabbits. We 
 hear of the magnanimity of the lion and the ferocity of the tiger. 
 The truth is that these animals are more or less savage, accord- 
 ing to their personal character. We see very gentle tigers and 
 very savage lions in menageries. Nor is the lion to be considered 
 the king of beasts ; for no animal deserves this title. The 
 lion is neither the most intelligent nor the strongest ; and the 
 elephant would certainly take precedence in these respects. 
 The lion is distinguished from the lioness by a mane. The tiger 
 may be known by the black stripes 
 on the reddish brown ground 
 colour of its fur. The Panther is 
 smaller and is spotted. There are 
 no lions or tigers in America, but 
 Jaguars, spotted like the panther, 
 are found there instead. 
 
 The Lynx is a little larger than Head of Tiger, 
 
 the wild cat, and may be known by the tufts of hair at the end 
 of its ears. It is not common except in the wilder parts of 
 
40 
 
 MAMMALIA CARXIVORA DIAGRAM o. 
 
 Europe, such as Spain and Norway, and is not a native of Britain. 
 It was formerly believed that the lynx could see better than any 
 other animal ; and we still say of anyone who is sharp-sighted, 
 that he is lynx-eyed. But its sight seems to be just the same as 
 that of other cats. 
 
 THE DOGS. The Dog, Wolf, and Fox form a natural family. 
 
 The Wolf is formidable in winter, when it is hungry. It then 
 approaches farms, and attacks the flocks which are insufficiently 
 guarded. In summer the wolf finds its food which generally 
 consists of small mammals, and even carrion in the woods. It 
 has been extinct in Britain for the last two hundred years. 
 
 The Fox is celebrated for the dexterity which it displays either 
 
 in creeping into well-secured enclosures, or in escaping from the 
 dogs and hunters. It is also a great destroyer of poultry. When 
 it has satisfied its hunger, it can easily carry off some dead fowls 
 to store up in its burrow. Fox-hunting is one of the principal 
 country sports in England. 
 
 The Dog is so well known to "every body that we hardly need 
 mention it. He is especially a domestic animal, and a friend of 
 the household ; he loves his master, and his friendship is proof 
 against the worst treatment. He is very intelligent, and can be 
 trained to do many things ; to hunt, to guard the house at night, 
 to run by the carriage, to lead the blind, and even to go on 
 errands. Instances have been given of dogs who were trained to 
 
MAMMALIA OARNIVORA DIAGRAM 3. 41 
 
 fetch the paper for their master every day. In some cases they 
 are left to take care of the children, and we know how the 
 shepherd's dog watches the flocks. In all northern countries, 
 dogs are used to draw carriages. In Belgium and Germany four 
 and five together are harnessed to carriages somewhat heavily 
 laden, and others draw their master merrily along. Some nations 
 who live in the icy North have no other beasts of burden, and 
 fifteen or twenty are then attached to a single sledge, and thus 
 make long journeys across the snow. 
 
 The teeth of dogs are not so well adapted for tearing flesh as 
 those of cats, the canines not being so long and pointed. The 
 molars of cats are as fitted for cutting as a pair of scissors, but 
 the last molar of dogs is flat, and formed to grind rather than 
 to cut. 
 
 The Hycena, which lives in Africa, is considered a terrible animal, 
 but it does not deserve this reproach ; at least it is not so for- 
 midable as the wolf, and it is easily tamed. It lives principally on 
 carrion, and only attacks living animals when compelled. As the 
 dead are buried at a very slight depth in the country which it 
 inhabits, it often digs up the ground to devour them, but it 
 immediately takes to flight on the approach of a man. 
 
 THE SEALS. These form a family which may be called amphi- 
 bious, which means animals which can live either on land or in 
 
 Seal. 
 
 the water. The seals are, however, easily seen to be mammals ; 
 they have fur, and four limbs armed with claws, but which they 
 only use for swimming. Seals are found on the sea shore, where 
 they are hunted for their blubber, which yields oil, and for their 
 
42 MAMMALIA RODENTIA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 fur, which is used for making tobacco-pouches, caps, and a 
 variety of other articles. When the seals are on land, they crawl 
 along on their bellies with difficulty. They have large black 
 eyes and a very gentle appearance. They are easily tamed, and 
 taught to utter various sounds which have a distant resemblance 
 to the human voice. These are exhibited at fairs under the 
 name of talking fish, but they are not fish, and do not speak. 
 
 ORDER RODENTIA. 
 
 SQUIRRELS feed on nuts, acorns, beech-mast, etc. They build 
 nests like those of birds among the branches of trees, large enough 
 to accommodate all their family. These nests are made of moss 
 and twigs, they have an opening at the top, and are protected from 
 the rain by a kind of roof. Squirrels also lay up a store of nuts 
 and acorns in the hollows of trees, for the winter season. They 
 are hunted in some countries for their fur, and it is said that 
 the hunters are skilful enough to kill them with a ball in the 
 head, to avoid spoiling the fur. 
 
 The DORMICE are small rodents which likewise inhabit gardens 
 and orchards, where they eat the fruit, and are consequently 
 also very mischievous animals. They make nests like birds. 
 
 The MARMOT is much larger than the squirrel ; it does not 
 climb trees, and lives in burrows. It is remarkable for sleeping 
 all the winter. There is nothing graceful about this animal, but it 
 is very gentle. They are common in the mountains of Switzer 
 land, where the children catch them, taking them from village to 
 village to show, and sharing with them the food they obtain. 
 When the cold weather comes, the marmot, which has been 
 growing fat during the summer, coils itself up at the bottom 
 of a hole, and sleeps till spring. When it wakes, it is 
 quite thin, and begins to eat and fatten itself again. The mar- 
 
MAMMALIA RODENTIA DIAGRAM 3. 43 
 
 mots like to live in company ; they play in the meadows, but 
 take care first to put a kind of sentinel on a rock above them, 
 who utters a low cry when he perceives anything that might 
 disturb the festival, and the whole band takes to flight. 
 
 THE RATS. The Rat family are the greatest enemies to our 
 dwellings. The Mouse does less mischief than the others on 
 account of its small size, but it has a peculiarly disagreeable 
 odour. There are two kinds of rats, the Blade and the Brown. 
 The fur of the latter is of a reddish brown. Neither are 
 indigenous in our country, and came from Asia. Their voracity 
 is incredible. They often eat their young ones, and if several 
 are enclosed in a box they eat each other till only the strongest 
 is left and even this has always been seriously wounded in the 
 battles which have taken place. 
 
 Rats and mice are frequently met with which are perfectly 
 white, and they are then called albinos. This name is also given 
 to men who have white hair from youth, and red eyes: 
 Generally they cannot bear a strong light. White-mice, rats, 
 and rabbits, have also red eyes, and do not seem to see very well 
 in broad daylight. 
 
 The Field-mice may be known by their tails ending in a tuft of 
 long hair, while that of rats 
 and mice is scaly. They 
 are the same pests to the 
 country that rats are in 
 houses. However, they are 
 
 not larger than a mouse, and Field-Mouse, 
 
 their fur is yellowish brown above, and dirty yellow under the 
 belly. The short tailed field mouse lives on fruits and roots, but 
 it prefers corn to everything else. It eats the seeds, and cuts 
 the stalks of ripe corn ; it carries to its burrow what it cannot 
 eat on the spot, and thus stocks its small granary abundantly. 
 Sometimes the short-tailed field mice have been known to 
 multiply to such an extent in a district as to become a public 
 calamity, and to prevent any harvest being gathered in. 
 
44 
 
 MAMMALIA EODENTIA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 The Water-rat is less injurious, but it nevertheless destroys the 
 banks of rivers and ponds to dig its burrow. 
 
 The BEAVER is one of the largest known rodents ; it can 
 soon cut down a tree with its teeth. It is also remarkable 
 
 for its flattened tail, 
 covered with scales. It 
 is celebrated for the 
 huts which it builds. 
 Beavers have been 
 extinct in England 
 for 600 years ; but 
 are still found in 
 France on the banks 
 of the Rhone. They 
 only build long 
 Beaver, burrows there ; and 
 
 it is in the lonely rivers of North America that they build their 
 villages. Several families join, and when the situation is chosen, 
 the beavers come to shore to cut down the branches and trees 
 which they require ; they throw them into the water, and float 
 them down to a convenient spot. Then they make dwellings of 
 these branches mixed with earth, sometimes of a considerable 
 size, in which they all live together. They are unfortunately 
 becoming rarer and rarer. Beaver fur is one of the most 
 valuable of furs, and the hunters kill them in large numbers. 
 This fur was long used to make beaver hats, but silk and other 
 materials are now generally employed instead. 
 
 The GUINEA PIG is a small rodent which is a native of South 
 America, but which is now acclimatised with us. As it is almost 
 defenceless, it could not live in a wild state, but it is easily reared 
 in captivity, and it breeds very fast. 
 
 The PORCUPINE is a rodent nearly as large as the beaver, but 
 with the sluggish habits of the marmot. It owes its name to the 
 fine black and white quills which grow on its back. Some of 
 these animals are met with in the South of France. 
 
MAMMALIA PACHYDERMATA DIA GRAM 3. 
 
 45 
 
 The HARES and BABBITS form one family, and everyone knows 
 their habits. They appear at first sight to have only two 
 incisors in the upper jaw like other rodents, but on examining 
 them with care, two other small ones are visible behind the large 
 ones. Kabbits breed amazingly fast when nothing interferes 
 with their multiplication, and can spread over a whole country. 
 The female produces from four to six litters a-year ; there are 
 five or six young ones in each litter, and the young in their turn 
 can produce at the end of six months. It is therefore easy 
 to calculate the rapidity with which they breed. Consequently 
 it has been thought that it would be easy to make a fortune 
 rapidly by breeding rabbits. But this is a great mistake, for, 
 as soon as they are much confined in a small space of country, 
 diseases ensue which destroy great numbers. 
 
 ORDER PACHYDBRMATA. 
 
 The 
 
 ELEPHANT in- 
 habits the East 
 Indies and 
 Africa. It is 
 the largest of 
 the Pachyder- 
 mata and of all 
 land animals. 
 It sometimes 
 reaches a height 
 of 9 or 10 feet. Elephant. 
 
 Its strength is great, and it is very intelligent. In the East Indies it 
 is trained to fight, to hunt, and to carry very heavy burdens, which 
 it lifts itself with its trunk, and arranges as is most convenient to it.' 
 
46 MAMMALIA PACHYDERMATA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 The elephant's trunk is simply a very long nose, which it can 
 move at will. It breathes through two holes at the end of its 
 trunk, which are its nostrils. There is also a small appendage 
 at the extremity, about as large as a finger, which the elephant 
 uses to pick up small articles. It can pick up a feather or the 
 smallest piece of money with its trunk as easily as it can lift 
 up and remove a cannon. Indian elephants are not generally 
 savage, but are sometimes attacked with violent fits of rage, 
 when nothing can resist them. They have two large teeth in 
 the upper jaw, protruding from the mouth, and curving 
 upwards. These are called tusks, and yield ivory, which is used 
 for so many purposes. The tusks of the Indian elephant are 
 not thicker than a man's arm, but those of the African elephant 
 grow to the thickness of the thigh. There is a great traffic in 
 them. The man who guides the elephants is called cornac in 
 India ; he rides astride upon their neck. He pricks them, or- 
 pulls their ears with a hook, to show them which way to go. 
 
 The RHINOCEROS is another great animal which is also found 
 in the East Indies and Africa. It does not perform the same 
 services, and always lives in a wild state. It is chiefly remark- 
 able for having a horn at the end of the muzzle, which is 
 sometimes very long and pointed. Some of them have two. 
 The substance of this horn resembles that of cow's horns, but it 
 is solid instead of being hollow, so that a much larger quantity 
 can be obtained from it for industrial purposes. The horn of 
 the rhinoceros is sometimes used to make handles for canes, 
 or the sticks of umbrellas ; but it is not nearly so valuable as 
 ivory. 
 
 HORSES. The horse family includes the horse, the zebra, and 
 the ass. The horse is one of the most useful animals to man, 
 who employs him either to draw vehicles or to carry burdens. 
 
 Horses have only one hoof on each foot, and it is usual to add a 
 piece of iron under the hoof to prevent it from being worn away 
 too fast. Horses have incisor teeth in both jaws, and when 
 they are vicious, and bite, can produce a dreadful wound. 
 
MAMMALIA PACHYDERMATA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 They also defend themselves by kicking, either with one 
 hind foot or with both, and as their hoof is always 
 shod with iron, their kicks generally produce serious 
 wounds, and may even cause death. 
 
 There are many races of horses, which have all very 
 different qualities. Some, like the dray and cart- 
 horses, are very good for draught. English race-horses 
 are celebrated for their speed. Arab horses are 
 generally small, but very hardy. They are capable 
 of very great exertions, and are equally proof against Foot. 
 heat and cold ; they are kept picketed out of doors, and never 
 enter a stable. To guide the horse, a bit is put into his mouth, 
 
 Skeleton of Horse. 
 
 which rests on a part of the gum where there are no teeth, and 
 which is very sensitive ; so the animal stops when the bit 13 
 drawn a little tight. Old horses or thoso crippled by falling, 
 are of no more use, and are killed for their leather. 
 
4b MAMMALIA PACHYDEKMATA DIAGRAM o. 
 
 The flesh is eaten in many countries, and is as wholesome as 
 beef or mutton, to which some people prefer it. 
 
 The Ass is very far from deserving its bad reputation, for it is 
 a quiet, patient, and very tractable animal. When it is not 
 ill-treated and is well fed, it does its duty zealously and cheer- 
 fully. It is accused of being sometimes very stubborn, a quality 
 which it shares with the mule, which is a cross between the ass 
 and the horse. 
 
 The Zebra resembles the ass rather than the horse. It is 
 covered with black and tawny stripes, which make it a beautiful 
 animal. 
 
 The Hemionus is also intermediate between the ass and the 
 horse. It is smaller than the one, and handsomer than the 
 other, and is perhaps the wild stock from which the domesticated 
 horse is descended. 
 
 HOGS. If there is a useful animal in the world which costs 
 little and yields large returns, it is the hog. The wild boar, 
 which inhabits the depths of great forests, is its nearest 
 relation. It is armed with prominent canines, called tusks. The 
 wild boar has four ; the canines of the upper jaw rests 
 alongside those of the lower jaw. The wild boars are fierce 
 and savage animals; they lie all day in their retreats or lairs, 
 and only go out at night to seek for fruits and roots ; they 
 dig them up with the end of their snout. When the female 
 is about to bring forth, she abandons the male, who would eat her 
 young ones. 
 
 The Hog is derived from the wild boar, and much resembles it ; 
 But it is not so savage, although it has sometimes been known 
 to devour children. It eats everything, and likes to wallow in the 
 mud. It grunts constantly, but is nevertheless tolerably intelli- 
 gent, and it has been trained to go to seek its food and to return 
 at a particular time. It is fattened for the table, and almost its 
 whole body is made use of for sausages, pies, ham, bacon, lard, 
 brawn, etc. 
 
 The HIPPOPOTAMUS is a great pachyderm which inhabits the 
 
MAMMALIA RUMINANTIA DIAGRAM 3. 49 
 
 rivers of Africa ; it lias a heavy clumsy gait on land, but it swims 
 
 Hippopotamus. 
 
 in the water with great ease, and it dives and rolls about in the 
 water with as much agility as a fish. It eats grass, leaves, and 
 roots of trees. 
 
 ORDER RUMINANTIA. 
 
 The CAMELS are ruminating animals which live in countries 
 where there are great deserts. 
 When they arc well fed, they 
 have one or two humps of fat on 
 the back, which grow smaller 
 when they are kept fasting. 
 The Dromedaries have two 
 humps, and inhabit Asia, on the 
 borders of Persia, in somewhat 
 cold countries. The true camels, Camel, 
 
 on the contrary, have only one hump, and inhabit Arabia and 
 Africa. As these animals are able to pass several days without 
 eating, when their paunch is full, they are extremely valuable in 
 desert countries. But their moderation has been too much 
 
50 
 
 MAMMALIA RUMINAXTIA DIAGRAM o. 
 
 praised. The camel can fast when he has not enough, but he 
 eats gluttonously when food is abundant. It also frequently 
 happens that he dies of hunger during the journey, and the 
 caravan routes are strewn with his bones. The camel and 
 dromedary supply the inhabitants of the East with milk and 
 wool, which is spun into clothes. 
 
 There is a much smaller ruminant than the camel, which is 
 used for similar purposes in America. It inhabits the mountains 
 of the Andes and the Cordilleras, and is used for the transport of 
 merchandise. It has also an abundant fleece, which has lately 
 been brought into use in Europe, under the name of Alpaca. 
 
 THE GIRAFFE. The giraffe is the 
 largest of all ruminants, and its very 
 long neck is terminated by a com- 
 paratively small head. The neck of the 
 giraffe, in spite of its length, is formed 
 of only seven vertebra:, which is the 
 same number as in man, and in 
 nearly all mammals, whether their 
 neck is as short as in the elephant, or 
 as long as in the giraffe. This 
 animal can only browse on the leaves 
 of trees of a considerable height, and 
 when it wishes to take anything from 
 
 Oimffp 
 
 labour, and it moves its fore legs gradually apart one after the 
 other, like some one performing a gymnastic feat, to enable its 
 snout to touch the ground. 
 
 The DEER are distinguished from all other ruminants by the 
 antlers, which the male alone in most cases bears on his head. 
 These antlers, in spite of their large size, are shed every year, 
 and grow again, larger in proportion to the age of the animal. 
 But they are not so hard as they afterwards become, when 
 they grow. When the stag has just lost his horns, to- 
 wards the end of winter, they leave two scars on the 
 
MAMMALIA 11UMINANTIA DIAGRAM 3. 51 
 
 head which soon heal. The skin rises at 
 the same time ; and this is caused by the 
 new antlers beginning to grow. Till they 
 have reached their full size, they are 
 covered with skin and flesh ; and this skin 
 afterwards dies and dries up, falls 
 off in flakes, and the antlers remain, 
 which will fall off in their turn before 
 a year. At seven years old, the stag's 
 antlers have ten forks, and the animal 
 which bears them is called dix-cors, or 
 Royal Hart. 
 
 The Fallow-deer is smaller than the stag ; 
 and the male has much smaller horns. Head of Deer. 
 
 The hide of these animals is generally covered with white 
 spots, which give them a very elegant appearance. In England 
 they live in parks. 
 
 The Roe-deer is smaller than the fallow-deer, and has only very 
 short horns. They live in families, which the 
 members do not quit. 
 
 The Rein-deer has also some resemblance to 
 the stag. It is one of the ruminants in which 
 the female carries horns as well as the male, 
 though they are much smaller. As in the stag, 
 they are shed annually. The rein-deer in- 
 habits cold countries, where it is the only 
 domestic animal except the dog. In winter it Hcad of Roebuck - 
 browses on the lichens which grow on the ground under the 
 snow, which is enough for its support. The inhabitants of these 
 countries use its skin and milk, and harness it to their sledges. 
 The rein-deer has very large cloven hoofs, and does not sink in 
 the snow. 
 
 The ANTELOPES form a family which includes wild ruminants, 
 sometimes of large size, and they have true horns like oxen, 
 which do not fall off. To this family belongs the Gazelle, one of 
 
MAMMALIA RUMIN ANTI A DIAGRAM 3 . 
 
 the most elegant mammals in existence ; and the Chamois, which 
 all mountaineers delight to hunt. They sometimes risk the 
 greatest dangers, and many lose their lives in attempting to 
 approach the herds of chamois. The chamois generally remain 
 on the most inaccessible peaks, and also post sentinels who warn 
 the herd of the approach of danger. Then the chamois escape 
 by prodigious leaps across the precipices and rocks. It is there 
 that they are shot, but always with balls, so that one must be 
 very skilful, and it is thought an honour to kill these pretty 
 animals, which do no harm when alive, and are worth nothing 
 when dead. In the Pyrenees, the chamois is called izard. 
 
 The Goats are known by having the top of 
 the muzzle straight, while it is rounded in 
 sheep. The goat is a tame animal which 
 yields much milk, and which is contented if 
 it can climb on anything a stone, a rock, 
 or even the branch of a tree, if it is near 
 enough the ground. The kid yields a skin, 
 which, when well prepared, is finer and 
 more supple than any other. Gloves were 
 formerly made of it, but kid has become very dear, and the skin 
 of dogs and other animals are now often substituted. 
 
 There are certain goats in Asia, which yield a finer and more 
 silky wool than the finest sheep-wool. These are the Angora 
 goats. The expensive stuffs called Cashmeres are made of their 
 wool. 
 
 The Sheep. The sheep is reared for 
 its meat and wool. Domestication has 
 made it weak and timid ; it cannot protect 
 itself from the least danger, and the 
 shepherd and his dog have always to 
 guard the flock. Sheep are generally 
 shorn about the month of June or July. 
 The weight and quality of the fleece 
 Rxm. which is taken from them vary accord- 
 
 Goat. 
 
MAMMALIA RUMINANTIA DIAGRAM 3. 53 
 
 ing to the breed ; it has been known to weigh over twenty 
 pounds, but generally weighs ten or twelve. It is full of grease, 
 which is removed by washing. The finest wool is the most 
 valuable, and is obtained from tLe race of sheep called merinos. 
 It is a little curled, while wools of inferior quality are harder 
 and stiffer. Cloth, flannel, bunting, knitting-wool, and many 
 other materials are made of sheeps' wool. White wool takes 
 the finest and richest colours in dyeing Lastly, mutton fat is 
 used for making soap and candles. 
 
 The Ox. Although the ox yields no wool, it is, like the sheep, 
 one of the most useful animals. It is reared for its meat, leather, 
 horns, and fat ; cows give their milk to make butter and cheese ; 
 and in many countries the oxen work, and draw vehicles like 
 horses elsewhere. Oxen are generally sluggish, but when 
 irritated they sometimes become furious, and the sight of any 
 red material often drives them into a rage. They defend them- 
 selves with their horns, and turn their heads to their enemies, 
 <ind sometimes toss them into the air with great violence. 
 Oxen are not afraid of wolves, and, when attacked by them, 
 they assemble in herds, putting the cows and calves in the 
 centre, and wait bravely for the wolves, or else chase them away 
 themselves. 
 
 It has been noticed that oxen were capable of feeling attach- 
 ment, not only for those who take care of them, but also for 
 animals of their own species. Those which are accustomed to 
 be together at the plough, and know each other, do not work so 
 well apart, or when yoked with new comers. Sometimes the ox 
 is made to work with the collar like horses ; and at other times a 
 pair is attached to the same yoke by the horns. 
 
 The manner in which ox hide is converted into leather, is the 
 same as that used for all hides which are tanned. The hide is 
 put into deep pits with bruised oak-bark, and left there for some 
 months. At the end of this time the hide will not rot, it has 
 become supple, and can be put to any known use. 
 
 Cows' milk is a no less valuable produce than beef. Butter 
 
54 MAMMALIA RUMIXANTIA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 and cheese are obtained from 
 it, which can replace meat as 
 food, and forms almost the 
 only diet in some countries. 
 Cheese, indeed, supports and 
 developes the strength of the 
 body very well. 
 Cow. The quantity of milk which 
 
 cows yield varies very much according to their breed and food. 
 Some of the breeds have long horns, others short horns, and 
 some are hornless. The Alderney cow is particularly esteemed 
 for the quantity and quality of its milk. Cows will yield 18 or 
 20 quarts of milk per day, or more. They are milked twice or 
 thrice a day, and the milk is put into large bowls ; the cream, 
 which is the fatty part of milk, rises and swims on the surface, 
 it is skimmed off, and beaten in a churn to make butter. The 
 rest of the milk curdles ; it is then put into a kind of sieve to 
 drain. What runs off is the whey ; and a solid mass is left, which 
 is converted into the different kinds of cheese by various processes. 
 But the best cheese is made of fresh milk, which still contains all 
 the cream. 
 
 The Buffalo is an animal closely allied to the cow, but which 
 only inhabits the warmer parts of the Old World. It is used a* 
 a beast of burden, and is reared for its flesh, leather, and milk. 
 The buffaloes like water and delight to bathe in it, while the 
 cows which accompany their herds always remain on the bank. 
 
 The Yak is another species of ox, which comes from the high 
 plains of Thibet, and is remarkable for having a tail like a horse. 
 THE MUSK DEER. We have still to mention a small ruminant 
 animal which is found in Asia, and yields the well-known 
 perfume called musk. This is enclosed in a pouch under the skin 
 of the animal's belly. They kill the animal, remove the pouch 
 with a knife, and export the musk at once. 
 
MAMMALIA MARSUPIALIA DIAGRAM 3. 55 
 
 ORDER MARSUPIALIA. 
 
 The Marsupials include the Opossums and Kangaroos, which 
 only inhabit the tropical parts of America and Oceania. These 
 animals are all remarkable for having a pouch in front of the 
 teats, in which the young hide when their mother escapes from 
 danger, or when they want to suck. (See page 31, for the figure 
 of the opossum). 
 
 ORDER CETACEA. 
 
 THE WHALE. The whale is the largest and best known of the 
 mammals forming the order Cetacea. It is hunted for its oil, 
 and for the substance called whalebone, which is found in its 
 mouth, and is used to make umbrellas and stays. Lamp-oil is 
 chiefly composed of whale oil. 
 
 In spite of its enormous size, which is said sometimes to reach 
 a length of 120 feet in the largest species, the whale has a very 
 narrow throat, and can only swallow very insignificant animals. 
 We can understand what a large quantity it must require. 
 Therefore the whale only inhabits seas where the waters swarm 
 with living creatures ; it opens its enormous mouth, and swallows 
 thousands of animals as large as sardines, or at most, as 
 herrings. If its teeth were wide apart like those of most 
 Cetacea, its prey would escape. But instead of teeth, the upper 
 jaw of the whale is furnished with hard plates close to on& 
 another, like the teeth of a comb, which allows the water to 
 run off, while retaining the small fish and molluscs. These plates 
 are the whalebone. 
 
 The chase of so large an animal is always a dangerous 
 expedition. Ships called whalers are fitted out for the purpose, 
 manned by hardy sailors. When they arrive at a place where 
 they expect to find whales, a sailor is set to keep a sharp look- 
 
MAMMALIA CETACEA DIAGRAM 3. 
 
 out from the mast-head, and when they see a whale blowing, 
 the ship is steered towards it, and boats are lowered. In front 
 of each boat is a man with a harpoon, which is a dart at the end 
 of a thick shaft of wood and iron, attached to a very strong but 
 very slender cord, rolled on a large winch in the boat. As soon 
 as all is ready, the harpoon is thrown, and plunged into the 
 flesh of the whale, which takes to flight as soon as it feels the 
 
 wound ; the cord 
 runs out with great 
 rapidity, and the 
 rowers pull with all 
 their strength in 
 the same direction. 
 
 Whale Fishing. It sometimes hap- 
 
 pens that the whale, thus attached to the boat, drags it to a great 
 distance. However, it returns to the surface to breathe, and a 
 second harpoon is thrown at it ; and as soon as a good 
 opportunity occurs, they approach near enough to thrust long 
 lances into its body. The enormous animal is quickly exhausted, 
 and when it is dead, it is towed towards the ship. Its fat or 
 blubber makes it float. Great slices of blubber are then cut off 
 along the whole back, which are melted, and from which the oil 
 is extracted. 
 
BIRDS ORGANIZATIONDIAGRAM 4. 57 
 
 CLASS BIRDS. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 4. ] 
 
 BIRDS are vertebrate animals, which are always easily recog- 
 nized by having only two legs and the body covered with 
 feathers. They have also very warm blood. Nearly all birds 
 fly, and their body seems formed to cleave the air. The beak 
 forms a point in front, like the prow of a ship, and the body 
 ends behind in a tail, by which the bird directs its flight, as a 
 boat is guided by the rudder. The whole structure of the bird 
 is arranged for flight ; the feathers overlap one another like the 
 tiles of a roof, for gliding through the air; the wings, which 
 correspond with the arms, spread out, and fold back against the 
 body ; they are moved by very large muscles, which form the 
 greater part of the flesh of the bird. These are those found on 
 each side of the breast attached to a bone called the sternum, 
 which is furnished with a sort of keel in the middle. A fowl has 
 a higher keel to the sternum than a duck. The height of 
 the keel is not the most important item ; but the width and 
 length of the sternum and corresponding muscle, and the shape 
 of the wing, determine the powers of flight. The wings are 
 provided with long feathers which spread out like a fan 
 when the bird opens its wing, and fold one over the other when 
 it closes it. These feathers are sometimes very long, and 
 
58 
 
 BIRDS ORGANIZATION DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 reach beyond the tail of the bird. The longer and more pointed 
 are the wings of a bird, the better it flies. 
 
 Skeleton of Cock. 
 
 The rump supports the feathers of the tail, [ which the bird 
 moves from side to side to direct] its course. It is very easy 
 
BIRDS ORGANIZATION DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 59 
 
 when looking at pigeons flying, to see how they use it to guide 
 themselves. 
 
 However, all birds do not fly equally well. There are some, 
 like fowls, which have much trouble to rise from the ground, 
 and others, like the ostrich, which cannot fly at all. Others, 
 instead of wings, have a kind of flat oars, with which it would 
 be impossible for them to fly, but which they use for swimming ; 
 among these are the penguins and the auks. 
 
 The bones of birds are not filled with 
 marrow, like those of the ox and other 
 mammals, but are hollow and full of 
 air, which makes them lighter, and renders 
 flight easier. 
 
 Birds generally swallow their prey at 
 a single gulp. The oesophagus often 
 exhibit a fold throughout the length of 
 the neck, well known to fanciers as the 
 crop. When a pigeon is killed which 
 has just been feeding, the crop is found 
 to be filled with corn. When pigeons 
 coo and inflate the neck, it is because the 
 crop is filled with air. The food then 
 passes into the gizzard, a stomach with a 
 very thick, shining, and almost silvery 
 surface. The two outlets of this stomach 
 are very near to each other ; so that it 
 requires a little attention to distinguish the oesophagus by which 
 the food enters the gizzard, from the orifice through which it 
 passes out. 
 
 The gizzard is nearly always found filled both with corn and 
 small stones, which the bird swallows at the same time. The 
 sides of the gizzard are formed of an exceedingly strong muscle ; 
 and they contract, and bruise the corn among these stones. 
 The product of this kind of mastication then passes into a third 
 stomach, and into the intestine. 
 
 Pengi 
 
60 BIRDS ORGANIZATION DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 Birds which live on soft insects instead of corn, have no gizzard, 
 or at least its surface is not so thick, and it does not contain any 
 stones. 
 
 Birds breathe like mammals by a windpipe and lungs. They 
 have also a larynx in the throat above the windpipe, but they 
 have also another in the chest, at the point where the windpipe 
 divides into two branches to conduct the air to each of the lungs. 
 It is by this second larynx that a duck can still utter a cry after 
 its head has been cut off. While some birds have a very 
 disagreeable voice, others sing, or can imitate the human voice, 
 like tiie parrot, the starling, and the jay. 
 
 Birds have the best sight of all animals ; and a hawk flying at 
 a great height in the air can easily perceive a shrew-mouse or a 
 field-mouse running in the grass, and dart upon it ; it is then 
 said that it pounces on its prey. Birds have generally only a 
 hole for an ear ; but some, like the owls, have a very large ear, 
 as large as that of a little child, hidden in the feathers on the 
 side of the head. 
 
 Birds' feathers are useful for a great many purposes for 
 pens, for beds, and for ornament. These feathers are often very 
 finely coloured, and in some birds they vary with the seasons. 
 Many birds have more brilliant plumage in spring than during 
 the remainder of the year, and the bird is then said to have 
 assumed its nuptial plumage. 
 
 All birds lay eggs. They are white in the fowl, but coloured 
 or spotted in most other birds. We notice in the egg, 1st, 
 
 ^r"ggg^ the shell, which is hard 
 
 Germ. y'd^mKHfaf Airchamber. j . , ~ , ., 
 
 -MSB IraS Y Ik resistant ; 2nd, the 
 
 g , .^-JSJ9 lHf_r Wh't white, formed of albu- 
 
 men, which has the 
 
 property of hardening, when heated nearly to the temperature of 
 boiling water ; 3rd and last, the yolk, on which we observe a small 
 paler spot, which is the germ. The yolk also hardens when 
 heated. When a fresh egg has a hole carefully made in it, so 
 that the yolk is seen in its position, we discover that it is 
 
BIRDS ORGANIZATION DIAGRAM 4. 61 
 
 enveloped in a sort of very slender skin, which forms two 
 ligaments, floating in the albumen towards the two ends of the 
 egg. We can also see, towards one end of the egg, a place 
 where the albumen does not touch the shell, and which is full of 
 air ; and this is called the air-sac. 
 
 It is necessary for eggs to be kept at a raised temperature for 
 some time, in order to produce chickens. In this country, the 
 mother hatches the eggs by sitting on them, scarcely moving 
 from them at all, until the young ones are hatched. These 
 break the shell by pecking at it with their beaks ; they still 
 require to be brooded over by the mother for some time, and they 
 live under her until they are grown large. The heat and care of 
 the mother are not, however, indispensable to rear fowls, and they 
 can be hatched artificially by means of an arrangement called a 
 hatching oven, where the temperature is kept nearly equal, and 
 sufficiently high to develop the chick. With some precautions, 
 young chickens can thus be very easily reared. 
 
 Birds generally build nests for breeding, which are sometimes 
 true masterpieces of architecture. Some are solidly built of 
 earth, others made of twigs ; there are 
 some which float on the water; and we 
 shall mention under each species any- 
 thing which is interesting about its nest. 
 But it ought to be thoroughly com- 
 prehended that no nests ought ever to be 
 destroyed, except those of birds of prey, 
 such as falcons or hawks. All other 
 nests ought to be respected. All young 
 birds on coming out of the egg without 
 exception eat insects, and nothing but 
 insects. Even those species which destroy 
 corn, always feed their young with cater- 
 pillars, grubs, and all the creatures which Reed Warbler. 
 are most mischievous to agriculture. All who have seen 
 young birds in the nest, know what an appetite they have. 
 
62 BIRDS ORGANIZATION DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 They always hare the neck stretched out, and the beak open, 
 and it is all that their parents can do to provide food for this 
 voracious family, and the quantities of insects which they then 
 destroy long ago caused it to be said "that there was not a single 
 species of injurious birds in spring." For the rest, there is 
 always a very good means of ascertaining if certain birds are 
 useful or injurious to agriculturists, and this is to kill one or 
 two occasionally at different seasons of the year, and to notice 
 what food they have in their stomach ; if corn, the bird is 
 mischievous, but if it is remains of insects or grubs, the bird is 
 useful. This is the best method of judging of the merits of 
 such birds as rooks, which are alternatively regarded as useful or 
 mischievous. But it will not suffice to limit ourselves to 
 examining what the bird eats once in the course of the year ; it 
 will be necessary to begin again at different seasons, because a 
 bird which eats corn at harvest-time or seed-time for instance, 
 destroys insects all the rest of the year ; and the farmer must 
 then calculate whether the injury done by the bird in eating his 
 corn, is counterbalanced or not by the advantage of seeing them 
 destroy his true enemies i.e., insects. In a general way we may 
 say that all birds live on insects in spring, corn in summer, and 
 berries in winter. But it must be remembered that many birds 
 migrate during this last season. 
 
 There are, in reality, a great number of birds which are 
 accustomed to change their country according to the season, and 
 to make what is called a migration every year. Thus, when 
 insects begin to disappear at the first cold weather, all the 
 swallows depart for Africa, from whence they return in the 
 spring of the following year. These long journeys are very 
 common among birds. The cold drives them all towards the 
 South. Those of the North come to us during the winter in 
 search of water which is still unfrozen, and our own birds 
 migrate to the South in search of warmth and insects. On 
 crossing the Mediterranean Sea from France to Algeria, it is 
 common to see flocks of small birds alight on the masts of ships, 
 
BIRDS ORDERS OF BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 03 
 
 and rest there for some time before resuming their long journey, 
 on which many doubtless perish. 
 
 ORDERS OF BIRDS. 
 
 Birds, like mammals, have been divided into a number of 
 families, in which those most alike are placed together. The 
 following are the principal orders : 
 
 1st. The Birds of Prey, or Raptor es. This order includes 
 birds which are all carnivorous. They are known by their beak, 
 which is always very strong, short, and hooked, for tearing flesh. 
 
 They generally 
 fly very well. 
 Lastly, their 
 toes are free 
 in their move- 
 ments, and 
 armed with 
 Foot of Eagle. powerful claws 
 
 called talons. The order of the Birds of Prey includes the families 
 of the falcons, vultures, and owls. 
 
 2nd. The Order of Climbing Birds includes birds generally of 
 small size. But they may best be known by always having very 
 
 strong legs fitted for grasping the 
 branches of trees, with two or three 
 toes directed forwards, close together, 
 and almost united, while the other 
 toe or toes are directed backwards, 
 opposite to the former. Among the 
 Climbing Birds we shall mention the 
 families of the parrots and the wood- 
 peckers. 
 
 Foot of Parrot. 
 
64 BIRDS ORDERS OF BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 3rd. The Order of Perching Birds. Under this name we include 
 the greater number of the small birds "which feed on either grain 
 or insects, and \vhich all fly well. They prefer to rest on trees, 
 rather than on the ground ; but there are some, like the lark, 
 which run very well. The wagtail also walks gracefully, but the 
 greater part can only advance on the ground, like the sparrow, by 
 a series of little jumps, called hopping. Nevertheless, some birds 
 have been placed in this order which are very different one 
 from the other, as the crows, the birds of paradise, the families 
 of the warblers, the sparrows, the goatsuckers, the swifts, the 
 swallows, and the kingfishers. 
 
 4th. T/ie Order of Gallinaceous Birds includes a great many 
 birds which fly with some difficulty, always excepting the pigeons. 
 Some are reared as domestic animals ; others are valued as game. 
 We shall mention the turkey, the peacock, the cock and hen, the 
 grouse, the partridge, the quail, the guinea-fowl, the pheasant, 
 and the pigeon. 
 
 5th. The Order of Waders. In this order are arranged birds 
 which have generally long legs, so that they seem to walk on 
 stilts, such as the cranes, the heron, and the stork. Some 
 smaller birds are put with them, such as the snipes, the 
 woodcocks, the water-hens, the ruffs, and the lapwings, all of 
 which have very long legs for their size. All the birds of this 
 order are swift runners. 
 
 6th. The Order of Water Birds or Wei-footed Birds. This 
 
 order includes all the swimming 
 birds which have palmated feet that 
 is, with the toes joined by a mem- 
 brane which converts them into a 
 kind of oar, by means of which the 
 Foot of Duck. birds swim on the water, or even 
 
 under water for there are many of them which dive, and pursue 
 the fish on which they feed beneath the surface. Among the 
 swimming birds may be mentioned the gulls, the cormorants, 
 
BIRDS BIRDS OF PREY DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 05 
 
 the pelicans, the ducks, tlie swans, the geese, the penguins, and 
 'the auks. 
 
 7th. The Order of Strutliiones Birds. This order includes the 
 Ostrich, the Emeu, the Casoar, the Moa, and the Apteryx. 
 
 ORDER OP BIRDS OF PREY, OR RAPTORES. 
 
 FALCONS. The family of Falcons also includes the eagles, the 
 hawks, the sparrow-hawks, the kites, and the buzzards. All are 
 formidable animals to rabbits, partridges, larks, and the various 
 small birds which eat insects, and 
 they are therefore enemies which 
 always ought to be destroyed. 
 They are called birds of prey in the 
 strict sense ; they have a hooked 
 beak, and very strong and pointed 
 claws, called talons, with which 
 they seize their prey ; and they kill 
 them, and tear them to pieces 
 with their beak. In some countries 
 falcons are still used for the chase ; 
 and falconry used formerly to be a 
 very favourite amusement in Eng- 
 land. The falcons are trained with- 
 out much difficulty, and then car- 
 ried to the chase on the wrist. Their 
 head is covered with a hood, which 
 prevents their seeing; and when the 
 game is in sight, the falconer takes 
 off the falcon's hood, and shows him 
 the prey. Other birds, such as the 
 heron, hares, and even larger Falcon hooded, 
 
 animals, can also be chased by the falcon. It darts upon 
 
66 
 
 BIRDS BIRDS OF PREY DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 them, and splits their skull with a blow of its beak. The falcons 
 generally used for the chase are the jerfalcon, and the peregrine 
 falcon. The last, which is commoner, is nearly as large as a 
 buzzard. 
 
 The Eagles only inhabit mountainous countries; and they 
 
 generally make their 
 nests among the rocks. 
 These are constructed 
 of branches roughly 
 heaped up on the 
 ground ; and this is 
 called the eagle's eyry. 
 Head of Eagle. Some eagles are strong 
 
 enough to carry off lambs, and have even been known to carry off 
 little children. 
 
 VULTURES. The Vultures inhabit warm countries, and have 
 only been noticed in Britain on one or two occasions. They can be 
 attracted from a great distance by the smell of carrion. They 
 do not usually feed on fresh-killed prey, and eat only dead 
 
 animals. Some are very 
 large. They have a 
 hooked beak like the 
 falcons, but not so strong ; 
 their claws also are less 
 curved, and they settle 
 more frequently on the 
 
 Head of Vulture. ground. They are re- 
 
 markable for having the neck bare of feathers. To the family 
 of the Vultures belongs the Condor, which has the highest flight 
 of all birds, and is seen to soar above the highest mountains of 
 America. 
 
 OWLS. The Owl family includes several species which have a 
 great general resemblance. These are also carnivorous birds, as 
 is shown by their curved beaks, and talons like those of falcons ; 
 but for all that, they are friends rather than enemies to man 
 
BIRDS BIRDS OF PREY DIAGRAM 4. <)7 
 
 They live near buildings, and actively pursue field-mice and 
 
 other small quadrupeds. A brown owl con readily take the 
 
 place of a cat in a house and no more mice will be seen there. 
 
 They also eat many insects which only 
 
 fly by night. All these birds have an 
 
 easily recognizable appearance ; their 
 
 two large eyes are placed in front, 
 
 instead of on each side of the head as 
 
 in other birds. They have often tufts 
 
 resembling ears on the head. Their ears 
 
 are very large, as we have said, but it is 
 
 necessary to part the plumage in order to 
 
 see them. Owls, like many other animals, 
 
 can see by night, and probably better 
 
 than during the day, when they shun 
 
 the light. They then hide in holes, and 
 
 it is doubtless their habit of living in 
 
 deserted places, such as cemeteries, which 
 
 has led them to be regarded as birds of Hi-own Owl. 
 
 ill omen. In truth, there is no animal which deserves to be so 
 
 regarded. And it is also a gross error to suppose that the owls 
 
 come to hoot over a house where a dying person is lying. If we 
 
 hear of it sometimes, it is because the trouble that has come 
 
 upon the house keeps everyone awake, and they hear the bird's 
 
 hoot as they do every night, only on other nights everyone is 
 
 asleep, and so nobody hears it. In former times, the owl, 
 
 instead of being regarded as a bird of ill omen, was considered 
 
 one of the wisest of animals ; and it deserves this reputatiDn as 
 
 little as the other. 
 
G8 BIRDS CLIMBING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 ORDER OF CLIMBING BIRDS. 
 
 PARROTS: All these birds come from distant countries ; but 
 their beautiful colour, their intelligence, and the ease with 
 
 which they learn to speak have made 
 them valued among us. They fly 
 badly, and feed on corn, which they 
 break into small pieces with their 
 beak before swallowing it ; and on 
 fruit, which they take in their claw. 
 Their tongue is fleshy, instead of 
 
 Head of Parrot. ^'^ tard and llorn y as in tlier 
 
 birds. 
 
 The Cuckoo. The Cuckoo migrates in winter, and only passes 
 the summer with us. It is found in woods ; its back is ashy, 
 and its belly white, with fine black and grey streaks. Its 
 plumage is something like that of the sparrow-hawk, but it is 
 easily distinguished from it by having its toes close together, 
 two before and two behind: The cuckoo eats a considerable 
 number of caterpillars, but it owes its celebrity chiefly to its 
 habit of making other birds hatch its eggs and rear its young. 
 
 The female lays two eggs in the space of two or three days. 
 She lays them anywhere upon the ground. She then immediately 
 takes the egg in her beak, and puts it in the nest of some other 
 bird, generally choosing one smaller than herself. But she 
 does not abandon it, and if she sees that the bird neglects her 
 egg, she takes it away, and puts it into another nest. When the 
 young cuckoo is hatched among the family where it has thus been 
 placed, it begins to try and get rid of the other young ones. By 
 means of its rump and wings, it creeps under them, lifts them on 
 its- back to the edge of the nest, and throws them down, so that it 
 alone remains to take the food which the owners of the nest bring 
 to it without seeming to notice that their young ones are replaced 
 by this stranger. This has given rise to the expression, f k 'as 
 ungrateful as a Cuckoo." 
 
BIRDS CLIMBING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 69 
 
 The Woodpeckers are insect eaters, and excellent tree climbers. 
 They are known by their straight, strong beak, and by the 
 feathers of the tail, which are always worn at the end, because 
 they rest on them. Their hooked claws cling to the bark, and 
 allow them to run along the 
 trunks of trees, and even under 
 the large branches. Their plum- 
 age is sometimes beautifully 
 coloured. They are naturally wild, 
 and they pass their lives in 
 constant activity. Their tongue 
 is of extraordinary length, and 
 can be thrust out of the beak to 
 a great distance ; they bury it 
 under the bark, and in the holes 
 of the wood, to seize the insects 
 which hide there. The wood- 
 pecker is also accustomed to 
 strike the trunks of trees sharply 
 with its beak, in order to drive 
 out the insects. After each Woodpecker climbing-. 
 
 blow, it runs round the trunk to see if it has succeeded in driving 
 out any grubs or caterpillars from under the bark. It has been 
 stated that it did so after each stroke of its beak, to see if it had 
 pierced the tree from side to side. This is a fable, like so many 
 which have been invented by those who did not fully comprehend 
 the actions of animals. 
 
70 
 
 ItlRDS I'EKCHING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 Foot of Kingfisher. 
 
 ORDER OP PERCHING BIRDS, OR PASSERINE 
 
 BIRDS. 
 
 The Kingfishers have a straight beak like the woodpeckers, and 
 three toes in front, two of which are partly 
 united. Their food consists of aquatic 
 animals. They are also brilliantly coloured. 
 Their patience is extraordinary, and they are 
 often seen sitting motionless on branches or 
 stones at the edge pf the water, watching for what may pass, 
 and darting like an arrow on the prey which they perceive. 
 Sometimes, too, they fish flying, and then, pouncing into the water 
 they rise again immediately with the animal which they pursued 
 in their beak. They make their nest in the holes of the banks, 
 only consolidating the sides. They lay from four to eight eggs 
 which are generally white. The male and female sit on the eggs 
 alternately, and share the labour of feeding the young by bringing 
 them the results of their fishing. 
 
 The Goat-suckers are remarkable for the enormous size of their 
 beak when open, though the horny part of the beak is small. 
 Their plumage is dull-coloured. Many absurd stories have been 
 told of these birds. It was believed, for instance, that they 
 come to suck goats, whereas they only come to search in the 
 hair and wool of sheep and goats for the insects that are found 
 there, and of which they relieve them. As they live on no other 
 
 food than mosquitoes, 
 gnats, and all kinds of 
 twilight-flying insects, 
 the goat-suckers are 
 really very useful birds 
 which ought on no ac- 
 count to be destroyed. 
 They do not pass the 
 Head of Goat-sucker. winter with us ; they 
 
BIRDS PERCHING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 71 
 
 migrate in autumn, when their food begins to grow scarce. 
 Their nest is nothing but a convenient hole at the foot of a tree, 
 or in a rock, or even in the midst of paths in woods; and they 
 lay two eggs, marbled with bluish spots on a grey ground. 
 
 The Swifts seem only to enjoy themselves in flight ; they have 
 very long wings, and such short legs, that they have the greatest 
 difficulty in walking. On the other hand, as their claws are very 
 sharp and slender, they cling easily to walls. 
 
 The swift reaches this country in the spring, a little before the 
 swallows, and leaves a little sooner than the latter. It builds 
 its nest under the eaves or projecting roofs of houses, as well as 
 in cracks in walls and rocks, but when it finds the nest which it 
 built the year before, it does not take the trouble to build a new 
 one. It lines its nest with feathers which it has found floating 
 in the air, or which it picks up off the ground, and which it 
 sometimes steals from the nests of other birds, and especially 
 from the sparrows. Sometimes, too, the swift, instead of build- 
 ing a nest, is contented to repair that of another bird, which 
 it adapts for its use, and where the female lays three or four 
 white eggs. 
 
 The Swallows. The beak of the swallow appears to be very 
 small, but is cleft to the eyes. They live on insects which they 
 catch flying, and assemble together in large flocks. 
 
 About the beginning of April the swallows are seen to return 
 to the nests which they constructed in former years. On the 
 approach of winter, they assemble in multitudes on the roofs or 
 trees, and after a great fuss, accompanied with cries like the 
 tumult of a debate, they start off on their journey of some 
 hundreds or even thousands of miles. 
 
 No bird appears to fly with so much ease as the swallows ; 
 they eat, drink, and sometimes even feed their young on the 
 wing. They are chiefly insectivorous, and consequently render 
 great service to agriculture. Their nests are generally built 
 against walls or buildings. They are cemented with earth in 
 the angles of walls, or eaves, with a small opening for the 
 
72 BIRDS PERCHING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 family to go in and out. All the swallows which live in the 
 same place appear to love their society, and render mutual 
 assistance when necessary, either to repair a nest which has been 
 partly destroyed, or to drive away a sparrow, which, believing 
 himself stronger, has come to steal something from it; all the 
 swallows begin to harass him, and the robber is soon obliged to 
 fly. The swallows take great care of their young, and feed 
 them so well that they sometimes weigh as much as their 
 parents ; and then they teach them to fly. To entice the young 
 to fly and to leave the nest, the parents sometimes hold up 
 before them in their beak some insect of which they are very fond. 
 There are two principal kinds of swallows in this country. 
 The House Martin is pure white on the lower part of its body, and 
 the upper part is of a shining black with blue reflections ; it 
 
 is less familiar than the swallow, 
 which has a dark band across 
 the chest, and a much longer 
 tail, and it arrives a little later. 
 The latter makes its nest even in 
 stables and under sheds, and is 
 sometimes found living in smithies 
 above the anvil, the noise of the 
 hammers, and the red sparks, 
 Swallow. seeming in no way to frighten it. 
 
 The Humming-Birds are at the same time the smallest of all 
 
 birds, and those 
 with the most 
 brilliant plumage. 
 They display me- 
 tallic reflections of 
 all hues yellows, 
 blues, greens, 
 violets, and reds. 
 But the humming- 
 Humming-Bira, natural size. birds do not live 
 
BIRDS PERCHING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 73 
 
 Bird of Paradise. 
 
 in this country, and are only found in the hot countries of 
 America. The smallest species lay eggs scarcely larger than a 
 pea. The humming-birds are constantly on the wing ; they are 
 courageous animals, and are not afraid to defend themselves 
 against much stronger, but less agile enemies. 
 
 The Birds of Paradise are also very 
 beautiful birds, which are found in New 
 Guinea, and the neighbouring islands. 
 They are nearly as large as magpies. 
 They are hunted for their feathers, which 
 are made into ornaments for the toilet. 
 The savages who sell birds of paradise to 
 the merchants, were formerly accustomed 
 to remove their legs, to make believe that 
 they never rested on the ground or in 
 trees. But the birds of paradise have legs 
 like all other birds, which are, in fact, 
 rather ugly. 
 
 Crows. The family of Crows includes several kinds of birds 
 which are found in England ; the large-hooded crow, black 
 with the back and belly grey ; the rook, black with blue reflec- 
 tions, and the base of the bill bare of feathers ; the jackdaw, 
 smaller than the others, with the upper part of the head ashy 
 grey; and lastly, the jays and the magpies. All these birds 
 have a strong beak with a cutting edge, and they are nearly all 
 of dull colours, like birds in mourning. It is probably for this 
 reason only that they have also been looked upon as birds of 
 ill omen, but this belief is as absurd as all others of the same 
 class. These birds are generally intelligent ; they are easily 
 reared ; they like the house, and learn also to repeat some 
 words. 
 
 The Raven is a large bird, wholly black, somewhat rare, and 
 only found in thinly peopled districts. They live in pairs, and 
 nest on trees, or in the holes of rocks. The outside of the nest 
 is made of the roots and branches of trees, and it is lined inside 
 
74 BIRDS I'KRCHING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 with moss or grass. The female lays five or six eggs in March ; 
 they are pale bluish-green, with blotches. The male helps to 
 sit, and to rear the young. The ravens are courageous, and are 
 not afraid of either cats or dogs; they are attached to their 
 master, and have been known, after having left the house to 
 return to a wild life, to come back of themselves daily to the 
 place where they received food, and where they were never injured. 
 They live very long it is said for a century. 
 
 The JRooks and Jackdaws are much smaller than the raven, 
 and live in flocks, either in groves or in the steeples of churches. 
 They go to a distance, in flocks, to seek their food, which varies 
 according to the country and season. In some places they are 
 looked upon as mischievous, and in others as useful. We have 
 pointed out the means for ascertaining the truth of this, in each 
 district. In the evening, the whole flock returns to the grove or 
 the steeple, and, after uttering loud cries, go to sleep. 
 
 The Magpies, unlike the rooks and jackdaws, live in couples in 
 the neighbourhood of houses. Their plumage is black, with the 
 belly and part of the wings white. The magpie is celebrated 
 for its cunning, and for its propensity to carry off and hide 
 whatever it meets with. It lays up in autumn a store of dried 
 fruits for the winter. Both sexes work at the construction of 
 the nest. It is often built at the tops of trees, and is constructed 
 externally of twigs plastered together with mud ; and is covered 
 by a kind of roof made of small thorny branches firmly inter- 
 laced. There is one door for entrance, and another for exit. 
 The bottom of the nest is lined with fine and flexible roots. 
 The female lays seven or eight eggs, on which both sexes sit 
 alternately. 
 
 The Jay has a more brilliant plumage than the other birds of 
 this family ; it is intelligent, and can be taught to whistle, and 
 even to talk like a parrot. 
 
 Blackbirds, Thrushes, and Orioles form a small family of 
 European birds. The oriole is of a fine yellow colour, and 
 makes a nest which is always suspended like a cradle to the fork 
 
UIRDS PERCHING 1JIRD8 DIAGRAM 4. 75 
 
 of a branch. It fastens it in its place with grass, and also with 
 any pieces of cord, string, or ribbon, which it can find. It is 
 extremely rare in England, though very common in Southern 
 Europe. The blackbird has the reputation of being cunning, 
 and the bird-catchers have some difficulty in taking it. The 
 male is black, with yellow beak ; the female is brown above, and 
 varied with grey and reddish-brown on the throat. During the 
 fine season, it is not uncommon to see blackbirds frequenting 
 gardens even in the middle of towns. They eat both fruit and 
 insects. The nest is very rapidly constructed, sometimes in less 
 than a week, in bushes or low trees. It is made of moss and 
 mud outside, and of dried grass inside. The female lays from 
 four to six eggs. The young ones eat nothing but insects when 
 they are very young ; afterwards they like pulpy fruits, such as 
 grapes, rotten apples, or juniper- 
 berries. The thrush is brown above? 
 and yellowish, spotted with black, 
 beneath. It sings better than the 
 blackbird, and is therefore more valued 
 by bird-catchers. Head of Thrush. 
 
 Warblers. The family of Warblers includes the Warblers, the 
 Nightingales, the Skylarks, the Robins, the Titmice, the Redstarts, 
 and lastly the Wrens, which are the smallest of 
 our native birds. The majority feed on insects, 
 and many eat nothing else, such as the 
 nightingale, which must be fed, even in 
 captivity, with worms. Wtan the nightingale 
 is at liberty, he sings all the time the female is 
 sitting, as if to amuse her. Among the warblers, the reed 
 warbler generally fastens its nest to some reeds a little above the 
 water. The skylarks have also a joyous song, which is best to 
 be heard when they are flying straight up into the air. The 
 titmice are scarcely larger than the wrens. They are lively 
 little birds, active, and courageous, and destroy a great number 
 of insects. They attack wasps and bees, and can seize them 
 
76 BIRDS PERCHING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 without being stung which 
 would certainly kill them. 
 The titmice build pretty nests 
 of moss at the fork of the 
 large branches. They cover it 
 outside with lichens, so that it 
 cannot be distinguished from 
 the trunk of the tree. This 
 Titmouse. nest is entirely closed, only 
 
 Laving an opening large enough to admit the finger ; it is lined in- 
 side with feathers and down, on which the female lays her eggs. 
 
 The Water Wagtail is a pretty little bird, which is often seen 
 by the side of the water. It may be known by its white belly, and 
 by its step, always easy and elegant. It moves its tail at every 
 step it takes, from which habit it derives its name. 
 
 Sparrows. This family also includes the Buntings, the Ortolans, 
 the Goldfinches, the Canaries, the Chaffinches, the Grosbeaks, the 
 Linnets, and the Bullfinches. They may all be known by their 
 
 short straight beak, thickened at the 
 base, and pointed. They are great 
 eaters of corn, and are for the most 
 part formidable to agriculture, except 
 during the whole period that they are 
 Head of Grosbeak. making their nest, sitting, and rearing 
 
 their young ; for at these times they live only on grubs and insects, 
 and feed their brood with the same. 
 
 The Buntings live in woods in summer, and in the winter they 
 come in flocks into the farm-yards, and settle on the dung to seek 
 for what grain remains. The young ones leave the nest before 
 they can fly, but these birds seem to have a great family attach- 
 ment, and when the young are grown up, they often continue to 
 live with the parents. 
 
 The Ortolan like the oriole, is a very rare bird in England, 
 though common on the Continent. They live among vines and 
 cornfields; and are caught and fattened for table, as & delicacy. 
 
BIRDS PERCHING BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 77 
 
 The Canary came originally from the Canary Islands ; but it is 
 bred in domesticity, and is one of the commonest cage birds in 
 Europe. It is reared for its beautiful yellow colour, and because 
 it readily learns to sing and whistle. 
 
 The Sparrow is well known to everybody as a bold, thievish, 
 impudent bird, found both in town and country, and plundering 
 the barns whenever they can get into them. The nests of 
 sparrows are always sufficiently substantial structures, but badly 
 made. They are built on trees or in holes. The question as to 
 the destruction of birds chiefly concerns the sparrow, and it is 
 certain that at seed time and harvest, and also in winter when it 
 has the opportunity, the sparrow eats a great deal of corn. But 
 on the other hand, it rears a numerous family in its nest, and 
 meantime the parents do nothing but go in search of caterpillars 
 and insects to feed their voracious brood. To prove this, it is 
 enough to look at the ground under a sparrow's nest ; it is 
 frequently covered with the heads and wings of insects, which the 
 birds have rejected as too hard for them. In the case of the 
 sparrow, still more than in that of other birds, it ought to be asked 
 if the mischief which it does at some seasons is not really more 
 than compensated by the good done by it at a season of the year 
 when it spends the whole day in destroying the swarms of insects 
 which eat the germs of plants and the buds of fruit. 
 
 Another familiar bird is the Robin Redbreast a bold and 
 quarrelsome bird, which frequents the neighbourhood of houses in 
 winter, in search of food, and is a great favourite with children. 
 
78 BIRDS GALLINACEOUS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 ORDER OF GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 
 
 The Partridge belongs to the order of gallinaceous birds. 
 It makes a clumsy nest of dry grass 
 in fields, heaped up in a hole on 
 the ground. It lays fifteen or twenty 
 whitish grey eggs, which hatch in 
 three weeks. The parents then show 
 the young ones how to scratch the 
 ground to look for ants' eggs. But as 
 so many young ones could not be kept 
 Foot of Partridge. under the wings of a partridge, the 
 
 father and mother sit side by side to protect them all. 
 
 The Quails arrive here in spring, and migrate about the month 
 of September. As they fly badly, they wait for a favourable wind 
 to start, and only cross the seas where they can find rocks and 
 islands upon which they rest from time to time. 
 
 The Peacock, Pheasant, and Guinea-fowl are chiefly valued as 
 
 Pheasant. 
 
 ornamental birds. The peacock is perhaps the most beautiful of 
 all birds ; but the male alone has the well-known train of brilliant 
 large feathers, which grow out of its back and can be raised and 
 spread like a fan. The female peacock is grey, and has not this 
 brilliant plumage. It is common in birds for the male to be more 
 ornamented than the female ; but this difference is very obvious 
 in the game birds ; the females of the peacock, pheasant, and fowl, 
 have less beautiful feathers than the males. 
 
 The peacocks and pheasants came originally from Asia; and 
 

 BIRDS GALLINACEOUS DIAGRAM 4. 79 
 
 have been brought here from thence. It is also in the East 
 Indies only that the domestic fowl is found wild. The turkey, 
 on the contrary, is found in America, and was brought to 
 Europe after the discovery of that country. 
 
 The Guinea-fowl was brought from Africa, as its name implies. 
 
 The domestic fowl is of very great value for the food of man, 
 both for its flesh and eggs, in which a large trade is carried on. 
 There are a great many breeds of domestic fowls which have 
 somewhat different qualities ; some are prized for the delicacy of 
 their flesh ; others are particularly good sitters ; some lay better 
 than the others. But no breed combines all these qualities. 
 
 The chickens hatch after the eggs have been sat upon for 
 three weeks. Thirteen eggs are generally allotted to one -hen to 
 hatch. The eggs can be changed, added to, or even replaced by 
 those of another species, the duck, for instance ; the hen rears 
 them very well, and is only uneasy when they go into the water 
 where she cannot follow them. The hen shows extraordinary 
 courage in defending her chickens, even against animals much 
 stronger than herself. 
 
 Pigeons. The pigeons and doves form a family, all the members 
 of which have a great common resemblance. They have a somewhat 
 slender beak, always a strong flight, and feel much mutual attach- 
 ment. Some species of wild pigeons build their 
 nests on the ground, others on trees or in the 
 rocks j but they are always somewhat ill-con- 
 structed. There are only two eggs, on which 
 the male and female sit in turn. The young are 
 born almost without feathers, and with the eyes 
 still closed, as in cats ; the parents are greatly 
 attached to them, and feed them by disgorging 
 some of the food which remains in their crop. igcon. 
 
 Pigeons are reared for food and for the sake of the 
 dung which is collected in dovecotes, and which forms an 
 excellent manure when mixed with other substances, such as 
 earth. 
 
80 BIRDS WADING DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 Pigeons are accustomed when taken from their dovecotes, to return 
 through the air from a very great distance. The breeds which can 
 thus retrace their route are called carrier pigeons. They have 
 sometimes been made to undertake very long journeys, but they 
 always succeed much better in spring and summer than during the 
 winter. A cage of pigeons caught in a dovecote is brought to the 
 distance first of fifty miles, then to a hundred, then to two or three 
 hundred, and sometimes to five or six hundred miles or more, and 
 the pigeons are afterwards set at liberty. They are then seen to rise 
 to a great height, turn round several times in the air, and then all 
 at once take flight with a sudden start in the direction of their 
 dovecote, where they arrive at the end of the one, two, or three 
 days, worn out with fatigue. Carrier pigeons have often been used 
 to carry messages ; and the service which they rendered during the 
 siege of Paris, in spite of an exceedingly unfavourable season, is 
 well known. In winter, they travel with much more difficulty, and 
 find their dovecote much less easily than in spring and summer. 
 
 ORDER OF WADING BIRDS. 
 
 The Cranes are very large birds which visit our country 
 occasionally. They have an ashy grey plumage, and make long 
 
 journeys. Our climate 
 is too warm for them in 
 summer, and they then 
 fly away towards the 
 North ; in the winter 
 they return towards the 
 South. Their flight is 
 strong, and they are 
 pre-eminently migratory 
 
 birds. When they are about to start, they assemble in flocks 
 and arrange themselves in two files united in front, and 
 
BIRDS WADING DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 diverging behind. They always preserve this order, and are seen 
 to fly thus at a great height in the air. The bird at the apex of 
 the triangle only remains there for a certain time, and then falls 
 into the rear, or at least attempts to do so, and another takes its 
 place to cleave the air. 
 
 The cranes, like other wading birds, put their head under their 
 wing when they sleep. They also often lift up one leg, and stand 
 for hours together motionless upon the other. 
 
 The Herons have an ashy-coloured plumage, with a black crest 
 behind the head, and the front of the neck white, spotted 
 with black feathers. They disport themselves during the 
 day on the borders of lakes and rivers, and at night 
 retire to the woods, or to the groves which are reserved for 
 them, and which are called heronries. They make their nests 
 as high on the trees 
 as they can, and prefer 
 the summits of poplars. 
 The heron has large 
 wings ; its flight is 
 powerful, and it can 
 soar very high. When 
 it is pursued by a bird 
 of prey, this is its 
 means of escape, and 
 it tries to rise above it. 
 It is also extremely 
 patient when it watches 
 for its prey on the edge 
 of the water, and re- 
 mains there for hours 
 without stirring. 
 
 The feathers of which head-dresses are made, are procured from 
 a small white species of heron, called the Egret, which is found in 
 America, and which likes to perch on the horns and back of 
 buffaloes and oxen. 
 
 Heron. 
 
82 BIRDS WEB-FOOTED DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 The Storks also feed on mulluscs, which they fish for in the 
 waters; but instead of being wild like the 
 herons, they seem to like the society of man ; 
 they make long journeys, like the cranes, to seek 
 for a warmer climate during the winter, and they 
 return in spring to build their nest in houses and 
 chimneys. They are often seen in the towns 
 and villages of Holland and Alsatia, where the 
 inhabitants often have places arranged for them 
 Stork. on the roo f s O f the houses. Every house is glad 
 
 to posses a nest of storks, and great care is taken not to do them 
 the least injury. They are never hunted and never caught, and it 
 is noticed that the same couple returns every year to take pos- 
 session of the same nest. They are very rare in England. 
 
 ORDER OF WEB-FOOTED BIRDS. 
 
 The Gulls have a powerful flight; they live on the borders of 
 the sea, and make their nests in holes on inaccessible rocks. 
 They have fine white plumage, which makes them very con- 
 spicuous on the wing; and they feed chiefly on fish. When a 
 storm threatens, the gulls fly restlessly backwards and forwards, 
 uttering shrill cries which the sailors well understand. It is not 
 rare to see them carried inland by the wind, and flying in places 
 very far from the sea; but they hasten to return to the coast. 
 When they are fatigued at sea, they rest on the waves; and they 
 can swim as well as they can walk and fly. (Foot of web-footed 
 bird, see p. 64.) 
 

 Cormorant. 
 
 BIRDS WEB-FOOTED DIAGRAM 4. &J 
 
 The Cormorants are dull-coloured birds, which live like the 
 gulls by the seaside, and feed like 
 them on fish. The cormorants 
 stand on a rock, and remain 
 motionless until they perceive 
 their prey, when they dart into the 
 water and seize it. The cormo- 
 rant can be tamed, and used to 
 catch fish ; but a collar must 
 then be fastened tightly round 
 his neck, and not being able 
 to swallow the fish, he brings 
 it back. 
 
 The Pelican is not found in Britain, though it is met with in 
 some parts of Southern Europe. It also lives on fish, but it 
 generally fishes in rivers ; it has an enormous beak, and, below 
 that, a great elastic pouch in 
 which it puts the fish before 
 swallowing it, or when it 
 wishes to bring it to its young. 
 The Pelican has a fine white 
 plumage ; but when it returns 
 to its nest with the fish that it has killed, it sometimes happens 
 that the front of its neck and breast are spotted with blood, and 
 this no doubt has given rise to the fable that it pierced its breast 
 to feed its young ; but this story is no truer than a thousand other 
 fables related of birds. 
 
 The Swans, Geese, and Ducks, form a family of water-birds, 
 characterised by their broad and flattened beak. They have all very 
 downy feathers, which arc largely used for making bedding. 
 
 The Swan is reared in domesticity for the beauty of its plumage, 
 but it is also met with in a wild state in great marshes. It makes 
 its nest among dry reeds, and lays seven or eight greenish grey 
 eggs in the month of February. The female sits upon them for six 
 weeks, but the male does not leave her, and defends her against 
 any enemies who might disturb her. 
 
 Head of Pelican. 
 
84 BIRDS WEB-FOOTED DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 The Goose is a valuable bird in the poultry yard, but it is also 
 found in this country in flocks in a wild state. It makes great 
 migrations, and flies like the cranes in a triangular arrangement, in 
 order to cleave the air with more ease. Geese do not deserve the 
 reputation in which they are held ; they are intelligent animals, 
 although they do not appear so. In domesticity, geese afford quill- 
 pens and down. The former are the wing feathers, which are pulled 
 out twice a year. They then undergo a preparation which makes 
 them brittle, and capable of being cut with the knife. In this 
 country, when geese are reared for the table, they are allowed to 
 feed at large ; but on the Continent they are shut up, and given as 
 much to eat as they can swallow ; and they are sometimes even put 
 into small cages where they have scarcely room to move. The 
 animal then grows fat, and yields a highly valuable grease. At 
 the same time, the liver has grown to two or three times its former 
 size ; it is taken out after killing the bird, and is used to make 
 pates defoies yras, for which Strasburg is especially famous. 
 
 Ducks, like geese, are very valuable for food, and their feathers 
 are also useful. On the Continent they are fattened like geese, and 
 their foies gras are even more highly esteemed. 
 
 The wild duck passes the summer in the North, and returns to 
 us about the month of October. It arrives in small flocks whicl 
 travel in the evening or by night, but which make an easily 
 recognizable noise in flying. They disperse themselves among 1 
 the marshes, and along the banks of rivers. 
 
I5IUDS STRUTHIONES BIRDS DIAGRAM 4. 
 
 ORDER OP STRUTHIONBS BIRDS. 
 The Ostrich is the largest known bird ; it is about six feethigli, and 
 
 Ostrich. Foot of Ostrich. 
 
 its body is as large as that of a horse. The ostrich inhabits the 
 deserts of Africa ; it cannot fly, but runs with very great swiftness. 
 Its eggs are larger than the head of a child, and of a fine yellow 
 colour ; the shell is very hard. It lays them in the sand, and the 
 heat of the sun is sufficient to hatch them. The ostrich is hunted 
 for the beautiful feathers in its wings and tail. There is a very 
 large trade in them. 
 
 The RJiea of South America, the Emeu of Australia, the Casoar } 
 the Moa, and the very curious bird, Apteryx, of New Zealand, belong 
 also to this order. 
 
86 REPTILES DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 CLASS OF REPTILES. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 5. ] 
 
 IXETTILES are vertebrated animals that is, they have a skeleton 
 like mammals, birds, and fish, but their shape is very different 
 as may be seen by the tortoises, lizards, serpents, frogs, and 
 salamanders, which are reptiles. They are at once distinguished 
 from the birds and mammals in not having warm blood ; 
 they are cold. Among all animals, birds and mammals alone 
 have warm blood. 
 
 The bodies of many reptiles are covered with scales. Nearly 
 all of them, like birds, lay eggs from which the young ones 
 emerge ; they breathe air by lungs like mammals and birds, but 
 their respiration is very slow, and their heart does not beat so 
 fast. The rapidity of their breathing increases a little when 
 they are warm, and they are then sometimes very lively ; but 
 cold benumbs them, and they can scarcely move. They are 
 generally silent animals, only uttering a rather low hissing. 
 The frogs must be excepted, which make a loud and very 
 disagreeable croaking. 
 
 .Reptiles have been divided into four orders: the Chelonians, 
 which comprises the tortoises ; the Saurians, which are the 
 lizards, the crocodiles, and the blindworms ; the Ophidians, 
 including all serpents, whether venomous or not ; and, lastly, the 
 Batrachians, under which are arranged the frogs, salamanders 
 and newts. These four words are derived from the Greek, and 
 exactly indicate in that language the animals which represent 
 each order. 
 
REPTILES CHELONIANS-r-DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 87 
 
 Tortoise. 
 
 CHBLONIANS. 
 
 [ DIAGRAMS. ] 
 
 THE TORTOISES. The tortoises are sluggish animals, which 
 look as if they were enclosed in 
 armour. This is formed by a 
 horny substance which covers bony 
 plates. It is then quite evident 
 that tortoises cannot go out of their 
 carapace. When the scales upon 
 it are torn a little, the blood runs 
 immediately. Tortoises are also 
 remarkable for their horny beak, 
 which much resembles that of birds, 
 while most other reptiles have teeth 
 like mammals. There are marine 
 tortoises, and land tortoises. 
 
 The sea tortoises, or Turtles, sometimes reach a very large size, 
 being upwards of two yards 
 in length ; their front legs are 
 flattened, and arranged like 
 fins for swimming ; and they 
 are sometimes met with at a 
 great distance from land, 
 floating on the water. They 
 lay their eggs on desert and 
 sandy coasts. They are also 
 hunted for their flesh, which Head of Turtle. Foreleg of Turtle, 
 resembles calf s head, when cooked. To catch them, the turtle 
 fishers approach them by riight when they are on land, and turn 
 them on their backs ; they cannot turn themselves over again, 
 and are killed. 
 
 The land tortoises are not so large, and their forelegs, instead 
 of being made for swimming, are strong, and armed with claws 
 
88 REPTILES SAURIANS DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 with which these animals dig holes where they hibernate during 
 the winter season. 
 
 The carapace of the turtle is covered with large plates of a fine 
 brown colour. In some species, these plates form the substance 
 known in commerce as tortoiseshell, of which combs and many 
 other articles are made. The plates are thin, but they melt the 
 tortoiseshell and can then give it any required thickness. 
 
 SAUBIANS. 
 [ DIAGRAM 5. ] 
 
 Saurian is derived from a Greek word meaning lizard. 
 
 LIZARDS. The reptiles of this family are only represented in 
 this country by some little grey and greenish lizards, which are 
 found along old walls, in the hottest days of summer. Their 
 activity is wonderful on sand or stones, where the sun falls ; but 
 as soon as night comes on, or it grows a little cold, they become 
 torpid. In spite of their small size, they are courageous, and if 
 you hold your finger to a lizard which puts its head out of a 
 hole, it darts up, and bites it with its sharp little teeth. They 
 usually feed on insects and slugs. But one curious peculiarity 
 is that when one of these reptiles is seized by the tail, the tail 
 remains in the hand, without the animal seeming to suffer from 
 this mutilation ; and when the tail has thus been broken off, a 
 rudiment grows again. 
 
 The same thing is noticed in another animal which is found in 
 our woods, and which is formed like a serpent, and called the 
 JBlindworm, or Slowworm. It also is very fragile, and breaks off its 
 tail when seized by the end of the body. The blindworm has 
 no limbs, and glides like a serpent- but nevertheless its gold- 
 coloured eyes are protected by eyelids, whereas serpents have 
 none. It is a very gentle animal, and quite harmless, for its 
 teeth are too weak to hurt anyone, and it thrusts out its little 
 
REPTILES OPHIDIANS DIAGRAM 5. 89 
 
 black tongue now and then, which is bifurcated at the end, like 
 that of all lizards and serpents, but which cannot do any injury 
 
 CROCODILES. Crocodiles and Alligators are a kind of large 
 lizards which inhabit the rivers of 
 hot countries. They sometimes 
 grow to a considerable size, and 
 attain a length of five or six yards. 
 They have a great number of 
 pointed teeth, and are very voracious. Hend of Crocodile. 
 
 They live chiefly on fish, but often seize and devour quadrupeds 
 in the water, and even men when bathing. They come to bask in 
 the sun on the bank, and only move on land with difficulty ; 
 but they recover all their agility on the water, where they can 
 dive for a very considerable time. 
 
 OPHIDIANS. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 5. ] 
 
 Ophidian is derived from the Greek word ophis, which means 
 serpent. There are in this country only two races of serpent?, 
 one of which, the Viper, is venomous, and the other, the Common 
 Snake, is not. The viper is the smaller; it may be known at 
 once by its brown colour, with a broad undulating black line along 
 the back ; and it has a much broader head, and shorter tail, than 
 the common snake. On the top of the head, this black line is 
 double, and forms a V. 
 
 The viper only is venomous. On opening the mouth of a dead 
 viper, which must always be done with great caution, because there 
 is still some danger, we find, in addition to a number of fine sharp 
 teeth, two teeth much larger than the others. They are situated 
 on each side of the upper jaw, close against it, and partly covered 
 by a fold of skin. These teeth are called fangs, and are not firmly 
 fixed in the jaw like the others ; they lie against the gum, or are 
 raised at the wish of the animal, by a joint at the base. On 
 
00 REPTILES OPHIDIANS DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 closely examining one of these fangs, we see in front, towards 
 the point, a small slit, and on breaking it, we find that it is 
 hollow like a tube. This channel in the tooth, and the slit, 
 form the passage for the poison. This is secreted by a gland 
 placed in the middle of the muscle, which raises the fang when 
 the animal wishes to bite ; the muscle, in contracting, presses on 
 the poison-gland, and the venom runs into the wound* through the 
 channel in the tooth. The fangs being thus movable at their 
 base, are not very firmly fixed, and the viper often leaves them 
 in the flesh; but they are soon replaced by others concealed 
 in the gum, which grow and take the place of those torn out. 
 The presence of these fangs always allows us to distinguish the 
 bite of a viper from that of a common snake, even before the 
 poison has begun to work. 
 
 In a bite from a harmless snake, all the teeth make similar 
 holes, like large needles, but in the bite of a viper, two holes 
 larger than the rest are visible, which are caused by the 
 fangs. 
 
 The bite of a viper is always dangerous ; it will make a man 
 very ill, and may kill a child. When one is bitten, the first 
 thing to do, as in any other accident, is to send for a doctor. 
 While waiting, it is always advisable to make the wound bleed 
 as much as possible, and to suck it, provided there is no sore on 
 the lips, or in the mouth, through which the poison drawn from 
 the wound might enter. The wound should also be washed 
 with alkali or ammonia, if there is any at hand." Lastly, a rather 
 tight bandage should be placed on the wounded limb, above the 
 elbow, if the wound is in the hand, and above the knee if it is 
 in the leg. The bandage should never be drawn tight enough 
 to make the limb cold, stiff, or insensible. But the doctor ought 
 to arrange this. 
 
 The Common Snake has no fangs, and is therefore not venomous. 
 It is very easily tamed. It is very fond of milk, but it would be 
 quite impossible for it to suck the cows, as it was formerly 
 believed to do. The common snake and viper change their skia 
 
REPTILES OPHIDIANS DIAGKAM 5. 91 
 
 every year. The epidermis loosens in a single piece, first round 
 the lips, and then the animal moves backwards and forwards 
 among the stones, to shuffle off this epidermis along the whole 
 length of its body, till it finally comes out of its old skin like a 
 glove. 
 
 Serpents feed only on living prey, which they swallow without 
 tearing or bruising them. A viper swallows a mouse or a small 
 rat at a single mouthful, in the following manner. It springs 
 on it, kills it, and seizes it by the head. The jaws of the 
 serpent are then seen to distend enormously, and by little and 
 little it swallows a prey larger than its own body. After it has 
 swallowed it, it lies motionless for a time, as if fatigued by the 
 exertions which it has made, whilst its head returns to its usual 
 size. 
 
 There is in America a very large kind of serpent, the Boa, 
 which can swallow a sheep in this manner after crushing it in 
 the coils of its body, or against the trunk of a tree. The boa is 
 not venomous. 
 
 There are, however, many other kinds of serpents which are 
 much more venomous than the viper the cobra or spectacle snake, 
 and the rattlesnake, are examples. 
 
 The Spectacle SnaJce inhabits India. It owes its name to a 
 pattern on its neck which almost exactly resembles one of those 
 pairs of spectacles which were formerly worn, like eye-glasses, on 
 the nose. These serpents have the power of inflating their neck 
 with air, which gives them a peculiar appearance. They raise 
 themselves on their tail when they are irritated, and in some 
 countries the jugglers exhibit them in public, but they take care 
 beforehand to remove their fangs by giving them a piece of cloth to 
 bite, which they jerk sharply when the animal has buried its teeth 
 in it. After this, they are no longer dangerous, or at least their 
 bite is no more to be feared than that of the common snake. 
 
 Rattlesnakes inhabit America, and are amongst the most 
 venomous known. They have a row of hard horny pieces at the 
 end of the tail, which make a noise when rapidly shaken ; and 
 
02 
 
 REPTILES I5ATRACHIANS DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 End of tail of Rattlesnake. 
 
 it is from this peculiarity that these 
 snakes derive their name. 
 
 All serpents, like lizards, have a 
 forked tongue which they often dart 
 out, and which is sometimes improperly 
 called their sting ; but it is soft, and it is quite impossible for them 
 to do any harm with it. One ought always to destroy as many 
 vipers as possible in a country, but there is no occasion to destroy 
 the common snakes. Vipers, unlike most snakes, do not lay eggs, 
 but bring forth their young alive. 
 
 BATRACHIANS. 
 [ DIAGRAM 5. ] 
 
 The name of this family is derived from a Greek word mean- 
 ing frog ; and it also includes the salamanders. All these ani- 
 mals much resemble other reptiles, but they differ from them in 
 having no scales, but a naked skin, and especially because they 
 come out of the egg in a different form from that which they will 
 afterwards assume ; they thus undergo what is called a metamor- 
 phosis. A frog, for instance, lays eggs. The eggs are trans- 
 parent as jelly, and we soon see the vitellus (which is not yellow 
 as in the fowl, but brown) transformed 
 into an animal which has no re- 
 semblance to a frog ; it is composed of 
 a large head and a tail, and is called 
 a Tadpole. It has two tufts on each 
 side, which are gills, and it has no 
 lungs. It does not breathe the air of 
 the atmosphere. But there is always 
 a certain quantity of air in water ; and 
 this is what forms small bubbles on 
 Tadpole. the sides of a vessel in which water is 
 
REPTILES BATrtACHIANS DIAGRAM 5. 93 
 
 boiled. The tadpoles breathe this air by means of their tuft-like 
 gills, which afterwards disappear, and the tadpole grows larger, 
 but without changing its form. It lives on water plants ; and at 
 last two legs, which are of no use, but which will afterwards be- 
 come the great hind-legs of the frog, grow from the end of its 
 body, on each side of the root of the tail. Presently the tail de- 
 creases, and the fore-legs appear ; and afterwards the tail disap- 
 pears altogether, and we then see a little frog which begins to 
 grow to its full size. But from this moment its life is completely 
 changed. It has no longer gills, but lungs ; it is obliged to 
 breathe air, and likes to come out of the water ; it lives no longer 
 on plants, but eats insects ; the frog has completed its meta- 
 morphoses. All the batrachians undergo metamorphoses more 
 or less similar to this. In the first stage, they are said to be in 
 the larva state. Frogs are very easily taken with a hook baited 
 with a bit of red rag. They are not eaten in England, but the 
 hind legs of a Common Continental species are considered a great 
 delicacy in France. 
 
 Toads live on land rather than in water ; they eat- small slugs 
 and insects, and are consequently useful animals in gardens, 
 and they ought not to be destroyed. They come out of their hiding 
 places on damp evenings. If anyone offers to seize them, they 
 fill their lungs with air, and swell. At the same time they dis- 
 charge their urine in order to escape more quickly, and it was 
 thought that they projected venom, but it is no such thing, and 
 the toad is not venomous, as is generally supposed, or at least it 
 has no venom except in the small tubercles which cover the skin 
 of its back. But as it has no means of injecting it into the body 
 of other animals, it is not in any way dangerous. The female 
 lays her eggs in the water, and the young ones exactly resemble 
 the tadpoles of frogs ; they leave the water as soon as they have 
 undergone their metamorphosis, and live in damp places. 
 
 There are other batrachians, the shape of which is much like 
 that of lizards, for they have four legs of nearly equal length, 
 and a tail. These are the newts and salamanders. 
 
REPTILES BATRACHIAXS DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 The Newts live in ponds, and may be known by their naked 
 
 skin, and by their 
 belly, which is of a 
 fine orange colour. 
 The males have along 
 
 the back, but only in 
 Newt. . . . , 
 
 spring, a crest jagged 
 
 like the teeth of a saw. The young are also born in the shape of 
 tadpoles. 
 
 The Salamander, which is not found in England, lives in damp 
 places, but does not like to go into the water. It is not much 
 larger than the newts, and may be known by its yellow marblings 
 on the black ground colour of its skin. It is an altogether harm- 
 less animal like the newt, and we cannot tell where the fable came 
 from that it would not burn if put into the fire. 
 
 If we wish to keep batrachians alive, it is not necessary, except 
 while they are in the tadpole state, to keep them constantly in 
 the water. To keep frogs, for instance, the best means is to put 
 them into a cage, or still better, under one of those covers of wire 
 gauze which are used to preserve meat from flies. It will only be 
 necessary to put into the cage, or under the cover, a saucer full of 
 water for the frogs to bathe in sometimes. The best way to feed 
 them is to hang a little bag of maggots in the corner of the cage 
 or cover, and the maggots will change into flies, and the frogs will 
 eat them. 
 
FISHES DIAGRAM 5. 95 
 
 CLASS OF FISHES. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 5. ] 
 
 FISH are cold-blooded animals like reptiles, but they always 
 Hive in water, and breathe by means of gills. These are shaped 
 'like combs, and are of a fine red colour, as may be seen on raising 
 the gill-covers. Fish breathe by taking in water by the mouth, 
 .and discharging it through the gills. On touching the gills, the 
 air which is contained in the water, parts with its oxygen, and 
 takes up in exchange carbonic acid from the blood, so that the 
 respiration of fishes does not differ essentially from that of 
 mammals and birds ; only it is effected by means of the air con- 
 tained in the water, instead of atmospheric air. 
 
 The limbs of fish are replaced by fins, but they swim in the 
 water, especially when they wish to move quickly, by the motion 
 of the tail alone. Many have a bladder in the body, which is 
 completely closed and filled with air to assist them to float in the 
 water. Most fish are very voracious, and swallow their prey at a 
 single gulp. 
 
 They lay a great many eggs, but often very small ones ; and 
 -when the animal is full of eggs, it is said to be full of roe, which 
 is the name generally applied to fishes' eggs. It has been esti- 
 mated that a salmon may lay 27,000 eggs ; a pike 500,000 ; a 
 sole, 100,000 ; a mackerel, 500,000'; and a cod-fish from 3 to 9 
 millions of eggs. 
 
DO FIBRES DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 The skeleton of fishes is not always of the same nature. In 
 some, it is formed of hard and sharp bones ; in others, on the 
 contrary as in the ray, sturgeon, and lamprey there are no bones, 
 but only a skeleton composed of tough cartilages which break 
 
 Skeleton of Fish. 
 
 between the teeth. For this reason, fish are divided into two large 
 orders, that of the Osseous fishes, which have bones such as the 
 salmon, hen-ing, and pike, and that of the Cartilaginous fishes, 
 which have none. 
 
 The habits of fish are in general very little known, and we 
 shall chiefly speak of kinds which furnish very cheap and abundant 
 food. 
 
 If we wish to observe the habits of various small kinds of fish, 
 and in general of all water animals, we can always make a cheap 
 aquarium with a bell glass like gardeners use, by turning it up- 
 side down between the legs of a reversed stool. In order to 
 keep an aquarium, or rather to make it keep itself, in order, 
 there are several precautions to be taken. We must put at the 
 bottom some small pebbles, and a stone or two, and especially 
 some flints with a hole in them. Care must be taken to set the 
 aquarium in a place which is neither too dark nor too much ex- 
 posed to the sun. It is good to suspend in it a flower-pot with 
 an aquatic plant. Some water-lentils might also be strewn over ; 
 but it is necessary that the surface should be very little covered 
 Lastly, it is important not to put too many animals into the 
 
FISHES DIAGRAM 5. 97 
 
 aquarium, nor too large ones, nor carnivorous animals, which 
 would eat the others. People often forget that the animals in an 
 aquarium must be fed like a bird in a cage, or a dog which is 
 kept chained up. We must try to find out suitable food for the 
 animals that we rear ; no doubt some will find what they like in 
 the water ; but it will not do to depend on that. If there are 
 not many animals, and if there are some plants with them, and 
 too much food is not thrown in so as to spoil the water, it will 
 preserve its clearness for a long time, and it is unnecessary to 
 change it. At the end of some time, we shall observe some small 
 insects and molluscs which we did not know to be there. The 
 surface of the glass will be covered with slime, but it can be 
 cleaned, without disturbing anything, with a piece of rag tied on 
 a stick. A sea-water aquarium can be easily managed when it 
 has once been stocked. It is then enough to make a mark to 
 show the level of the water. When it has sunk by evaporation 
 below the mark, we must add fresh water as far as the mark, 
 and we can in this manner keep various marine animals alive for 
 a very long time. 
 
 Carp. The carps form a large family which also includes the 
 barbels, tench, whitebait, and goldfish; the scales of the carps are 
 large and rounded, and these fish all feed on plants, and only rarely 
 touch animal food. 
 
 The carp inhabits our rivers, but it also likes ponds, where it 
 sometimes grows to a very large size. It has been proved to live 
 a very long time at least 150 years. 
 
 The WJiitebait is sought after for the sake of a kind of silvery 
 dust under its scales, of which false pearls are made. It is also 
 considered a great delicacy, for which Greenwich is especially 
 famous. 
 
 The Goldfish was brought from China about a century ago, and 
 has multiplied so much in our country, that it is now very common 
 in a semi-domesticated state. 
 
 Salmon. The salmon family only includes the various kinds of 
 salmon and trout. Young salmon have their skin marked with 
 
98 FISHES DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 small coloured spots like trout. Salmon live in the sea, but they 
 ascend the streams and rivers every year, sometimes to a long 
 distance, to spawn. When they have deposited their spawn, 
 they return to the sea till the following year. The flesh of the 
 salmon is red, and highly esteemed in countries where these 
 fish are not common, as in England and France. Their eggs 
 are comparatively large. They can, after being laid, be carried 
 to a great distance in damp moss, to be transferred to rivers 
 which the salmon do not generally ascend. When the young 
 are hatched, they remain at first motionless at the bottom of the 
 water; they then begin to swim, and make their way towards 
 the sea. 
 
 Herrings. The herring family includes the herrings, the 
 anchovies, and the sardines, and it is one of those which are most 
 useful for food. 
 
 The A nchovy is chiefly found in the Mediterranean, though it is 
 not uncommon on our coasts. It is generally eaten potted, or 
 made into sauce. 
 
 The Sardine is common on the coast of Brittany, where they fish 
 for them with floating nets on the surface of the water, and pre- 
 serve them in two ways ; the first are either salted and put into 
 barrels, or else they are fried, and put into tin boxes with oil, 
 which are soldered up. 
 
 The Herring appears on our coasts in shoals, like the sardines, 
 but it forms larger banks, as they are called ; and it also appears 
 later ; and while they fish for sardines in the summer, the herring 
 only begins to appear about the end of September, or the beginning 
 of October. They are then taken in prodigious quantities, and 
 cost almost nothing in seaport towns. The boats go out to fish 
 for them by hundreds. They are taken by floating nets of great 
 length, in which they entangle their gills. When there is good 
 fishing, it does not take more than two hours for the net to be 
 loaded with fish. The herring is sold fresh, but is also preserved 
 in various ways ; it is salted, pickled in vinegar, or smoked by 
 putting it into the smoke of a fire made of resinous wood. 
 
FISHES DIAGRAM 5. 99 
 
 The Tunny and the Mackerel. The Tunny is a large fisli which 
 sometimes reaches the length of yard and a half. It is not very 
 common on our coasts, but they fish for it in the Mediterranean, 
 where it appears in large shoals. It much resembles the mackerel. 
 It is taken either with lines or nets, in which a great number are 
 killed by the blows of a boathook. 
 
 The Mackerel is especially abundant in the Atlantic Ocean, and 
 in the Channel ; and is one of the most important of our English 
 fish, as it is frequently taken in enormous quantities. 
 
 The Stickleback. This is a very little fish which lives in ponds, 
 rivers, and brooks. It may be known by the spines on its back 
 and sides. It erects 
 them when it is 
 threatened, and in- 
 flicts painful wounds 
 with them, though 
 not venomous ones 
 as was formerly be- 
 lieved. Sticklebacks Stickleback and Nest. 
 are active, and assume in Spring very fine blue and red colours 
 which they afterwards lose. They make true nests at the bottom 
 of the water ; they collect small pebbles and weeds, and lay their 
 eggs there, which both parents watch unceasingly. They never 
 absent themselves, and keep the water in constant agitation near 
 the nest. It is easy to observe all this in shallow pools, or in 
 rivers overhung by trees, if they are approached carefully, and 
 without frightening them. 
 
 The GW. Of all fish used for human food, the cod fish is that 
 which is taken in greatest 
 abundance. Every year 
 the various European ports 
 dispatch hundreds of vessels 
 to fish for cod on the Cod. 
 
 American Coast. They are found on our shores, but not in 
 sufficient abundance for a ship to be rapidly loaded with them. 
 
100 FISHES DIAGRAM i"). 
 
 They go to fish for them off the coast of Iceland, and especially 
 near the island of Newfoundland, at a point where the sea is not 
 very deep, and which is called the bank of Newfoundland. Ships 
 arrive there by thousands from all countries to pass the fishing 
 season. The cod is taken by lines, and its voracity is such that 
 it is unnecessary to select the bait to put on the hook. "When 
 the fish is brought on deck, its head is cut off, and it is split open 
 all along. The eggs or roe are laid aside to serve as bait to sar- 
 dine fishers. The liver is used to make cod-liver oil, which is a 
 valuable remedy for eruptions, scrofula, and diseases of the chest. 
 Lastly, the cod, being thus opened at the belly, is spread out, and 
 laid between two layers of salt ; after some days, this first 
 pickle is thrown away, and the salt is renewed, and the fish, 
 thus prepared, is put into barrels to be brought to Europe. 
 Sometimes, instead of salting the cod,, they are content to spread 
 it open, and dry it. It becomes as hard as a board, and is then 
 called stocJifisli. 
 
 Flat-fish. The family of flat-fish includes the plaice, the dab, 
 i\\Q flounder, the turbot, the brill, and the sole. All these fish have 
 a peculiar appearance which is not noticed at first. They may 
 be known by the brown back, where the two eyes are placed, 
 and by the white belly ; but one is struck by seeing their 
 mouth awry. When they are cleaned, it is also observed that 
 the intestines are only on one side. These fish have a very 
 
 peculiar structure. In- 
 stead of having the belly 
 below, and the back above, 
 they have a white side 
 turned towards the ground, 
 and a brown side turned 
 towards the sky ; and 
 the eye which would be 
 
 of no use to them if it was below, has travelled round to the 
 side of the eye which is uppermost. To place one of the fish of 
 which we speak in its true position, so as to compare it with a 
 
FISHES DIAGRAM 5. 101 
 
 herring, for instance, we must place it in a position which it never 
 takes itself the dark side to the right, and the pale side to the 
 left ; and then we shall see that all the parts, except the eyes, are 
 in the same position as in the mackerel. The tail is vertical ; the 
 bones directed above and below ; the mouth is horizontal, and 
 the gills and the intestines have their usual position. These fish 
 are, therefore, animals which live on one side and swim on one side. 
 They are all very good for food. 
 
 The Eel. This fish inhabits the sea, the rivers, and even the 
 smallest ditches ; it will even live in a bucket or a pan. It can 
 be reared thus, and will grow for years, and reach its largest size, 
 or about a yard long. The eel feeds on small fish, worms, and 
 frogs. In the spring time we see large rivers full of pro- 
 digious quantities of very small and nearly transparent eels, 
 which make their way up the stream towards its source. 
 They can then be taken by thousands, by merely dipping 
 with buckets. Eels, like several other fish, have no scales on the 
 skin ; this is used to make thongs, which are valued for their 
 toughness. A fish is caught in the sea which is very like the 
 eel, the conger eel ; it is, however, much larger, and not so long 
 in proportion sometimes growing to the thickness of the thigh. 
 
 The Sturgeon. This is a large fish, the body of which is 
 covered with plates of bone as rough as files. Its head is pro- 
 longed in front, and beneath it is a narrow mouth, and it can 
 only feed on small marine animals, in spite of its large size. It 
 lives in the sea, but it breeds in rivers, where they fish for it. Its 
 flesh and eggs are articles of great trade in Kussia. "The eggs 
 
 Sturgeon. 
 
 are sold under the name of caviare. Lastly, they make isinglass 
 of its swimming bladder, which is used in many trades. The 
 
102 
 
 FISHES DIAGRAM 5. 
 
 bladder is cut into small pieces, and dried in the sun. Isinglass is 
 also employed in cooking to make jellies, but it is most valuable 
 for manufacturing purposes. The sturgeon is very rare in Britain , 
 and if one happens to be caught in the Thames, it becomes a 
 perquisite of the Queen. 
 
 The Ray. The ray is a flat fish like the turbot and the plaice ; 
 but it is enough to look at one for a moment to perceive that in 
 the ray the white side is really the belly, and the brown side the 
 back. The mouth, placed under the pointed head, is in its usual 
 place, and the intestines are really in the middle of the body. 
 
 The rays sometimes grow to a considerable size, and their 
 mouth is armed with pointed teeth crowded together. They live 
 chiefly on crabs. 
 
 The rays, instead of laying a great number of small eggs, like 
 those of other fish, lay only a few, and these have a very peculiar 
 form. They are nearly square, and flat- 
 tened, with the four angles prolonged 
 into a point. The egg is protected by 
 a skin, which is sometimes satiny in ap- 
 pearance. The yolk is as large as that 
 of a hen's egg, and floats in a transparent 
 albumen. In some countries these eggs are called sea-cushio?is, 
 and sea-mice; mice, because they are silky like the skin of a 
 mouse, and cushions because they have actually very much the 
 appearance of a small cushion with four ribbons at the corners. 
 
 The Torpedo. A fish is found on the coast of England and 
 France, which somewhat resembles a ray, and discharges very 
 
 strong electric shocks when it is 
 molested; this is the torpedo. 
 Several fish can give similar 
 shocks, but those of the torpedo 
 are the most formidable : they 
 paralyse the arm, and if the ani- 
 mal is vigorous, the effect pro- 
 duced by its electric discharge is 
 
 Egg of Ray. 
 
 Torpedo. 
 
FISHES DIAGRAM 5. 108 
 
 similar to that which is produced by a violent blow of a stick on 
 the shoulder. 
 
 The Sharks. There are sharks so large that they are able to 
 seize the legs of a bather in the sea, and .tear off the flesh ; but 
 they are not all of this size. Much smaller fish, known 
 
 Shark. 
 
 as dogfish, are also true sharks. All fishes of this kind 
 have mouths furnished, like those of the rays, with several 
 rows of teeth, only the sharks have them very long and 
 pointed. It is with these that they tear the prey which they 
 cannot swallow at a gulp. At the back of the teeth which they 
 use, others always grow, so that if by accident some are broken or 
 lost, or worn out, they are soon replaced and the gaps filled up. 
 These animals are always ravenous, and they are seen to follow 
 ships to devour whatever is thrown into the sea. It is then suffi- 
 cient to fasten a piece of meat to a strong hook attached to a chain 
 to catch them if a cord were used, it might be cut by their teeth. 
 The Lamprey. We shall finish the list of fishes, and of the 
 cartilaginous fishes in particular, with the lamprey. It has a body 
 like that of an eel, but it looks as if it had no ^^W^^f^ 
 
 head. It has in front only a large sucker, with ^* -^' 
 
 which it attaches itself to rocks like a great Head of Lam P re y- 
 leech. 
 
 The Hippocampus. Certain fishes are so called 
 from a Greek word meaning horse, because their 
 head somewhat resembles that of a horse. They 
 swim by means of a small fin on the back, and 
 preserve the singular attitude which is represented 
 in the figure. At other times they remain straight, 
 
 with their tail rolled round some marine plant. 
 
 Hippocampus. 
 
104 INSECTS DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 ABTICULATED ANIMALS, 
 
 CLASS OF INSECTS. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 6. ] 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 WHEN we examine an insect a cockchafer for instance we at 
 once see that it is very different from the animals which we have 
 just been considering, such as the mammals, birds, reptiles, and 
 fishes. The insects, and all the animals which we have still to 
 notice, have no vertebrae or skeleton ; for this reason they have 
 been called Invertebrata, that is, animals without vertebrse. But 
 among the invertebrate animals there are some, like insects and 
 Crustacea, which have a shell formed of rings which are more or 
 less hard, and jointed together. These animals have been formed 
 into a separate Sub-kingdom called Articulata or Annulosa, from 
 this structure. The limbs, as we may see in the cockchafer or the 
 crab, are also formed of small hard cylinders jointed together. 
 The name insect itself comes from a Latin word which implies 
 formed of separate parts. 
 
 Insects undergo metamorphoses, that is, they do not emerge from 
 the egg in the form which they will assume later. They also 
 change their skin at different periods, which is called moulting. 
 Insects generally undergo two metamorphoses ; they consequently 
 pass through three stages; that which lasts from the time that 
 they emerge from the egg to their first metamorphosis is the larva 
 
INSECTS DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 105 
 
 Gnat, magnified. 
 
 state; that which separates the first metamorphosis from the 
 second, is the pupa, nymph, or chrysalis state ; and the third state 
 is that of the imago or perfect insect. 
 
 Larva state. In this state, insects have often the form of a 
 worm, and this name is applied 
 to them ; the larvae of butter- 
 flies are caterpillars ; the white 
 worm will become a cockchafer; 
 the maggot will become a flesh 
 fly : and thus with a number of 
 insects. 
 
 The habits of larvse often 
 differ much from those of the 
 perfect insect which proceeds 
 from them. In the first place, 
 larvae never fly. There are many 
 larvas which live in water, while the 
 perfect insect is serial ; this is the 
 case, for instance, with the gnats. 
 Other larvae live underground, like 
 the white worm, while the cockchafer 
 lives in trees ; larvae do nothing but 
 eat, for almost all their lives, and the greater part are therefore 
 injurious to man. Larvse have a very variable number of legs, 
 sometimes none at all, like maggots. Lastly, they have frequent 
 moults according to their growth. 
 
 Many larvse spin a cocoon like the silkworm, in which they 
 enclose themselves to undergo their first metamorphosis. 
 
 Pupa or Chrysalis state. This state is that in which the silk- 
 worm is found in the cocoon when it 
 is opened before the moth emerges. 
 The silkworm is contracted together ; 
 it is generally of a brown colour 
 and it moves the rings of the hind 
 part of its body, which terminates Chrysalis. 
 
 Larva of Gnat, magnified. 
 
10G INSECTS DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 in a point, but these are the only movements which it can make. 
 It has no visible limbs, and does not eat. All the pupse of insects, 
 however, are not thus immovable, and there are some which much 
 resemble either the larvae or the perfect insect. 
 
 Imago state. After the chrysalis has remained motionless for 
 some time, the skin which envelopes it tears or splits, and the 
 perfect insect emerges in the form which it will henceforth retain. 
 It is the structure of the perfect insect which we are now about to 
 try to describe. 
 
 The body of an insect (we may take a cockchafer as an example) 
 seems to be entirely composed of a definite number of solid rings 
 regularly arranged, and forming three very distinct regions, the 
 
 Antenna of Antenna of Antenna of 
 
 Motb. Cockchafer. Weevil. 
 
 head, thorax, and abdomen. These rings, as also those which 
 form the limbs, are called segments. 
 
 The head is provided with a mouth, antenna3, and eyes. The 
 antennae are a kind of small horns which are found in many ar- 
 ticulated animals. They have very different shapes, as may be 
 seen by comparing those of a moth, a cockchafer, and a weevil. 
 In the moth or butterfly, they are formed of a great number of 
 very small joints placed end to end. In the cockchafer they are 
 formed of plates which seem to form a fan. In the weevil, the 
 antennae are elbowed at a right angle. Insects use their antennas 
 to feel the objects or the ground round them. 
 
 The mouth differs much in different insects; but it never 
 
INSECTS DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 107 
 
 j. i. Neck. 
 ff- Eye. 
 
 d. Antenna. 
 Ti.f. Forehead. 
 c. Palpus. 
 
 a. Mandible. 
 
 b. Labiuin. 
 
 e. Epistoma. 
 
 resembles that of 
 vertebrates ; there is 
 never a movable 
 lower jaw. The 
 mouth of a insect 
 can be well exam- 
 ined in a large green 
 grasshopper. We 
 shall then see that 
 Mouth of Insect. the jaws, or mandibles 
 
 as they are called, move laterally ; they are situated to the right 
 and left, and open and shut sideways, to seize or crush their 
 food, instead of moving up and down. All the articulata which 
 are provided with jaws have them lateral. But all insects are 
 
 far from having the mouth 
 constructed like that of a 
 grasshopper. Many have in 
 the place of mandibles, a 
 proboscis with which they 
 pierce the skin of men and 
 animals ; such as the gadflies, 
 the bugs, and flies. It is 
 Head of Fly, magnified, enough to look at a fly rest- 
 ing on a piece of meat or sugar, to see that it has, instead of a 
 mouth, a proboscis with which it embibes its food. Butterflies 
 have also a long rolled-up proboscis, which they unfold to plunge 
 to the bottom of flowers, in order to suck up the nectar. On 
 each side of the mouth or proboscis, insects have a second pair 
 of antennas much smaller, and called palpi. They are very well 
 seen in the grasshopper. 
 
 The eyes of insects and other articulated animals are not 
 formed like those of vertebrata. They have neither pupil nor 
 crystalline lens. We see when we look at the eye of an insect, 
 only a convex surface, looking as if polished, and with a peculiar 
 lustre, which is sometimes reddish, as in the flies, or greenish, 
 
 a. Neck. 
 
 b. Eye. 
 
 c. d. Antennce. 
 h. Palpus. 
 e... Trunk. 
 
108 
 
 INSECTS DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 O (f^N^ ^,-v 
 
 Portion of Insect's Eye, 
 magnified. 
 
 have 
 
 as in the dragonflies. If we closely examine the eyes of a crab, 
 we see that this convex eye has the appearance of a sieve with 
 a quantity of little holes. Each of these little holes is really an 
 
 eye, and all the articulata, insects 
 as well as others, have, consequently, 
 instead of one eye on each side of 
 the head, two clusters of eyes, each of 
 which is too small in many cases to 
 be distinguished without a magnifying 
 glass. 
 
 The thorax bears the legs and 
 wings. Insects have always six legs. 
 Spiders have eight legs, and form a 
 separate class ; most of the Crustacea 
 ten ; others more or less ; some myriapods have often a 
 considerable number. All insects do 
 not fly; many, like fleas, lice, and 
 chigoes have no wings. Others have 
 only two wings, as the flies. Others 
 again have four. Among the last, 
 there are some in which the four 
 wings are alike, like butterflies, 
 dragonflies, and wasps; but there 
 are other four-winged insects in 
 which the two forewings sometimes 
 differ much from the hind wings, as in the 
 cockchafers and grasshoppers. In this case, the 
 first pair of wings is called the elytra. 
 
 The thorax is chiefly filled by the muscles which 
 move the wings and legs. The digestive organs 
 are in the abdomen. Insects have special organs 
 for respiration, which are also found in spiders, 
 but which are neither lungs nor gills. When the 
 Woodlouse. wings of a cockchafer, for instance, are lifted up, 
 we discover a small imprint on each segment of the abdomen, 
 
 Spider. 
 
INSECTS DIAGRAM G. 
 
 109 
 
 on each side. These are called stigmata, and are the openings for 
 fine vessels filled with air, -which communicate with the exterior 
 by the stigmata. These vessels are called trachecv. They have a 
 fine silvery colour, and nothing is easier than to see them by 
 opening the abdomen of a cockchafer under water, with a little 
 care. All these channels, which look like threads of silver, and 
 which ramify in the middle of the organs of the insect's body, 
 become visible immediately. It breathes by means of these 
 trachea?. 
 
 Insects lay eggs, which are often 
 very- numerous. They take care to 
 deposit them in places where the 
 larvae which will emerge from them 
 will find the means of living. If 
 the larva is aquatic, the insect, 
 though aerial, deposits its eggs in 
 the water. 
 
 Insects, chiefly in consequence of 
 the great appetite of their larva?, 
 are injurious animals ; they are the E gS s of Bu S on a Leaf - 
 scourge of agriculture, and man suffers much more from them than 
 from tigers, lions, or venomous serpents. There are certainly 
 some insects which eat others, and are consequently useful 
 auxiliaries to man ; but there are not very many. And it is on 
 account of the devastation of insects that all the insectivorous 
 mammals and birds ought to be considered as the greatest friends 
 of agriculturists. Some insects, however, must be mentioned 
 which, like the bee, the silkworm, and the cochineal, are directly 
 useful to man, but these are exceptions. 
 
 Insects are divided into several orders, which are characterized 
 either by the structure of the mouth, or by the number and 
 texture of their wings. We shall mention each of them, and 
 state their distinguishing characters. 
 
110 INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM G. 
 
 ORDER COLEOPTERA. 
 
 The insects which belong to the order Coleoptera have four 
 
 wings. The two first are hard and 
 horny, and are called the elytra; 
 the two others are thin, transparent 
 and membranous ; they close them by 
 folding them transversely, and then 
 place them under the first wings, 
 which cover them like a sheath. 
 This can be seen very well in a 
 cockchafer which has just been 
 stopped in its flight ; the wings 
 are still unfolded, and reaching be- 
 yond the elytra, under which they 
 are gradually seen to disappear. 
 Great Cockchafer, Male. Coleoptera undergo a perfect meta- 
 
 morphosis. They have all lateral jaws for bruising. They can 
 in some cases bite with them, but they do not pierce like gnats. 
 They have no poison apparatus at the end of their abdomen like 
 bees. A beetle can therefore always be safely taken into the hand 
 to examine it, for it can do no injury beyond nipping the skin, 
 sometimes a little roughly, with its mandibles. 
 
 Cicindelidce. These are small carnivorous beetles, and con- 
 sequently useful to man. The cicindelidae, or tiger beetles, are 
 known by having their corslet (which is that portion of the thorax 
 between the neck and the base of the wings) narrower than the 
 head and elytra. These are insects which fly in full sunshine. 
 Some species are of a beautiful green, with yellow spots. They 
 are swift, and pursue their prey, which always consists of small 
 insects, with great eagerness. In the larva state, the cicindelidce 
 dig a cylindrical hole in the ground, carrying away the earth 
 and gravel. Their head has a hollow above which they 
 use for a hod ; they go and empty it away from the hole, 
 
INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 
 
 111 
 
 Cicindela. 
 
 resting from time to time when they are 
 too heavily laden. When their pit is 
 completed, they wait at the entrance 
 with their head out, and watch for ants 
 and small insects. The cicindelce prefer 
 dry and sandy ground. 
 
 The Brachini, or Bombardier Beetles 
 much resemble the cicindelaj ; they derive 
 their name from the power they possess 
 of making a small detonation with the 
 end of their abdomen when pursued, and discharging a disagreeable 
 vapour which stops or drives away the pursuing enemy. 
 
 The Carabi are beetles which do not fly. 
 They have elytra, but on lifting them up, 
 we find no wings underneath. Their corslet 
 is square. The carabi are very active : some 
 are black, and others have fine metallic 
 colours of green or gold. They destroy 
 great numbers of caterpillars, and so they are 
 the greatest friends to man, of their class. 
 Their body exhales a strong odour, and when 
 seized, they discharge a blackish, fetid, acrid 
 liquid from the mouth. If it falls into the 
 eye, it produces a very acute pain, which* 
 is, however, not followed by any serious 
 consequences. 
 
 The Calosomce feed only on cater- 
 pillars. They live in trees, and their 
 voracity is extraordinary ; even when 
 they are satiated, they run after cater- 
 pillars, bite them with their mandibles 
 till the viscera extrude, and then leave 
 them to die ; they hunt their prey 
 unceasingly, and render valuable 
 service by distroying many very de- 
 structive caterpillars. 
 
 Calosoma. 
 
 Caralms. 
 
112 INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 The Dytiscidce swim, and pass part of their life in the water, 
 For this purpose, they have flattened legs, shaped like oars. 
 But they are obliged to come to the surface frequently in order 
 to breathe the air, a store of which they always keep under their 
 elytra, when diving to the bottom of the water. They are essentially 
 carnivorous animals, and even attack newts, and devour them alive. 
 In the evening, they leave the water, spread their wings and 
 fly about. They then fly into rooms, attracted by the light. 
 When touched, they exude from the surface of their body an oily 
 liquid, as white as milk, and extremely fetid. The lame live 
 constantly in water, and are carnivorous like the perfect insect. 
 They have pointed mandibles, which cross each other,, with which 
 they can pinch severely. 
 
 The Gyrinidce are small insects which are seen twisting round 
 like drops of quicksilver on the surface of ponds, where it is very 
 difficult to catch them. They are popularly called whirligig beetles, 
 Their back is black, but is so highly polished as to reflect the 
 light of the sun like a metal button. 
 
 The Hydrophilidce somewhat resemble the Dytiscida? in form 
 
 and habits, but are much larger. 
 These are our largest native water^ 
 insects. Like the Dytiscida? they 
 pass the day in ponds. They swim 
 and fly very well, but walk with 
 difficulty. They can remain under 
 water for a long time, but are never- 
 theless obliged to come to the sur- 
 face from time to time, to breathe. 
 In the evening, they fly about. 
 Their larvae are very large, black 
 and wrinkled, and swim with ease, 
 They live exclusively in the 
 water. They are extremely vora- 
 cious. They are also remarkable 
 for their habit of making themselves 
 Hydrophilus, Male. soft and flaccid, as if dead, when 
 
INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 113 
 
 seized. When the time comes for them to undergo their first 
 metamorphosis, they leave the witer, and dig a hole in the ground 
 on the bank, closed on all sides. There the larva changes into a 
 pupa, and this into a perfect insect. 
 
 The Staphylinidce may be known by their square elytra much 
 shorter than the abdomen, the segments of which extend beyond 
 the wings. Their antennas are inserted in front of the eyes. They 
 run quickly and fly easily. When they alight, they immediately 
 hide their wings under their elytra, but as the latter are very 
 short, the wings must be folded three or four times to fit under 
 them. When threatened by danger, they raise the end of their 
 abdomen straight up. There are many kinds of staphylinidaa, 
 most of which are very small ; the largest and commonest is 
 popularly called the Devil's Coach-horse ; it is quite black, and is 
 found running on pathways. They are all very voracious, and eat 
 either insects or carrion, they also eat one another. The staphy- 
 linidas are generally to be met with in damp places, especially 
 under stones. 
 
 In looking for insects, it should be remembered that one of the 
 best methods of finding them is to turn up as many stones as 
 possible, and the largest which can be found ; for a great number 
 of insects always select such hiding places, and are sure to be met 
 with there. 
 
 The Buprestidce have elytra which cover the whole abdomen, 
 and have also antennas serrated like saws. One common species 
 is a small insect of a beautiful bronzy green. The larva lives in 
 wood ; the perfect insect lives on trees and flowers ; the Bupres- 
 tidaa are very like the click-beetles, but do not jump like them. 
 They fly swiftly. When seized, they contract their legs and sham 
 death. They remain thus for a very long time motionless, and it 
 is only by little and little that they begin to move one leg, then 
 two, and then they fly away very quickly as soon as they believe 
 that the danger is over. 
 
 The Elateridce, or Click-beetles also sham death like the Bupres- 
 ticfce when an attempt is made to seize them, and let themselves 
 
 i 
 
114 INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 fall to the ground. If they fall on the belly, they soon stretch 
 out their legs to escape ; but if they fall on the back, they are 
 then seen to unbend themselves like a spring, and jump to a 
 great height. If we take an elater, it is enough to lay it on a 
 table, legs uppermost, to see how it acts. It first becomes rigid, 
 and raises itself on its head and tail. All at once it unbends 
 itself; the corslet and the base of the elytra strike the tables, 
 and the rebound throws the insect into the air to a height of 
 several inches. If it falls on the legs, it runs away ; if it falls 
 on the back, it begins again. As it makes a slight noise on 
 unbending itself, it has been called the click-beetle. If held in 
 the hand, it attempts to perform the same manoeuvres ; and every 
 time it unbends, it emits a green liquid. The larvse of the click- 
 beetles are found under stones, in the ground. They are called 
 wire-worms, and often do great mischief by gnawing the roots of 
 corn. 
 
 The Glowworm, which is found by the side of roads on warm 
 summer evenings, has no wings, and much resembles a larva. It 
 is, however, the perfect state of the female insect. The males fly 
 like other coleoptera ; they have four wings, two of which are 
 elytra. It is only necessary to put a few glowworms on a tuft of 
 grass at the window in the country to attract the males to fly 
 round them. On closely examining a glowworm, we may ascertain 
 that it is the interior of its body which is luminous, and not the 
 surface. On irritating the animal, it extinguishes this light, and 
 renews it when it is quiet. The glowworm is not the only animal 
 which emits light ; in hot countries there are other insects which 
 produce a much stronger light. Some fire-flies, as the luminous 
 elateridae are called in America, enclosed in a small cage made for 
 them, are sufficient to light a room. 
 
 The Necrophori or Burying-beetles are a little smaller than the 
 cockchafer, which they resemble. They have black elytra 
 with yellow transverse bands. These insects owe their name 
 to their habits. When about to deposit their eggs, they seek 
 or some small dead animal, such as a rat, a mole, or a mouse, 
 
INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 115 
 
 Necrophorus. 
 
 or else a bird or a frog. They lay their eggs in it, and then 
 undertake the great work of burying the 
 carcass, at which several always assist ; for 
 this purpose, they burrow underneath it and 
 hollow out the earth, and throw it aside, so 
 that the body sinks little by little, and finally 
 lies in a hole large enough to contain it ; 
 then they cover it with the earth which they 
 had removed, and leave it. This work some- 
 times requires two days, although the beetles 
 who have undertaken it, prosecute it with 
 great ardour. The larvas are thus born in 
 the midst of their appropriate food. They are greyish white 
 worms. 
 
 The Dermestes are small beetles about a quarter of an inch long, 
 generally they have black elytras with a white spot on each. The 
 larva is wholly covered with hairs ; it eats cheese, lard, furs, linen, 
 and feathers. It is extremely voracious, and will even attack old 
 bones. It is the greatest enemy of collectors of natural history, 
 because it eats stuffed skins. 
 
 The Cockchafer is certainly one of the most destructive insects 
 known ; in the perfect state, it devours the forests ; and in the 
 larva state it eats the roots of the crops. The larvaa are called 
 white worms, and are hatched about six weeks after the eggs 
 
 Cockchafer. Larva, or White Worm, 
 
 have been laid by the cockchafers on the ground. 
 
 They 
 
116 INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 immediately burrow into it, to pass the three years before their meta- 
 morphosis. They burrow near the surface, and eat all the roots 
 which they can find, which causes the plants to die. When it 
 begins to get cold, the grubs bury themselves deeply in the 
 ground, and become torpid till the following spring. As soon 
 as spring comes, they again mount nearer to the surface, and 
 recommence their ravages for another whole year. 
 
 It is then that the grubs feel the time of their metamorphosis 
 approaching. They again bury themselves in the ground, deeper 
 than the first time, sometimes nearly a yard. There they excavate 
 a small ovoid chamber with very smooth sides. Then their meta- 
 morphosis takes place ; the grub becomes a soft whitish pupa, on 
 which the limbs of the perfect insect can already be discerned. 
 This pupa gradually becomes tougher, and turns brown. It 
 remains thus for the whole winter. 
 
 When the month of February arrives, the second meta- 
 morphosis takes place ; the pupa becomes a cockchafer, but it is 
 then soft and yellowish ; and it is only gradually that it becomes 
 hard and acquires its colour. About the month of March or 
 April, according to the warmth of the season, the cockchafer 
 approaches the surface of the ground, from whence it emerges at 
 the beginning of May, when there are already leaves on the 
 trees, and then begins a new series of ravages ; it ascends the 
 trees, on which it sleeps during the daytime, but in the evening it 
 flies about, and begins to devour the leaves. In less than a fort- 
 night, the cockchafers have sometimes been known to strip entire 
 forests of all their foliage. Then the female lays her eggs ; for 
 this purpose she leaves the trees, and with her legs, which are 
 dentated, she digs a small trench, and lays her eggs there. She 
 lays from fifty to eighty eggs of a light yellow colour. Then she 
 dies ; and three years afterwards the cockchafers sprung from her 
 eggs will appear, and it is on this account that the cockchafers 
 generally appear in greatest numbers at regular intervals of 
 three years. 
 
 Every means should be sought to deliver us from this terrible 
 
INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 117 
 
 enemy ; but as it hides under ground, it is always difficult to get at 
 it. The best plan is to collect v^ry carefully all the cockchafers 
 which are found turned up by the plough ; but it must be remarked 
 that this plan is only available when the cockchafers are still near the 
 surface, in spring, or the beginning of autumn. If we wish to 
 destroy them in quantity, we must do the work at the exact depth 
 where the grubs are. If they are only two or three inches from 
 the surface, as sometimes happens, deep digging would turn up 
 very few ; but if they are far from it, a superficial examination is 
 altogether useless. But it is easy to ascertain first with a spade 
 at what depth the grubs are, and consequently at what depth it is 
 necessary to work. 
 
 In the perfect state there is only one way of destroying the 
 cockchafers, namely, to collect as many as possible, for which the 
 local authorities ought to pay as much as they can. One remark 
 must, however, be made. The cockchafers that the collectors 
 should be paid for, ought to be all alive, or else it is useless to 
 collect them ; and they ought to be paid for very dear during the 
 first few days of their appearance, and the price should be lowered 
 afterwards. The reason is that during the first few days they 
 have not yet deposited their eggs, and are consequently of great 
 importance ; whereas it is not much use to collect cockchafers at 
 the end of the season, which have already laid 50 or 60 eggs in the 
 ground, which will produce as many grubs in succeeding years ; at 
 this time it is useless to continue the pursuit of cockchafers, and it 
 is wasting public money to pay for them. 
 
 The cockchafers thus collected form when mixed with earth a 
 good manure. The best way of killing them is to plunge the bags 
 in which they are brought into boiling water. 
 
 Cantharides. The name of cantharides is often applied to all 
 bright green beetles. But the true Cantharis is a rarity in the 
 South of England, and is too scarce to be of any commercial 
 importance. It is met with in May and June on jasmines, 
 ash-trees, and lilacs. There is a great trade in cantharides for 
 medical purposes. They are largely collected on the Continent, 
 
118 INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 where the persons employed cover the face and hands, and go in 
 the morning and shake the trees which the insects frequent 
 over cloths. They are then killed by dipping them in vinegar, 
 or by putting them in a sieve under which vinegar is boiled. 
 Then they are put into tight fitting cases, that the mites may 
 not get at them. But if mites can eat the cantharides with 
 impunity," men cannot, for they are a terrible poison. They are 
 used to make blister paste; and if we look closely at this 
 preparation, it is easy to discover small brilliant green atoms in 
 it, which are fragments of the elytra of the insects. These are 
 the cantharides, which make blister paste act like a, hot iron, or 
 like boiling water, in raising the epidermis and forming a blister 
 full of water. 
 
 The Corn-weevil, which is also called simply the weevil, lives in 
 heaps of corn, keeping itself hidden near 
 the surface without burying itself deeper 
 than a few inches, and without ever 
 appearing outside. Its colour is a 
 maroon brown ; its corslet is covered 
 with small points, and its elytra with 
 very fine furrows. The mischief which 
 the weevil may cause may be imagined 
 when it is remembered that it lays each 
 Weevil. of its eggs in a separate grain of corn. 
 
 For this purpose it drills an almost imperceptible hole. The 
 larva which is thus born in the very middle of its food, 
 devours the grain without coming out of it ; then undergoes 
 its metamorphosis ; and it is only then that the weevil pierces 
 the outer shell of the com to go and lay its eggs in its 
 turn. 
 
 It was absolutely necessary that every means, of protection 
 against such an enemy should be sought, and it was soon 
 observed that the weevil could only live in the middle of 
 grains of corn which were not agitated. Quiet is absolutely 
 essential to its development. It makes its escape when disturbed. 
 
INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 119 
 
 The means of getting rid of it was consequently discovered, 
 which is to move the corn either with the shovel, or by 
 arranging it in the granary in such a manner that whenever a 
 sack is taken away, all the corn in the granary must be 
 moved. 
 
 The Bostrichi have ovoid, elongated 
 bodies ; their antennae are short, 
 and terminate in a club. They 
 are very small beetles, the larvse 
 of which are extremely destruc- 
 tive to trees. They establish Bostriclius, magnified, 
 themselves between the wood and the bark, and q& 
 
 Or 
 
 then hollow out tortuous channels, which ' are 
 almost always filled with the sawdust formed by 
 their work. They live thus two years, after which 
 they construct a cocoon formed of sawdust fastened 
 together by filaments of silk. They pass the Larva of Bos . 
 
 winter there in the pupa state, and it is only in trichus natu- 
 ,, . ., f ., . ral size, and 
 
 the following spring that they emerge from their magnified. 
 
 prison in the perfect state. 
 
 The Longicorns are a family of Coleoptera which may be known 
 
 Longicorn. 
 
 Larva of Longicorn. 
 
 by their slender antennae, often recurved like a ram's horns. The 
 larva} of the longicorns also burrow long galleries in wood. In 
 
120 
 
 INSECTS COLEOPTERA DIAGRAM G. 
 
 order to escape, they sometimes pierce the sheets of lead with 
 which the timbers of roofs are covered. They cut this metal with 
 their mandibles as easily as the wood itself. 
 
 Coccinella. We will end the list of beetles by a small insect 
 known to everybody as the lady-bird, or lady-cow. It is the 
 
 coccinella. It is carnivorous and 
 destroys the plant lice ; and is there- 
 fore a friend of man. Unfortunately 
 its small size does not allow it to 
 give us great assistance. But it 
 seems that we do not misunderstand 
 this friend, for everyone avoids 
 Coccinella, natural size, and hurting it 
 magnified. 
 
 ORDER LEPIDOPTBRA. 
 
 This order includes the insects commonly called butterflies and 
 moths. They have four wings alike, covered with a dust which 
 
 adheres to the fingers 
 when they are 
 rubbed. Instead of 
 jaws, they have a 
 rolled up proboscis. 
 Their metamorpho- 
 ses are complete. 
 Butterflies cannot do 
 much harm in the 
 perfect state with 
 Red Admiral. their proboscis, but 
 
 their larvas, or caterpillars, have jaws like those of Coleoptera, and 
 often commit great ravages. 
 
 Silkworms. The Sttkiwrm, one of the most useful of insects, 
 
INSECTS LEPIDOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 121 
 
 should be mentioned first among the Lepidoptera. It is largely 
 reared on the Continent, but is only reared as a curiosity in 
 England. Its life is composed of seven stages, five passed in the 
 larva state, and the two last as pupa and imago. The five first 
 stages occupy twenty-four days, and the two last require sixteen 
 days. It is only after forty days that the egg, when hatched, 
 produces a moth which lays eggs again, after which it dies. 
 Great numbers of silkworms are reared in the south of France, in 
 establishments provided for the purpose. 
 
 When they observe that the eggs are about to hatch, they lay 
 mulberry leaves near them. The little worms, just out of the 
 egg, and quite black, crawl upon them and begin to eat. They 
 are placed on large trays, and are watched and tended with the 
 greatest care. 
 
 Each stage ends with a moult. This is preceded by a day's 
 sickness, during which the worm raises its head, and neither eats 
 nor moves. When it has shed its skin, it still remains a con- 
 siderable time without eating. On the other hand, its appetite is 
 insatiable between the moults. 
 
 The first stage lasts four days, and during this period it is 
 necessary to cut the leaves fine which are given to the silkworms, 
 because they only eat them at the edges ; but this precaution is 
 unnecessary afterwards. The fifth stage is longest, and that in 
 which the appetite of the worm is at first most voracious ; but it 
 soon ceases to eat ; it seems to become more transparent ; it tries 
 to climb, and spins ends of silk here and there ; this is called its 
 time of change. Then they lay small branches of birch or broom 
 on the trays,' on which the worms can easily spin their cocoons. 
 When only a few silkworms are reared, it is enough to put them 
 in screws of paper, which seems to suit them very well. 
 
 The worm takes three days to spin its cocoon, after which it 
 becomes transformed into a chrysalis. The silk issues from 
 small openings placed near the mouth. The worm fastens its 
 thread to some object, then draws back its head, the thread 
 winds off, and it attaches it somewhere else. The whole cocoon 
 
122 INSECTS LEPIDOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 except the outer floss silk, is generally formed of one single 
 uninterrupted thread. It may measure 300 yards in length. If 
 the body of a silkworm is opened when it is about to spin, we can 
 easily perceive two long sacs, folded on themselves. They are 
 yellow, and are filled with a sticky substance, which is nothing 
 else than silk. It becomes solid, and winds off, as it issues into 
 the air. In some countries, these sacs are taken from the body of 
 the silkworm, unfolded, and allowed to dry. They thus obtain 
 strips of a true silk, which are much thicker than ordinary silk, 
 but these strips are always very short, and are chiefly used for 
 fishing-lines. 
 
 When the cocoons are allowed to remain in the branches 
 where the worm has spun them, the moth emerges at the end of 
 about a fortnight, pushing aside and breaking the threads. Its 
 legs are furnished with hooks, with which it clings to objects. It 
 cannot fly ; though if a few generations of them are reared in the 
 open air, they recover the power of flight. It eats nothing, and soon 
 begins to lay its eggs. It is placed on sheets of paper or 
 cardboard, where it lays its eggs near each other, and then dies. 
 These eggs are the provision for the following year, and are 
 called seed in commerce. Great quantities are annually sold and 
 bought in all countries which produce silk, and they go to fetch 
 them from the most distant countries, where the silk is finer than 
 in Europe. 
 
 But the moth, in emerging from the cocoon, spoils the silk and 
 breaks it. To prevent this, only a certain number of cocoons 
 are allowed to produce moths, and the chrysalides of the others 
 are killed by exposing them to heat. The cocoon can then be 
 reeled off entire, like a ball of silk, just as it has been spun 
 entire from a single end. For this purpose, it is put into boiling 
 water, after having rid it of the floss silk which surrounds it ; it 
 is rubbed with a soft brush to find the end, and when this is 
 found, there is nothing more to do than draw it gently off by 
 means of a winder, which generally winds off a great number of 
 cocoons at once. Several of these threads are put together to 
 
INSECTS LEPIDOPTERA DIAGEAM 6. 123 
 
 make the silk, with which they make stuffs prized for their beauty 
 as well as for their durability for silk is stronger than canvas or 
 linen. 
 
 Bombyces. The silkworm belongs to the family of Bombyces, 
 which are mostly injurious animals, because many of them eat the 
 leaves of trees like the silkworm, without producing a valuable 
 substance like silk, which fully compensates for the value of the 
 mulberry leaves. Others feed on grass ; and that of the Emperor 
 moth, one of the largest and handsomest English moths of this 
 family, feeds on heath. The larva is green, with tufts of hair, and 
 transverse rows of pink spots ; and the perfect insect has a large 
 ocellated spot on each wing. ' * '> 
 
 One of the most destructive insects of this family is the 
 Gold-tail Moth, so called from 
 the yellow tuft of down at the 
 end of the abdomen of the 
 female, which she employs to 
 cover her eggs for the purpose 
 of protecting them from the 
 weather. The caterpillars are 
 gregarious, and in some seasons Gold-tail Moth, 
 
 strip the hedges of their leaves. They also form a large web, as 
 a shelter' for the whole community, who retire within it at night. 
 To avoid any injury which might happen to the structure from 
 the growth of the plant within it, they take care to gnaw off 
 all the buds within their habitation, and thus check any such 
 inconvenience. 
 
 The Noctuce, Tinea, Pyrales, and Tortrices, are moths of 
 moderate or small size, which fly only in the evening, or at night, 
 and the larvse of which are very destructive in spite of their small 
 size. Those of the Tineas live on stuffs, and, after having cut 
 some wool from the cloth, they make it into cases which they drag 
 about with them like a dress. The strips of wool are then joined 
 together by an extremely fine silk that these caterpillars spin. 
 As they grow, it is quite necessary for them to enlarge their case, 
 
124 INSECTS LEPIDOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 and for tins purpose, they rip it up, and add a new piece. If they 
 have changed the cloth if, for instance, they lived first on black 
 cloth, and are now living on red cloth the piece added to their 
 case will be red, and the rest black. 
 
 There is another insect belonging to the same family, the 
 Hyponomeuta, or Small Ermine Moth, which is sometimes as 
 destructive to our hedges as the 
 gold-tail moth of which we have 
 spoken already. We sometimes see 
 the hedges in summer almost stripped 
 of their leaves, covered with a slender 
 whitish web, and swarming with little 
 whitish or greyish moths, covered with 
 
 black dots. These are the moths produced by the caterpillars 
 which have caused the mischief. They are also to be met with 
 feeding on apple-trees and other plants, especially the spindle-tree, 
 which is liable to the attacks of several species. 
 
 The larvae of the Noctuae live on the leaves of various plants. 
 Some few live just beneath the surface of the ground, and do 
 great harm by devouring the roots of plants. The fore-wings of 
 the moths of this group are generally of some shade of grey or 
 brown, and the hind wings are paler. 
 
 The /Sphinges or Hawk Moths are large moths which only fly 
 at dusk, and are therefore sometimes called crepuscular Lepidoptera. 
 In the evening, the hawk moths come buzzing over flowers, and 
 extract the honey from them with their proboscis. One of the 
 largest has a yellow pattern on its corslet with two black spots, 
 which have a slight resemblance to a skull. It is therefore 
 called the Death's Head Hawk Moth, but the resemblance is 
 certainly not very great, and we must look carefully for it to 
 notice any at all. This species is rarely noticed on the wing; it 
 is remarkable for its power of squeaking, and for its habit of 
 sometimes entering beehives to steal the honey. Its larva is as 
 thick and long as the finger, and is often met with in potato 
 fields. 
 
INSECTS LBPIDOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 125 
 
 Death's Head Hawk Moth. 
 
 The Pieridce or Callage Butterflies have a. slender body, and 
 large wings ; nearly all are white, with black spots, and feed on 
 
126 
 
 INSECTS HEMIPTERA DIAGRAM G. 
 
 various kinds of cabbage. They are found in abundance in 
 
 kitchen gardens, 
 which they fre- 
 quently devas- 
 tate. But it is 
 enough to kill 
 them and to keep 
 them away to 
 place branches of 
 flowering broom 
 on the plants 
 Cabbage Butterfly. which are in- 
 
 fested by them. The insects cannot bear the neighbourhood of this 
 plant. 
 
 ORDER HEMIPTERA. 
 
 Insects of the order Hemiptera have a straight proboscis 
 which they can easily bury in hard substances ; they have four 
 wings, which appear at the first glance to be alike; but when 
 we examine them more closely, we perceive that the fore- wings 
 are only partly similar to the hind-wings ; another part, either 
 the edge, or a portion near the base, is horny like the elytra of 
 beetles. Hemiptera undergo only an incomplete metamorphosis ; 
 the larva already greatly resembles the perfect insect, and the 
 pupa still more. 
 
 The Cicada is a large insect which is found in the New Forest. 
 The English species is mute, but most of the foreign species 
 are celebrated for the loud chirping of the males, whose vocal 
 organs are situated under the abdomen, or level with the first 
 segments. Two plates or two scales are noticed covering a small 
 skin stretched like that of a drum. The cicada produces its song 
 by agitating this with special muscles. The cicada feeds by 
 
INSECTS HEMIPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 127 
 
 Cicada. 
 
 piercing the tender bark of trees, and drinking the 
 sap by means of its sucker. 
 
 The Thrips has only wings in the males ; the 
 females are wingless. They are small insects with a 
 long body. The corn thrips causes great mischief by 
 sucking the newly-formed grains of corn, which it 
 does not kill, but prevents from reaching their proper 
 
 size. Lately a separate order has been established ^ 
 
 J Thrips, highly 
 
 on this insect, but it is not yet generally adopted. magnified. 
 
 The Bugs are a family of insects 
 which have nearly all a bad 
 odour. They live either on trees 
 or in houses. Bed-bugs are 
 remarkable because they have 
 no traces of wings, but they 
 run actively. They shun the 
 light, and at night feed on blood 
 by burying their sucker in the skin. Bug natural size, and magnified. 
 
 The Notonectce are aquatic hemip- 
 tera, which swim by means of their 
 long hind legs. One half of their 
 elytra is hard and horny ; and these 
 insects resemble tree-bugs- in the 
 form and pattern of their corslet. Notonecta. 
 
128 
 
 INSECTS HEMIPTERA DIAGRAM G. 
 
 Plant-lice. The plant-lice are small insects which have two 
 
 projecting tubes at the 
 end of the abdomen. 
 The females have no 
 wings ; the males alone 
 fly, and they are seen 
 with their large trans- 
 parent wings among the 
 clusters of plant-lice on 
 the stalks of the rose 
 bush. The females 
 move slowly, and pump 
 
 Plaut-louse, highly magnified. 
 
 up the sap of plants with their proboscis. They bring forth 
 small living plant-lice, which grow round them and increase the 
 swarms for the greater part of the year. It is only at the end 
 of summer that they lay eggs which do not hatch till spring, and 
 which produce males as well as females. The summer broods 
 generally consist of females only, which are able to continue the 
 race without the intervention of the males, until the cold weather 
 sets in. 
 
 The Cochineal is an insect of this, order found in Mexico, from 
 which a beautiful colour used in the arts under the name of 
 carmine is obtained. The male has wings, as in the plant-lice, 
 
 and the female has none ; 
 the latter lives on a kind 
 of cactus, where she fixes 
 herself, by inserting her 
 proboscis. These plants 
 are cultivated for the sake 
 of the insect. When the 
 
 Female time comes to gather them, 
 
 Cochineal, , 
 
 natural size, the females are collected, 
 
 and uiagiii- 
 
 Male Cochineal natural 
 size, and magnified. 
 
 fied. 
 
 and killed by putting them 
 into boiling water, or by 
 
 exposing them to the heat of an oven. Cochineal as met with 
 
INSECTS ORTHOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 129 
 
 in commerce, presents the appearance of small violet grains which 
 look like seeds, but on examining them carefully, their animal 
 nature is easy to be perceived, especially if they are allowed to 
 soften a little in water. 
 
 ORDER ORTHOPTERA. 
 
 Insects of the order Orthoptera have jaws like Coleoptera ; they 
 have two kinds of wings, but the elytra are soft, and the hind 
 wings are folded like a fan, instead of being folded transversely, 
 like those of Coleoptera. Their metamorphoses are incomplete, 
 as in the order Hemiptera. The Orthoptera, having jaws, cannot 
 suck blood like some of the Hemiptera ; but they are often very 
 formidable to the crops. 
 
 The Forjiculce, or Earwigs, are Orthoptera furnished with a kind 
 of pincers at the end of the abdomen, which they 
 open with a menacing air when irritated, but with 
 which they are incapable of doing any- injury. 
 They live in society, and are very destructive to 
 flowers and fruit, but never get into anyone's ear, 
 as is vulgarly imagined. The internal auditory 
 canal is furnished, in man, with stiff hairs, 
 and an acrid substance, which is generally 
 
 sufficient to prevent any insect from getting 
 
 . . .. Earwig. 
 
 into it. 
 
 The Mole-cricket is so called, partly because it resembles the 
 other crickets, which 
 are Orthoptera, and 
 partly on account of 
 the shape of its fore- 
 legs, which have 
 some resemblance to 
 those of the mole, 
 
 Mole -cricket. 
 
130 INSECTS ORTHOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 and which it uses in exactly the same manner. With these legs 
 the strength of which may be felt by holding a mole-cricket in 
 the hand they dig galleries tinder the soil, and eat all the roots 
 with which they meet, sometimes producing great ravages in 
 this manner. 
 
 The House-cricket lives in houses, near the fire-place ; and the 
 field-cricket in dry, grassy places. They are nocturnal animals, 
 and their music is chiefly to be heard in the evening. They 
 produce it by passing their long hind legs over their elytra, which 
 then vibrate like the cords of a violin. Crickets and grasshoppers 
 produce their music in a similar manner. 
 
 The Locusts, and the large Green Grasshopper, are the largest 
 British Orthoptera. The latter is not uncommon in England, 
 and the former, though not indigenous, are frequently met with 
 in some years in different parts of the country, having flown 
 over from the Continent, and in some cases it is supposed even 
 from Africa. Like the crickets, their hind legs are very large, 
 and fitted for jumping. The mischief which they cause in 
 
 Blue-Minged Grasshopper. 
 
 Britain is happily unimportant ; but in many countries of Asia 
 and Africa they frequently appear in immense swarms. Some- 
 times vast swarms of several miles in length and breadth appear 
 
INSECTS NEU110PTERA DIAGRAM 6. 131 
 
 suddenly in a country, driven by the wind. The swarms are so 
 thick as to form a real cloud, which darkens the sky. In a day 
 or two, all the vegetation in the country is devoured ; the ground 
 is covered with these insects ; and the crops are filled with them ; 
 and even should they be driven out to sea and drowned, as 
 sometimes happens, their dead bodies are frequently washed 
 ashore in such quantities as to pollute the air for miles around. 
 When a swarm of locusts descends on a country in this manner 
 before the harvest, they always cause a famine. These insects 
 are eaten in many countries, and it is even said that certain tribes 
 rejoice at their approach, because they are a staple article of food 
 with them. 
 
 ORDER NBUROPTERA. 
 
 The Neuroptera have four wings, which are alike in texture and 
 leave no dust on the fingers when touched. The nervures of their 
 wings are arranged in a kind of network. This is well seen in the 
 dragon-flies which fly round ponds. The Neuroptera have jaws, 
 and undergo a complete metamorphosis. They have no sting, like 
 bees, at the end of the abdomen. 
 
 The Libellulce, or Dragon-flies have a long cylindrical body, and 
 fly with ease. Their larva? and pupse live in water. They 
 abound in ponds and pools. They are carnivorous, and very 
 voracious, and attack other insects, or larger prey, such as 
 tadpoles. These larvae are greyish, or of a dirty white, and 
 almost transparent. At the period of its metamorphosis, the 
 pupa, which much resembles the larva, conies out of the water, 
 climbs on the stalk of a reed, and fixes itself there with the 
 hocks of its legs. Then the skin splits, and the dragon-fly 
 emerges. The empty skin is often found on water plants. The 
 dragon-flies eat small insects, and, like their larvae, devour 
 
132 
 
 INSECTS NEUROPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 Libellula, or Dragon-fly. 
 
 a great number ; and it is therefore to be considered a useful 
 animal. 
 
 The Ant-lions. These a interesting insects are not found in 
 England, but are not uncommon on the Continent. If we 
 happen to visit the Continent, we may sometimes notice in some 
 places small funnel-shaped hollows about an inch deep, and an 
 inch and a-half broad. If we look at them carefully we shall see 
 at the bottom something like the ends of a pair of pincers, which 
 shows us that there is an animal there. Nothing stirs however, 
 but if we continue to watch these funnels for some time, we shall 
 presently see an ant or some other small insect slipping to the 
 edge, upon the treacherous sand. The ant attempts to escape ; 
 but the animal in the middle of the trap immediately throws 
 
INSECTS NEUROPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 133 
 
 sand over it, and makes it roll to the bottom, where it is grasped 
 
 by the pincers and killed. This is not all. When the 
 
 industrious insect has sucked its victim dry, it throws it out of 
 
 the hole, which it never quits itself, just as it threw 
 
 up the sand before. This animal, which exhibits 
 
 such curious habits, is the larva of the ant-lion ; and 
 
 is so named on account of the great destruction 
 
 which it makes among the ants. In the perfect 
 
 state, it is very much like a dragon-fly, but may be 
 
 distinguished from them by its antennae terminating 
 
 in a knob. 
 
 The habits of the Termites, or White AntSj resemble those of the 
 ants ; but they inhabit tropical countries. They have fortunately 
 
 Larva of 
 Ant-lion. 
 
 Soldier Termite. Neuter Termite. Female, 
 
 not yet been introduced into England, but they have succeeded 
 in establishing themselves in some of the French ports, where 
 they commit great ravages ; they devour books, registers, 
 wainscoting, and all descriptions of wood-work. These animals 
 are obliged to avoid the light, and their work is always concealed. 
 They devour a beam, but they only enter it by the ends which 
 are fixed in the walls ; they do not make a single hole 
 throughout its whole length, and nothing is visible externally 
 until the house falls, when the beam is found to be completely 
 eaten away inside. 
 
 The Phryganece and Ephemerce.- We must mention two 
 Neuropterous insects which are well known for their interesting 
 
134 INSECTS NEUROPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 habits. We meet with larvze in ponds which 
 drag after them a case about three-quarters of an 
 inch long. When they walk about with their 
 house, they put out their head and legs, and 
 when they are alarmed, they hide in it. These 
 are Phryganese, or caddis-flies, in the larva state. 
 These cases are formed of the materials which the 
 
 insect finds near it : perhaps small stones, or shells, 
 Larva of Phry- 
 gana in its case, or else small twigs or pieces of leaves which the 
 
 larva cuts for itself. All these objects are joined with threads of 
 fine silk. The phryganece are always very curious objects to 
 observe in an aquarium, and they can be made to construct 
 beautiful cases by pulling a larva out of its case, and putting it 
 into a vessel with glass beads, when it will use them to construct 
 a new house, if it can find nothing more suitable. 
 
 The Ephemera are remarkable for only living a day at most ; 
 but this is only true of the perfect insect. Before reaching its per- 
 fect state it has lived in the larva and pupa state for one, two, 
 or three years. These larvae are generally found in rivers. They 
 are small, and may be recognized by three slender filaments at the 
 end of their abdomen. They swim by jerks. At last the time for 
 their metamorphosis arrives. It is then that the ephemera lives 
 really very quickly. The pupa emerges from the water, and is 
 transformed about the period of sunset ; it flies to some distance, 
 changes its skin with the same rapidity ; lays its eggs ; and when 
 the night has become quite dark, all the ephemera which emerged 
 from the water at sunset are already dead. They consequently 
 live less than an hour in the perfect state, after having lived two 
 or three years in the larva state. 
 
INSECTS HYMENOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 135 
 
 ORDER HYMENOPTERA. 
 
 The order Hymenoptera includes the two insects which 
 exhibit the most remark- 
 able habits. the bee and 
 the ant. It is characterized 
 by the possession of four 
 wings of similar structure, 
 but the nervures of which 
 are longitudinal, instead of 
 being finely interlaced like 
 the wings of Neuroptera. 
 Their metamorphoses are 
 complete. The females Hornet. 
 
 have often a sting at the extremity of the abdomen, in the perfect 
 state. 
 
 The Tenthredinidce or Saivflies have a prolongation at the end of 
 the abdomen, or rather, a borer, dentated like a saw, from 
 which they derive their name. 
 The female bores holes in the 
 bark of plants with this instru- 
 ment, and deposits an egg in 
 each. The larva? which emerge 
 from them eat the leaves and 
 buds of fruit trees, and injure 
 them very much. 
 
 The Bees live in society, and work in common. A hive is 
 never inhabited by more than a single society. This is always 
 composed of several males, one female, and a great number of 
 bees, called ivorkers, or neuters, which are undeveloped and sterile 
 females. We find a similar arrangement in the societies of 
 ants. 
 
 The Males, or Drones, are larger than the workers ; their 
 
 Tenthredo. 
 
136 INSECTS HYMENOPTERA DIAGRAM C. 
 
 thorax is hairy, and their legs are not adapted for working, like 
 those of the workers. They consequently perform no labour. 
 
 The Female or Queen has a very long abdomen. Her legs are 
 not adapted for working, and she has no other occupation than 
 laying eggs. There is never more than one queen in a hive. 
 
 The Workers may be known by their small size. Their hind 
 legs have a very remarkable structure. One part is triangular, 
 hollowed out above. On examining the bees which enter and 
 leave the hive, we discover that they bring home part of their 
 spoil in these hollows, as if in baskets. The next part of the leg 
 is equally remarkable ; it is square, and provided with several 
 rows of short, rough hairs, which make it look like a brush, which 
 is the use made of it by the insect. We often see the bees dive 
 into flowers, and come out covered with the pollen, which is yellow 
 for instance in the lily, and black in the tulip. The bee is quite 
 covered with this dust. Then it stands still for a moment ; it 
 brushes itself with the square part of its legs, and carefully 
 removes what it finds on its body ; it gathers it into its baskets, 
 and goes on to collect more from other flowers. We shall 
 see presently what it does with this pollen. 
 
 The workers have a sting at the end of the abdomen, the 
 puncture of which is rendered more painful by a venom which is 
 simultaneously injected into the wound. To see the sting well, it 
 is enough to push a bee against a pane of glass with a straw. 
 We then perceive, after several trials, its dart, which 
 is scarcely a line in length, and several small drops of 
 venom at the end, as clear as spring water. Bee stings 
 are not generally dangerous to man, but they can 
 make a child very ill. When a strange animal enters 
 a k* ye - to eat ^6 h nev ? the workers immediately 
 rush upon it, and pierce it with their stings till it dies. 
 Man rears bees for the sake of their wax and 
 honey. The wax forms honey-comb. The con- 
 struction of the combs is the great occupation of bees. 
 
 Sting of Bee, j t can j^ observed by making them work under a 
 magnified. 
 
INSECTS HYMENOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 137 
 
 bell glass covered by a basket hive ; it is enough to remove this 
 to follow all the details of their life and labours. Bees make 
 the wax themselves. When we take hold of one, we see that 
 the segments of the abdomen overlap, and partly cover each 
 other. In each space we find a slender flake of wax which 
 gathers there, and is secreted by the skin, like perspiration with 
 us. The bees remove these flakes with their legs, and form combs 
 of them by building and moulding the wax with their mandibles. 
 Each comb is composed of two rows of openings, or cells, connected 
 at their base. These cells are always very regular in shape ; and 
 they have six sides separating them from the six surrounding 
 cells. All the bees work together to build the comb, which 
 increases gradually at the edges ; it is always vertical, so that the 
 cells are hollowed horizontally on its two faces. The provision 
 brought home by the bees on their legs is therefore not used to 
 construct combs, for it is not wax, but is employed for another 
 purpose. The workers make a paste of it, with which they stop up 
 any holes which may exist in the hive ; they plaster up the places 
 where it does not stand even on the plank, so as to keep out 
 draughts, and leave no opening beyond that required for an 
 entrance. When this entrance is larger than they like, they 
 reduce its size with the same plaster, which is called propolis. It 
 is also used for another purpose ; if a large caterpillar or 
 butterfly, as sometimes happens, penetrates into the hive, and 
 they cannot throw it out after killing it, they cover it with 
 propolis, and make a kind of tomb over it, which prevents them 
 from being inconvenienced by the putrefaction of the corpse. 
 
 Bees do not make honey, but simply collect it from flowers ; 
 honey being the sugared nectar found in the flowers. They take 
 as much as possible and swallow it, but it is not digested ; and on 
 reaching the hive, they disgorge it, either to feed the larvae, of 
 which they have the charge, or to store it up in the cells for 
 food during the winter, when the flower season is over. All the 
 honey which we use is only the winter provision of the bees, 
 which we appropriate to ourselves. As honey is only the nectar 
 
138 INSECTS HYMENOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 of flowers, it is better in proportion as the flowers in tlie 
 neighbourhood of the hive are more odoriferous ; whence it follows 
 that there are different qualities of honey. 
 
 Part of the cells are destined to contain honey for the winter, 
 and part to contain the eggs, and rear the young larvae. When 
 the queen is laying, she deposits an egg in each cell. She is 
 always followed by several workers, who see that all goes right. 
 If the queen has accidentally left two eggs in the same cell, the 
 workers take one out, and place it in an adjoining empty cell. 
 After the eggs are laid, the workers never cease to tend first the 
 eggs, and then the larvae, which form what is called the brood. 
 
 The larva grows and changes its skin several times within the 
 space of six or seven days ; when it ceases to eat, and is about to 
 undergo its first metamorphosis, the workers close the opening of 
 the cell with a wax covering, which the young bee gnaws its way 
 through when it has reached the perfect state. 
 
 When a new generation of bees is thus born, there is no 
 longer room enough in the hive ; but the young ones still remain 
 there as long as there is no new queen. But as soon as a new 
 queen has emerged from the pupa, all the new generation goes 
 with her to look for a dwelling elsewhere ; and this forms what 
 is called a swarm. All the bees of the swarm fly together, and 
 afterwards assemble in a compact mass on some tree in the 
 neighbourhood. They can then be taken all together, and put 
 into a hive, where they soon begin to work, and make combs in 
 their turn. 
 
 In order to collect the honey and wax, the bees are driven away 
 or stupified. Then the combs are removed. In some countries, 
 where the bees' wax is very fine, it is eaten with the honey ; in 
 other countries, the honey and wax are collected separately, by 
 melting the latter. Wax thus obtained is yellow, and it is 
 whitened by different methods, and is then called virgin-wax in 
 commerce. Bees' wax is not used in the manufacture of sealing- 
 wax, which is made of vegetable resins. 
 
 Wasps and Humble-lees also make combs of more or less 
 
INSECTS HYMENOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 139 
 
 regularity, which are found in woods, with the cells partly filled 
 with honey, and partly with brood. Wasps' combs are not 
 formed of wax, but of a substance resembling grey or brownish 
 paper. We sometimes find pretty wasps' nests as large as 
 walnuts, which only contain a small number of cells. These nests 
 are made by the female only, who works, instead of doing nothing 
 like the queen bee, and she alone rears the larvae which emerge 
 from the eggs which she lays in the nest. But these larvae 
 produce workers which immediately begin to build the large nests 
 which are found in hollow trees, holes, and sometimes under the 
 roofs of houses. 
 
 Ants. Ants are not less interesting than bees, although they 
 are of no known use to man. Ants, like bees, live in colonies, 
 consisting of males, females, and workers, the females in each 
 anthill preponderating. The workers have no wings, and are the 
 ants which are seen everywhere, and which are always so in- 
 teresting to observe. 
 
 Ants have !no wax, and build underground dwellings which 
 sometimes contain a great number of halls and galleries, extending 
 a long distance below the surface. To watch an anthill and its 
 neighbourhood is one of the most interesting spectacles that can 
 be imagined. 
 
 In the morning before sunrise, all is quiet in the neighbourhood, 
 and the anthill is closed, no opening being visible for the exit of 
 the ants, which are all inside. But when the sun has risen, we 
 see some workers clearing away the soil, and making doors by 
 which the other ants soon come out. In the evening, these gates 
 are again closed, and they are thus opened every morning and 
 shut every night. 
 
 However, the other ants go in all directions, along paths 
 under the grass and moss, which correspond to their highways, 
 and sometimes extend very far. They come and go, meet, stop, 
 and touch each other's antennae as if to speak. Those which 
 return are generally loaded. Sometimes they have much 
 difficulty in carrying their burden, which may be a twig, a bit of 
 
140 INSECTS HYMENOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 dead leaf, a cockchafer's wing, or even a whole cockchafer. In the 
 latter case several ants join in carrying so large a body ; some pull, 
 others push, and at last it arrives at the gate of the ant-hill. 
 If the gate is too^[narrow, other workers enlarge it to allow the 
 body of the cockchafer to pass, and it is afterwards reduced to 
 its former dimensions. 
 
 The workers are entrusted with all the labour ; they build an d 
 repair the house, they take care of the eggs, and feed the larvse. 
 They also seek the honey of flowers, with which 
 they feed the white and almost motionless 
 larva*. Then, if the weather is fine and not too 
 hot or too cold, as these larvse cannot walk, they 
 bring them into the sun, and lay them on the 
 anthill. When a little rain falls, or they are 
 disturbed, they remove these larvse, which are 
 Worker Ant. larger than themselves, with their mandibles, 
 and descend into the interior. These larvse are generally called 
 ants' eggs. If we look at them, we shall [see the segments of 
 their body, and perceive that they are not eggs ; the eggs them- 
 selves are much smaller, and the ants only bring the larvae to the 
 sun when they are already large. 
 
 The larvae spin a cocoon in which they undergo their meta- 
 morphosis, and when the time comes for them to emerge, the 
 other ants assist them, and afterwards arrange all the old empty 
 cocoons in a corner of the anthill. 
 
 Ants are generally*courageous.^. When they are molested, or 
 an attempt is made to destroy their house, they rush out in great 
 agitation, and some try to drive away the enemy while others 
 repair the damage. When fighting, the ants rise on their hind 
 legs, and bring their abdomen forward, from which they discharge 
 small drops of a transparent and very acrid liquid at the 
 enemy. 
 
 It often happens that an anthill is inhabited by two kinds of 
 workers, one large, and armed with strong mandibles, and the 
 others smaller. But it soon appears that the two kinds of 
 
INSECTS HYMENOPTEHA DIAGRAM G. 
 
 141 
 
 Female Ant. 
 
 workers seem to play a different part in the community. The 
 
 large ones, those armed with strong mandibles, do not work. 
 
 They seem to rest all day, but if an enemy threatens the anthill, 
 
 they come out to attack it ; these are especially soldiers. The 
 
 others are specially labourers, and take 
 
 care of and repair the dwelling ; they fetch 
 
 provisions, and even bring food to the ants 
 
 who do not take the trouble to go in search 
 
 of it. These working ants are not the 
 
 same species, but the captives of the others, 
 
 who sally forth from time to time to plunder 
 
 the nests of feebler species to obtain 
 
 workers. The slave-making ants are not 
 
 natives of Britain, but are found on the 
 
 Continent. 
 
 The males and females of ants have large'wings with which they 
 rise in the air, and we sometimes see considerable swarms carried 
 about by the wind. 
 
 The habits of ants differ much according to the country which 
 they inhabit, and according to the situation of the anthill, and it is 
 always very instructive to observe and study those of our native 
 species. They do not all make their dwellings in the ground. 
 Some prefer trunks of dead trees, in which they sometimes hollow 
 out very long galleries, with rooms at various intervals. 
 
 The Ichneumon. Sometimes when we crush^ a caterpillar in 
 spring, we observe that its body is 
 full of other living larvas. These 
 larvae are those of a small hymen- 
 opterous insect called an ichneumon- 
 fly, which has its abdomen furnished 
 with a very long point or ovipositor. 
 The ichneumon is a winged insect, 
 .and when the female is about to 
 lay, she settles on a caterpillar, 
 pierces its skin with her ovipositor, 
 
 Ichneumon. 
 
142 
 
 INSECTS HYMENOPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 and deposits her eggs in the body of the caterpillar. The eggs 
 hatch, and the young larva? feed on the flesh of the caterpillar, 
 which suffers a living death while these larvse devour it. At last 
 it dies, when the larvaB of the ichneumon emerge, and spin round 
 its body the cocoons in which they undergo their metamorphosis. 
 
 The Cynipidos are other small Hymenoptera in which the 
 ovipositor instead of being straight, as in the Ichneumons, is 
 spirally rolled. The ichneumons are serviceable to man by 
 destroying caterpillars ; and the cynipidaa are also useful animals, 
 
 Gall Nut. 
 
 Cynips of 
 the Ink-gall. 
 
 Cynips, magnified. 
 
 but in a different way. They pierce the leaves of trees to lay 
 their eggs there. Where they have pierced the plant, a gall is 
 produced. When it is carefully opened, we always find a number 
 of the larvse of the cynips in the middle. In some countries 
 a great trade is carried on in these galls, because they are used 
 for making black ink. Those which are sold under the name of 
 gall-nuts are produced by a cynips which pierces the leaves of a 
 kind of oak. 
 
INSECTS D1PTERA DIAGRAM C. 143 
 
 ORDER DIPTERA. 
 
 This order may be known immediately by the insects which 
 compose it having but two wings; they have also no jaws, but 
 only a proboscis or a sucker. 
 
 The Gnats and Mosquitoes live near water, and lay their eggs on 
 its surface ; the eggs are joined together in] regularly shaped 
 masses, and resemble a little boat floating on the water. The 
 larvjfc are aquatic, and swim by jerks by doubling themselves up. 
 They rise to the surface with their head downwards. They 
 breathe by the extremity of the body, where the trachese open. 
 The pupae are also aquatic, and swim by jerks, but may be known 
 
 Gnat magnified. Gnat. Larva of Gnat 
 
 magnified. 
 
 by a kind of horns near the head. In their perfect state, the 
 gnats fly chiefly in the evening, and light upon men and animals 
 to suck their blood ; they bury their sucker rapidly under the 
 skin, and the wound which they make remains painful for some 
 time, on account of the venom discharged into it. The shrill 
 noise which gnats, and especially mosquitoes make when flying, is 
 caused by the rapid motion of their wings, which strike the air 
 several thousands of times in a minute. 
 
144 INSECTS DIPTERA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 The Fly. There are a great many different species of flies, 
 some of which have a fine blue or green metallic colour. In the 
 larva state the fly is called a maggot. Anglers use them to bait 
 their hooks. The blue flesh-fly lays its eggs on meat which is 
 beginning to decompose. The eggs are white, rather large, and 
 form in small clusters. The maggots which proceed from them 
 feed on the putrefying meat. When the time has come for them 
 to undergo their metamorphosis, they hide in dark and dry 
 places. When they have found a place that suits them, they 
 shrink up, turn brown, and thus become chrysalides without 
 making a cocoon, or changing their skin. At the end of about 
 eleven days, the fly emerges from the chrysalis. 
 
 The old skin of the larva splits at one end, as if it could not 
 contain the animal within it. The fly, when ready to emerge, 
 swells its head, which makes the chrysalis split ; it swells itself 
 again to get rid of the covering which surrounds it ; and at last 
 it stands on its legs ; but it is pale in colour, its wings are soft, 
 and it cannot fly, and remains quiet in one place. But in a few 
 minutes its wings have dried, its skin has become dark, and it flies 
 away. 
 
 The (Estrus is a fly the larva of which has very singular habits. 
 
 The fly lays its eggs on living 
 animals, horses, oxen, or 
 sheep. As soon as the larvse 
 are hatched, they bury them- 
 selves under the skin, where 
 they remain, and sometimes 
 (Estrus. Lava of (Estrus. form a small tumour in which 
 
 the larvre are found when they are opened ; they only leave it 
 when they are about to go into the pupa state, when they fall on 
 the ground, and there undergo their last metamorphosis. 
 
 But some cestri lay their eggs on the fore legs of the horse, 
 where he can reach them with his tongue. When he begins to 
 feel a little pain there, he licks the spot, and swallows the young 
 larvae. Their strong outer skin cannot be digested by the 
 
INSECTS PARASITA DIAGRAM 7. 145 
 
 gastric juice, and therefore the larva does not die. It attaches 
 itself to the surface of the stomach, and continues to live there 
 until the time for its first metamorphosis, then it drops into the 
 food, and is expelled from the body, when it becomes a fly at the 
 end of a certain time. 
 
 The Gadfly, instead of having a proboscis like the flies, has a 
 sucker like the gnats. It pierces horses to feed on their blood, 
 making a large wound, from which the blood flows in abundance. 
 The gadfly also attacks man ; its puncture is not dangerous, but it 
 may communicate either to animals or to man a serious disease 
 called carbuncle. This disease 
 generally shows itself by a bright 
 red patch, in the middle of which 
 is a black spot. Where it is sup- 
 posed to exist, a doctor should im- 
 mediately be consulted. Gadflies 
 and other insects which similarly 
 pierce the skin may thus convey 
 carbuncle, but the disease may also 
 be contracted by touching the fresh Gadfly, 
 
 skins of animals which have it. The flies themselves only convey 
 it when they have previously rested on animals which have 
 carbuncle, or have died of it. 
 
 ORDER PARASITA. 
 
 All those animals are called parasites which live on or in other 
 animals. There are also parasitical plants. All parasitic animals, 
 do not belong to the class of insects, although some do. The 
 cestri of which we were speaking, which grow either under the 
 skin of cattle or in the stomach of horses, are parasites, but only 
 in the larva state. In the insects of the order of which we now 
 speak, some are parasites during all their life as the louse ; and 
 
 L 
 
146 INSECTS - PARA8ITA - DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 others are so only in the adult state like the flea. None of them 
 have wings. 
 
 The flea has a sucker, with which it makes painful punctures, 
 like the bug and the gnat. In the larva state they are very 
 active maggots, but these larvae do not live on man ; they live in 
 straw, dust, and old furniture. 
 
 The Louse attaches its eggs, or nits, to the hair ; 
 these eggs have a small lid which the larva? raise 
 to emerge from them. They already resemble the 
 perfect insect. Lice are troublesome animals, like 
 all parasites, but are easily removed by cleanliness. 
 
 Many animals have lice and fleas which differ a 
 little from those which trouble man, but which can 
 a ^ so ^ ve on *k e k uman body? and which may be got 
 
 Nits or E 
 
 of the Louse rid of by similar means. In Diagram 6, we have 
 
 natural siza 
 
 andmagnified given a figure of the louse which infests the duck. 
 
INSECTS AHACHNIDA DIAGRAM 6. 147 
 
 CLASS ARACHNIDA. 
 
 The class Araakiuda, winch at first sight seems greatly to 
 resemble that of insects, is nevertheless very easily distinguished 
 from it. While insects have six legs, 
 the Spiders, and all the animals 
 included with them in this class, have 
 eight legs. There are also other 
 differences,. The head and thorax are 
 united in such a manner that there is 
 no neck. The abdomen itself is some- 
 times joined to the head and thorax, as 
 in the mites ; and the body then forms 
 only a single ovoid mass with eight legs. Spider, back view. 
 The eyes are consequently placed on the corslet, the spider often 
 having six or eight, 
 or even twelve eyes, 
 separated from each 
 other, instead of being 
 united in a cluster 
 like those of insects. Side view O f Spider. 
 
 The remainder of their structure much resembles that of insects ; 
 but they have not metamorphoses, but only moults. 
 
 Many people are often much terrified at spiders, without 
 
148 
 
 INSECTS ARACHNIDA DIAGRAM i . 
 
 exactly knowing why. They cannot generally do much harm, but 
 several spiders have curved hooks at the mouth, which are 
 furnished, like the teeth of the viper, with a venomous 
 apparatus. However, our largest species cannot cause very 
 dangerous wounds, but this is not the case in hot countries, where 
 they are found as large as mice. The spider is one of those 
 animals, whose habits are very interesting to those who like to 
 observe them closely, and it is easy to do this. To seize their 
 prey, they spin nets, but they do not produce their silk by the 
 mouth as in insects. It is by the extremity of the abdomen 
 that the spider spins. When it is about to spin its web 
 anywhere, it experiences great difficulty in attaching the first 
 
 Spider's Web. 
 
 threads. This done the work proceeds quickly enough, and when 
 it is not interfered with, the web is perfectly regular. It often 
 makes a shelter near the web in addition, where it watches for the 
 prey which may become entangled. As soon as a fly has touched 
 the web, the spider darts out, seizes it and sucks its juices ; then 
 
INSECTS ARACHNIDA DIAGRAM 6. 149 
 
 throws the corpse away, or sometimes surrounds it with silken 
 threads and leaves it where it K It repairs the meshes which 
 have been broken, and returns to wait for another victim. All 
 spiders do not lead this sedentary existence ; some species do 
 not make a web, and simply stretch threads here and there. 
 They are found running in the fields, and some of them leap 
 with great agility. They are called running and hunting 
 spiders. 
 
 Spiders are sometimes found which carry a large silken ball 
 attached to their abdomen which they never abandon. This 
 ball is filled with eggs which the female carries everywhere with 
 her. Other species also put their eggs into a silken bag, but 
 they hang it in some part of their web where it will be secure. 
 
 It was formerly pretended that there was a spider in Italy 
 called tarantula, the bite of which causes a desire to dance ; 
 but this is a fable, like so many other tales which are told of 
 animals. 
 
 Mites and the ItcJi-insect. The mites which live in cheese 
 have also eight legs, and consequently be- 
 long to the class Arachnida. Their history 
 would not be very interesting if their form 
 did not resemble that of another animal 
 which is a parasite on man, and which 
 produces the disease called the itch. It 
 is still smaller than the cheese-mite, and 
 makes galleries of about a quarter of an inch / , 
 in length under the epidermis. As it works 
 chiefly at night, it is then that it causes the Itch-mite 
 
 most violent itching. The itch is caught by highly magnified, 
 contact with an infected person, when the itch-mite passes 
 from one person to another. It is always desirable to get 
 rid of these parasites as soon as possible ; but as they are 
 very small and hidden under the skin, medical assistance is 
 necessary. The dog, cat, horse, and dromedary have para- 
 sites which cause itch in them also. These are not the 
 
150 
 
 INSECTS ARACHNIDA DIAGRAM 6, 
 
 same species, but can nevertheless live under our skin, and 
 animals can therefore communicate the itch to man in somo 
 
 cases. 
 
 Scorpions have eight legs like 
 spiders, but do not spin ; their 
 abdomen is composed of several 
 jointed rings, and is furnished 
 with a recurved hook with which 
 they can pierce the skin of an 
 animal, injecting into the wound 
 a venom which causes great pain. 
 These animals are not found in 
 England, though some small and 
 comparatively harmless species 
 are common in South Europe. 
 They live under stones and 
 under the bark of trees, and 
 generally come out at night. 
 They only use their dart when 
 irritated. 
 
 Scorpion. 
 
INSECTS MYRIAPODA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 151 
 
 CLASS MYRIAPODA. 
 
 The best known animals of this small class are the Scolopendrce, 
 or Centipedes. Their body is formed of a great number of rings, 
 
 Scolopendra. 
 
 which are all alike, except the first and last. Each of these rings 
 is furnished with a pair of legs, and the animal advances with the 
 aid of all its legs, which are sometimes a hundred or even more 
 in number. Our small native centipedes live under stones, and are 
 almost innocuous ; but the large centipedes of hot countries 
 inflict very painful and dangerous wounds with two hooks placed 
 on each side of their head. 
 
152 
 
 INSECTS CRUSTACEA DIAGRAM 
 
 CLASS CRUSTACEA, 
 
 The Crustacea , "with the insects Arachnida, and Myriapoda, 
 form the great division of articulate animals, that is, animals 
 formed of segments. The Crustacea may be easily known by 
 always having more than four pairs of legs ; they have ten, as in 
 the crayfish and crab, or a much greater number ; the wood-louse, 
 
 Crab. 
 
 for instance, has fourteen. Crustacea, like insects, have lateral 
 jaws, and eyes in which the facets may easily be seen, but they 
 never breathe by trachea?; they have branchia like fish. They 
 undergo frequent moults. 
 
 The Crayfish. In. the crayfish the head and thorax are united. 
 
INSECTS CRUSTACEA DIAGRAM 7. 153 
 
 They have five pairs of legs, but the first are much larger than the 
 others, and resemble strong pincers. The abdomen is composed of 
 several rings, below which are a kind of limbs called false legs. 
 It is to these that the female attaches her eggs, which she carries 
 everywhere with her. On raising the edges of the hard part, or 
 carapace, which covers the head and thorax, we find, on each side, 
 five branchiae branching like trees. 
 
 The crayfish change their hard skins every year, notwithstand- 
 ing they appear to be so well enclosed in them. When the time 
 of moulting arrives, the carapace detaches itself from the first 
 segment of the abdomen, and splits in the middle at the same 
 time ; and the crayfish giving a violent jerk, gets out of its old 
 skin with an entirely new one. This is not yet as hard as the 
 other, but quite soft ; the animal then hides itself in some hole ; 
 until at the end of a few days its new skin becomes hard, when 
 it resumes its former mode of life. The crayfish, like most 
 Crustacea, is carnivorous. 
 
 The Lobsters are nearly of the same shape as the crayfish, but 
 they are much larger, reaching a foot or more in length, and ten 
 or twelve pounds in weight ; they live in the sea. During life, 
 they are of a bluish-black colour. 
 
 The Crabs are perhaps the most abundant of all Crustacea. The 
 sea-shore swarms with them. They feed on all the dead animals 
 and carcases which are cast up on the beach. They are found at 
 low tide under stones. Some are very active, and run away side- 
 ways. The common edible crab is very large, and has been known 
 to weigh as much as twelve pounds. But they move little, and 
 conceal themselves in the crevices of rocks, and under seaweed. 
 
 Shrimps and prawns are very small Crustacea which are much 
 valued for the table, and swim with great agility in the water. 
 They fish for them at low tide on the sand, with a net with very 
 narrow meshes. 
 
 All Crustacea similar to these which we have mentioned turn red 
 when cooked, but very few are of this colour while living. 
 
 The Woodlice, which live in damp places, are also Crustacea ; 
 
154 
 
 INSECTS CRUSTACEA DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 and there are some species which live in the sea. 
 Most of these are parasitic on fishes and cetacea ; 
 and others are found among rocks and seaweed at 
 low tide. These never grow to a large size, and 
 have always fourteen legs. 
 
 Woocllouso. 
 
INSECTS ANNELIDA DIAGRAM G. 155 
 
 CLASS ANNELIDA. 
 
 The elass Annelida is composed of soft animals formed of 
 numerous segments, which have no limbs. The leech and earth- 
 worm are annelides. These animals are remarkable for their red 
 blood. If we look at the back of a small earth-worm, we see a red 
 filament under the skin. On carefully observing it, we notice that 
 it is sometimes broader and sometimes narrower, and that the 
 slight dilation which it momentarily exhibits, passes along through 
 the whole length of the animal, from back to front. The vessel 
 which exhibits these pulsations is the heart. 
 
 The Earth-worm, like other annelides, has no limbs, but if we 
 look closely at a large one, and especially when we take it in the 
 hand, we see that a great number of short stiff hairs issue from 
 its belly, with which it crawls. It is for this reason that it is so 
 difficult to pull an earth-worm out of its hole when it is partly in 
 it, as it takes hold of the sides of its dwelling with this kind of 
 grapnels. A little in front of the middle of its body, the earth- 
 worm has a swelling, which is called the corslet. If an earth- 
 worm is divided behind the corslet, the anterior portion does not 
 die, and reproduces a tail ; the worm becomes exactly similar to 
 what it was before. Worms feed by swallowing earth. It must 
 not, however, be supposed that this would nourish it ; but there is 
 always a large quantity of animal and vegetable refuse in the 
 ground ; it is these matters which are digested, and which form 
 
156 INSECTS ANNELIDA DIAGRAM 7. 
 
 the true nourishment of the worm. It would soon die if it were 
 obliged to swallow pure sand. 
 
 The Leeches are annelides which have suckers at both extremi- 
 ties of their body to fix themselves ; in the middle of the front 
 sucker is the mouth. Leeches live in stagnant water. They were 
 formerly very much used in medicine, but are now employed much 
 less frequently. They live only on blood. Old horses are driven 
 into the marshes where they breed, and the leeches attach them- 
 selves to their legs. Their mouth is furnished with three hard 
 projections, bearing small sawlike teeth. The leech makes the 
 wound from which it draws blood by making these three projections 
 act on the spot where it is fixed by its sucker. The scars which 
 succeed these wounds are therefore always triangular. The leech 
 gorges itself with blood till it can scarcely move ; but it requires a 
 considerable time to digest this large quantity of food. It can be 
 made to vomit up by laying on it a pinch of salt or tobacco, or 
 even sugar, which is a poison to some animals. 
 
INSECTS INTESTINAL WORMS DIAGRAM 7. 157 
 
 CLASS OF INTESTINAL WORMS. 
 
 Men and animals nourish a large number of parasitic worms in 
 their bodies. They are not always really dangerous to health, 
 except in children : out it is always advisable to get rid of them 
 as soon as possible, and a doctor should always be consulted. 
 
 The Ascaris is the worm which is most commonly found in 
 children. It is much like an earth-worm in shape, and is some- 
 times mistaken for one. But on looking at it, we observe that if 
 it has the same shape, it can neither move so rapidly nor lengthen 
 and contract in the same manner as the earth-worm. The asca- 
 rides live in the digestive tube of animals as well as man. 
 Children contract them more frequently than grown up persons, 
 from their habit of putting in their mouth anything they find, 
 and eating fruit which they pick up on the ground. They often 
 swallow the eggs of ascarides at the same time, which hatch and 
 grow in their stomach. 
 
 The Toenia. This is also called the tape-worm, and it is 
 erroneously supposed that only one can exist in the same 
 person, although several may occur at once, as is indeed often 
 the case. This worm is flat like a ribbon, and is composed 
 of a series of small square pieces attached to each other, which are 
 called rings or segments, in spite of their flat shape. The worm's 
 head is at most not larger than a pin's head ; it is rounded, and 
 exhibits four hollows on the side which are arranged regularly, 
 
158 INSECTS INTESTINAL WORMS DIAGRAM 6. 
 
 and are called suckers. The first segments behind the head are 
 still smaller than this ; but they become larger and larger, and 
 the last are nearly half an inch broad by as much long. There 
 are sometimes a large number of these rings ; there may be 
 several hundreds of them, and the entire worm generally measures 
 several yards. All the rings grow behind the head one after the 
 other, so that the last is always the oldest. The head continues 
 to produce fresh ones as long as it lives. For this reason when a 
 piece of the tape-worm has been voided, it is necessary to look if 
 the head is there ; for if the head has remained in the body, it 
 will form new segments, and at the end of some time will re- 
 produce a worm as long as the piece discharged. 
 
 Isolated segments of a tsenia detached from the extremity of the 
 animal are sometimes discharged. The presence of one or more 
 taenias in the intestines may affect the health ; but it is a mistake 
 to suppose that it eats part of the food which is taken. The tsenia 
 has not even a mouth with which it could swallow anything. 
 
 The Flukes. Flat parasitic worms which crawl like slugs are 
 often found in the liver of sheep ; some are very small, and only 
 a quarter of an inch long, and others measure an inch or an inch 
 and a-half in length, and resemble a leaf; they are called flukes. 
 We also meet with small black or grey worms, very similar 
 to flukes, in marshes, which crawl rapidly on aquatic plants or 
 on the surface of the vessel in which they are placed. These 
 animals are called planarise, and are remarkable, because if they 
 are longitudinally divided in two, as far as the middle of the body, 
 with a sharp pair of scissors or a razor, each half completes itself, 
 and the animal has soon two heads or tails, according as it has 
 been divided in front or behind ; and if we then finish dividing 
 it, we have two complete and separate animals instead of one. 
 
 Worm of tJie Staggers. Parasitic worms do not live only in the 
 intestines. We have just seen that the flukes are found in the 
 liver ; others are found in the brain. Sometimes sheep are 
 attacked by a disease well known to shepherds, and which causes 
 them to turn round instead of walking straight. This complaint 
 
INSECTS INTESTINAL WORMS DIAGRAM G. If) 9 
 
 is caused by a worm of very peculiar form which lives in the brain 
 of the sheep, and which is always found in animals which have 
 died of this disease. It is shaped like a bladder full of water, as 
 large as a nut or a walnut. It does not move, and is not at first 
 recognized as a worm, but nevertheless is one. When this bladder 
 is opened, several white prolongations are noticed in the interior ; 
 and if one is torn with the point of a pin, we find a head just like 
 that of the tapeworm in the centre of each. 
 
 Other worms live in the flesh, and often in the lard of the hog. 
 They also are bladder-shaped, but not larger than peas, or at most 
 than nuts. Like the worm which produces the staggers, these 
 also have a concealed head exactly like that of the taenia. But 
 the most formidable parasite of the hog is the trichina spiralis, 
 which is found in the muscles, and when taken alive into the 
 human body in any number, has frequently caused speedy death. 
 All worms which thus live in the flesh of animals may become 
 dangerous to man when swallowed, if the meat which contains 
 them has not been sufficiently cooked. All meat used for food 
 ought to be well cooked ; and badly cooked, or only smoked meat, 
 should be avoided. All meat which is suspected to be diseased, 
 or to contain worms, ought to be well boiled for a considerable 
 time, after which it may be eaten with impunity. 
 
1GO INSECTS MOLLUSCA DIAGRAM 7. 
 
 SUB-KINGDOM MOLLUSCA. 
 
 This Sub-kingdom has been divided into several groups, of 
 which the most important are the Cephalopoda, which have 
 tentacles which they use for feet (cuttle-fish) ; the Gasteropoda, 
 which crawl on their belly (slugs, snails) ; the Acephala, without 
 heads, enclosed in bivalve shells (oyster, mussel). 
 
 The animals of this class have neither vertebra, like the verte- 
 brata, nor segments like the articulata. Their skin is smooth, as 
 in slugs ; but they are sometimes enclosed like snails and oysters 
 in a shell varying in hardness. Molluscs generally breathe by 
 means of branchiae ; but some among them as the slug, for 
 instance breathes by a lung which opens on the side, behind the 
 head. 
 
 The Slug is a mollusc which will give the best idea of the 
 animals of its class. It crawls about in damp weather, or in the 
 evening, and moves by dragging itself on what is called its foot. 
 Its whole body is covered with a viscous mucous, which leaves a 
 trail behind it. It devours plants and fruits, and does great injury 
 in the garden. 
 
 The Snail is very different from the slug. It walks like it by 
 creeping on its foot ; but it has a shell into which it retires, when 
 danger threatens, or to pass the winter. The snail's shell thus 
 serves it for a house ; but it forms part of itself ; it is attached to 
 its skin, and it cannot go out of it, as is sometimes supposed. 
 
MOLLUSCA DIAGRAM 7. 161 
 
 Snails also eat fruits and plants, but they are themselves eaten in 
 some countries, and are said to be very beneficial to consumptive 
 patients. Those which have fed ou vine-leaves are said to be the 
 best eating. 
 
 The Limnea or Water Snail has a convoluted shell like the snail, 
 and much resembles it ; it lives in ponds, and although an aquatic 
 animal, it breathes like the slug 
 and snail by means of a lung 
 which it comes to the surface of 
 the water to open. A limnea cai^ 
 easily be seen breathing by merely 
 placing it in a glass of water. In Watersnail. 
 
 spring, the limnese lay masses of eggs on aquatic plants, or even on 
 the surface of the vessels in which they are reared. These masses 
 are about an inch long and a quarter of an inch broad. They are 
 formed of a transparent jelly, and are perfectly transparent; the 
 nuclei are easily to be seen. These nuclei gradually enlarge, and 
 when the small limnea} in their eggs have- not yet attained the 
 size of a pin's head, they may be seen to turn round and round* 
 without this movement ever stopping. 
 
 Many mollusca instead of having a spiral shell, like the snail 
 or the limnea, have one formed by two pieces joined by a hinge, 
 and which are called valves. These shells the oyster, cockle, 
 mussel, etc. are called bivalves; and the others are called 
 univalves. The animal sometimes opens the valves of its shell, 
 and sometimes closes them, and is thus completely protected by 
 them: When it is dead, the two valves are always half open. 
 To keep them closed, the animal has a muscle which connects the 
 two, and which must be cut to separate them. In opening an 
 oyster, the edge is broken with a knife, but this is not sufficient, 
 and the muscle which hold the valves together must be cut 
 through before the shell can be forced open. The muscle must 
 then be cut under the animal in order to detach it. The points 
 where the muscle is attached to the two valves are indicated by 
 recognizable marks, 
 
162 MOLLUSC A DIAGRAM 7. 
 
 All the bivalve molluscs do not live attached to rocks like the 
 oyster. The cockle and many others move from cue place to 
 another. So does the fresh-water mussel, which is common in 
 streams and ponds. The oysters, on the contrary, always live 
 fixed in the place where they have attached themselves after 
 their birth. The true sea-mussels anchor themselves by means 
 of filaments which they can reproduce when they have been torn. 
 These filaments are called collectively the byssiis. 
 
 Pearls. When eating oysters, we occasionally find small pearls 
 in them, which are sometimes quite round, and sometimes of a 
 less regular shape ; they are of no value ; but true pearls are also 
 found iii a large kind of oyster called the pearl-oyster, which is 
 only found in tropical seas, especially on the coast of Ceylon. 
 These pearl-oysters are always found at great depths, and are only 
 procured by very skilful divers. In order to sink quicker to 
 the bottom, they put their feet in a loop fastened to a stone 
 which pulls them down ; they remove the shells which they find 
 with a knife, and put them in a basket fastened to a cord ; and 
 then rise to the surface to breathe. True pearls are always very 
 hard, while imitation pearls made of glass are crashed by the 
 slightest force. 
 
 The shell which produces pearls is itself employed in the arts 
 under the name of mother-of-pearl. 
 
 Cuttle-fish. We sometimes pick up a flat oval white object on 
 the sea-shore, which is hard on one side, and friable on the other, 
 and which is very light. This is called the 
 bone of the cuttle-fish ; and is used to make 
 tooth powder. The bone of some species is 
 long, and is called the sectrpen. The cuttle- 
 fish are molluscs which have no shell except 
 this, which is found under the skin of their 
 back. The cuttle-fish have arms round their 
 head, provided with a number of small suckers 
 
 which adhere to any object which they wish 
 Cuttle-fish. . -, . . . . ,. .... 
 
 to seize. Ihc mouth is placed in the middle 
 
MOLLUSCA DIAGRAM 7 
 
 163 
 
 of these arms, and is furnished with a horny beak remarkably 
 similar to that of a parrot. When these animals are alarmed, 
 they discharge into the water a black fluid resembling ink, which 
 is employed in the manufacture of the so-called Indian ink, and of 
 the pigment called Sepia by artists. 
 
 Although our native cuttlefish have no external shell, yet some 
 foreign species known as the Paper Nautilus, and Pearly Nautilus, 
 are celebrated for the beauty of their shells. 
 
KADIATA DIAGRAM i. 
 
 SUB-KINGDOM RADIATA, 
 
 This Sub-kingdom includes animals of very simple organization, 
 all the parts of 'which branch from a common centre. 
 
 The most remarkable of these animals lire in the sea. They 
 are generally formed of hard or homy parts, and very soft parts 
 which cover these, such as the coral, sponge, &c. 
 
 Red Coral grows in branches attached to the rocks. They fish 
 for it in the Mediterranean with nets of iron wire, which catch it 
 in their meshes and break it. When the coral is alive, its 
 branches are seen to be covered with pretty star-like flowers with 
 eight petals. But on looking at these supposed flowers, we soon 
 see that they move, and that their petals open and close, and 
 lengthen and contract. Each of these is an animal, and it is this 
 which gradually forms the coral, as the oyster forms its shell. 
 Coral therefore only resembles plants because it has branches, but 
 it is in reality an animal. The kind used in trade is of a fine red 
 colour. But there are many other 'corals in the sea which arc 
 white, and are called brain-coral, sea-mushrooms, &c., from their 
 fancied resemblances to various objects. 
 
 Sponge. Another group of these singular creatures is the 
 sponge, which is found at the bottom of the sea, and is also an 
 animal. There are many small species of sponge found in the 
 British seas ; but the kind used for household purposes is found, 
 like the red coral we have just mentioned; in the Mediterranean. 
 When it is found in the sand, it is heavy, and full of a glairy flesh, 
 Which is allowed to rot, and is the living part of the sponge. 
 When all this has been removed by repeated washings, the horny, 
 
IUDIATA DIAGRAM 7. 
 
 165 
 
 solid framework remains, whicli supported the flesh of the animal ; 
 and it is this horny part alone which is used. 
 
 The Sea-anemones are closely allied to the corals, but have no 
 hard skeleton ; they live fixed to rocks, and when they open and 
 unfold their beautifully-coloured tentacles, they appear like 
 moving flowers. 
 
 The Medusce, or Jelly-fish, somewhat resemble the anemones, 
 but live floating on the sea. Some sting severely, but they 
 consist almost entirely of sea-water ; and even the largest species, 
 though measuring two or three feet across, will dissolve so com- 
 pletely as to leave no more than a film on paper. 
 
 The Starfish, which have five 
 or more arms radiating from the 
 centre of the body, and the sea- 
 hedgehogs, or sea-eggs, which are 
 round and covered with spines, 
 are also radiata. 
 
 Some authors also place 
 this 
 
 in 
 
 sub-kingdom those swarms 
 
 Medusa. 
 
 Starfish. 
 
 Infusoria, magnified. 
 150 times. 
 
 Infusoria, magnified Infusoria, magnified 
 300 times. 100 times. 
 
166 
 
 RADIATA DIAGRAM 7. 
 
 of exceedingly minute animals called infusoria, or animalcules; 
 bnt which can only be seen by the assistance of a powerful 
 microscope. They principally live in stagnant water. 
 
VEGETABLE KINGDOM DIAGRAM 8. 167 
 
 VEGETABLE KINGDOM, 
 
 THE Vegetable Kingdom includes all plants. These are as 
 different among themselves as animals. To see this, we have only 
 to compare a patch of mould on a pot of preserves with an oak or 
 a fir-tree ; and it is therefore necessary to divide vegetables like 
 animals into large divisions and classes. But before speaking of 
 these, we ought to consider the various parts of which a plant is 
 composed, by taking examples from among the commonest plants. 
 In order to study what a plant is, we may set some beans in a 
 flower-pot to see them grow. While waiting for them to appear 
 above ground, let us examine how a bean is formed, and for this 
 purpose we may put one to swell and soften in water for a day or 
 two. If we then open it, we first find a skin or envelope 
 entirely separate from its contents. The interior itself is formed 
 of two halves, which are very easily separated, and which are only 
 united by a point. These two halves are called cotyledons. If 
 the bean is sufficiently softened, we sh%ll see, when these are 
 carefully opened, a very small plant to which they adhere, pressed 
 between them ; a kind of bud is already visible at one extremity, 
 and a root at the other. Between the bud and root, the little 
 plant is united to the cotyledons in such a manner as to form 
 part of them. If we now follow day by day the growth of our 
 beans in the flower-pot, this is what we shall observe ; the 
 
168 VEGETABLE KINGDOM DIAGRAM 8. 
 
 cotyledons, swelling in the damp earth, finally split the envelope ; 
 the small plant then frees itself, though still remaining attached to 
 the cotyledons ; the bud rises into the air, and becomes the stem 
 and leaves, and the root strikes into the earth. The two coty- 
 ledons still remain attached to the plant between the stem and the 
 root for a short time, like two large leaves, by a thick stalk, but 
 afterwards fall off. 
 
 Plants have never more than two cotyledons, but a great 
 number have only one. Plants which have two are called 
 Dicotyledons, and those which have only one, Monocotyledons ; 
 while plants which have none at all are designated Acotyledons. 
 Acotyledonous plants differ very much from others; they are 
 mosses, fungi, lichens, &c. Dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous 
 plants also differ from one another, so that in most cases there is 
 no occasion to count the cotyledons of the seeds to know in which 
 class they should be placed, for the trunk, leaf, and flower show 
 plainly if the plant belongs to one or other of the two divisions, as 
 we shall see by the examples which we shall give further on. 
 
 The Trunk. When the stem of the plant is of large dimensions, 
 it is called the trunk. Trees have a trunk which is sometimes so 
 large that a man can get into it when it is hollow. 
 
 If we saw through the trunk of a tree about a yard from the 
 ground, we first notice that it is formed of three parts ; the bark, 
 the wood, and, lastly, the pith in the centre. The pith is very 
 light and soft, and is surrounded by the medullary sheath, which is 
 often very small in timber trees, but it is sometimes much larger, 
 as for instance, in the branches of the elder, where the pith fills 
 more space than the wood. 
 
 The Wood itself forms two layers, which can easily be distin- 
 guished ; the inner layer fs darker than the other, and much 
 harder. This is called the heart of the wood. The outer portion 
 is less dark and hard. The difference between the heart of the 
 wood and the outer layer, or sap-ivood, is more conspicuous in some 
 woods than others. Ebony, for instance, is the heart of a tree, the 
 outer layer of which is white, like deal. 
 
VEGETABLE KINGDOM DIAGRAM 8. 169 
 
 On looking afresh at the section of the trunk of a tree, we 
 notice concentric rings around its r>ith, which increase in number 
 with the age of the tree. It was formerly supposed that one of 
 these layers was formed under the bark every year, and that their 
 number would indicate the age of the tree ; but it is now known 
 that two or even three layers may be added in one year when the 
 tree is growing rapidly. These layers, which grow annually under 
 the bark of trees, gradually cover up notches which have been cut 
 into the wood, or nails which are driven into it. If, for instance, a 
 nail is driven into a tree which has only twenty concentric layers, 
 as far as the outer part of the pith, it will remain there, because 
 the layers of wood once formed do not alter. But other layers will 
 gradually be added to the first twenty, and afterwards, when the 
 tree is cut down, we shall find the nail in the heart of the wood, 
 without its having stirred from its place. We can also find again 
 in the wood, designs cut into the outer wood, and which have thus 
 been gradually covered by a layer of fresh wood every season. 
 
 The trunks of all trees are not broad near the ground, tapering 
 off to the last branch. Some, like the agave, but more especially 
 the palm-tree, grow to a great height, but are as slender below as 
 above. They only grow in length, and have no concentric rings ; 
 and the wood is not hardest in the centre, but under the bark. 
 Trunks of this description are only found^ among monocoty- 
 ledonous plants. 
 
 The stem or trunk is continued downwards by the root. This 
 has often a conical shape, and strikes into the ground like a pivot ; 
 such are the salsify and the carrot. All trees have roots of this kind. 
 When they are torn up, the central root is seen to separate into a 
 number of branching filaments. These are the organs by which the 
 root pumps up the water from the earth ; and when a tree is 
 transplanted, they ought to be damaged as little as possible. 
 Dicotyledonous plants alone have a root of this kind ; monocoty- 
 ledons never have, and their root is always composed of fibres 
 which are all of equal size, and which all separate from the stalk 
 without ever ramifying. Such is the root of wheat or leek. 
 
170 
 
 VEGETABLE KINGDOM DIAGRAM 9. 
 
 The stem raises the leaves into the air; they are generally 
 renewed every year ; the stalk which supports them is called tho 
 petiole. The surface of the leaf is supported by the nervures ; to 
 see them well, an oak-leaf may be dried in a book, and then 
 rubbed gently with a brush. AH the parenchyma between the 
 neiTures fall off, and only the latter remain. Only dicotyledonous 
 plants have nervures like those of the oak. Monocotyledons havo 
 none, and the leaf seems to be formed of parallel fibres only, as 
 may be seen in the leaves of the lily, the leek, the wheat, and tho 
 reed, which are monocotyledonous plants. 
 
 Ordinary leaves are called simple leaves, but there are also 
 compound leaves; and the separate 
 parts of these are called leaflets. The 
 horse-chestnut has four or five leaflets, 
 springing from the 
 end of the same 
 petiole, which to-' 
 gether form a leaf, 
 In the acacia and 
 rose tree the po- 
 Kose Leaf. tiole terminates in 
 
 one leaflet, and other leaflets are arranged two and two on opposite 
 sides ; which also together form one leaf. To see if the leaf is 
 simple or compound, we must observe the position of the bud 
 which is at the axis of every petiole. When, as in the acacia or 
 chestnut-leaf, the bud is at the axis of the common petiole, then 
 all the small leaves which it bears are only leaflets. They all fall 
 off together with the common stalk. 
 
 Chestnut Leaf. 
 
VEGETABLE KINGDOM DIAGRAM 10, 171 
 
 RESPIRATION AND NUTRITION OP PLANTS. 
 
 The root, stalk, and leaves serve for the respiration, absorption 
 and nutrition of plants ; for plants, like animals, breathe and feed. 
 They breathe air by their leaves ; and they feed on the water which 
 they pump up by their roots, and which always contains a great 
 number of salts and other substances in solution. We have seen 
 that in breathing, animals absorb the oxygen of the air, and 
 breathe out carbonic acid. But the breathing of plants during the 
 day is just the reverse ; plants absorb the carbonic acid of the air, 
 and reject the oxygen. Therefore plants purify the air we breathe, 
 and it is partly for this reason that it is more healthy to live in 
 the country than in town. 
 
 Nevertheless, cut plants in a room may become disagreeable on 
 account of their odour, which makes some persons ill ; and it is 
 injurious to sleep in a room which contains bunches of flowers. 
 
 The water absorbed by the roots is changed into sap, and this 
 rises from the roots to the leaves. It is enough to cut a branch of 
 some trees in spring to see the sap flow in abundance. The sap is 
 often sweet. 
 
 But sap is not always the only liquid which flows in vegetable 
 tissues. When we break the stalk of a spurge, of a poppy, or a 
 dandelion, a milk-white or yellow fluid exudes. This liquid has a 
 very acrid taste, and is very different from the sap ; it is called 
 the milk of the plant. Some of these are used in pharmacy 
 and in the arts ; opium, india-rubber, and gutta-percha are 
 the milky juices of trees which grow in warm countries. This 
 milk, though generally more or less acrid and poisonous, is 
 not always so ; and the milk of some tropical trees is sweet and 
 nourishing. 
 
 The Floiucr is that part of the plant destined to produce the 
 fruit and seed, from which a fresh plant will spring. Many 
 flowers are beautifully coloured ; but this is not always the case, 
 as they are sometimes very small and inconspicuous. The nettle, 
 
172 VEGETABLE KINGDOM DIAGRAM 10. 
 
 hazel, and oak have flowers, but they are inconspicuous, and not 
 adorned with bright colours. 
 
 In order to study the different parts of a complete flower, we 
 shall take the rocket for an example. We will notice its pecu- 
 liarities, and then, in studying the different families of plants, will 
 observe what differences they present. If we have not a rocket in 
 flower, we can just as well study the flower of the rape, the turnip, 
 or the wild mustard ; for all these are plants of the same family, 
 and very similar, and we only mentioned the rocket in preference 
 because it is a little larger. But we must add one caution, a 
 garden rocket should not be chosen, because cultivated plants 
 frequently lose their characters. 
 
 Imagine us looking at the flower of a rocket. The first thing 
 we see at the end of the stalk which supports it, are four outer 
 sepals, which surrounds the bud before it opens. These form the 
 calyx, which is sometimes simple, or composed of a single piece 
 surrounding the whole base of the flowers ; and sometimes 
 compound. It is generally coloured something like the leaves. 
 
 Within the calyx is the corolla. This is the brilliant portion 
 of the flower, which is composed of four petals in our rockets ; 
 the wild rose has five. There may be a larger number, or else 
 only one, as in the blue-bell. The corolla is also said to be 
 simple or compound. The parts which form a corolla are called 
 petals. 
 
 If the calyx and corolla are removed, the essential parts of the 
 flower remain, the pistil in the middle, and the stamens around 
 it. 
 
 There are six stamens in the rocket, They are formed of a 
 filament or thread which supports a kind of yellow bag. When 
 the flower has come to maturity, this opens, and discharges a 
 powder which adheres to the fingers. In the lily, for example, it 
 is very abundant. This dust is called the pollen. 
 
 In the midst of the stamens is the pistil. It is simple, swollen 
 at the base ; and this, which is the most important part, is called 
 the ovary. When the ovary is opened, we can already perceive 
 
VEGETABLE KINGDOM DIAGRAM 10. 173 
 
 that it is this which "will become the fruit when the flower has 
 faded. The fruit is in reality only the ripened ovary. When the 
 plant is still in flower, we can perceive some small white points 
 in the ovary, which are the future seeds. Above the ovary is a 
 stalk with a swelling at the top, on which the pollen falls. Other- 
 wise the ovary does not ripen, and there is no fruit, and conse- 
 quently no seeds. 
 
 But all flowers are not so well formed as that of the rocket. 
 Many have no calyx, as the lily and the tulip ; others have no 
 corolla, but only a calyx. The stamens are more or less numerous, 
 and there are sometimes several pistils. Again, the pistils and 
 stamens do not always exist in the same flower, nor on the same 
 plant. The plants and flowers which bear stamens are then called 
 male ; and those which bear the pistils, and are consequently the 
 only ones which bear fruit, are called female. The hemp is one 
 of these plants with separate sexes ; and the stalks which bear the 
 female flowers and which produce seed are larger than those with 
 male flowers and stamens. 
 
 Fruits. When the ovary has arrived at maturity, it becomes a 
 fruit, as we have said. There are a great many varieties of fruits ; 
 some enclose several seeds, and others only one ; some are fleshy 
 or pulpy, and others hard; and sometimes the fruit seems to 
 consist of the seed only, as in wheat, barley, and oats. 
 
 In the apple, the pippin is the seed, and there are several in a 
 single fruit. In the date, the seed is the stone, where there is 
 only a single seed to each fruit. It is the same in the peach and 
 plum, but here the seed is only the kernel of the stone ; the shell 
 of the kernel forms part of the fruit. 
 
 In the poppy, the fruit is hard and horny ; and is then called 
 the capsule. The seeds are lodged in this capsule, which may 
 have several valves or cavities. Beans and peas are seeds con- 
 tained in a capsule with two valves and a single cavity. On the 
 contrary, the fruit of the rocket and the rape is a capsule with 
 two valves and two cavities separated by a partition, The fruits 
 of the gooseberry and currant are called berries; and the seeds 
 
174 VEGETABLE KINGDOM DIAGRAM 10. 
 
 are placed in the midst of a watery pulp. In the strawberry, the 
 seeds are arranged round a fleshy mass, which is eaten, and is 
 therefore called the fruit. 
 
 Sleep of Plants. The life of plants is as interesting to study as 
 that of animals, and on closely observing them, we notice in them 
 a number of curious actions. Thus many plants sleep at night. 
 In the evening the leaflets of the acacia gradually contract two 
 and two together, and the common stalk droops a little. Next 
 morning the stalk rises, and the leaflets unfold again for the whole 
 day. The sleep of clover is equally remarkable. On the approach 
 of evening, the two lateral leaflets of the three which compose its 
 compound leaf fold together, while the middle one folds over the 
 two others, and covers them like a roof. In the morning, the 
 three leaflets unfold afresh. 
 
DICOTYLEDONS DIAGRAM lo. 175 
 
 CLASS OF DICOTYLEDONS; 
 
 OK, PLANTS OF WHICH THE SEED HAS TWO COTYLEDONS. 
 
 FAMILY UMBELLIPBR^E. 
 
 The family of Umbellifercv includes a great number of useful or 
 aromatic plants, such as the parsnip, the anise, the caraway, the 
 chervil, the ^;ewsfey, celery and carrot: and other plants, which 
 are poisonous, such as the hemlock, and the hemlock u'ater drop- 
 wort. The umbelliferae may easily be known, because all their 
 flowers are arranged so as to form a kind of parasol or umbrella, 
 whence they derive their name ; the stalk terminates suddenly, 
 and radiates from this point a number of small stalks, often 
 surrounded at the base with a sort of frill of leaves. Most of 
 these short stalks divide in their turn a little higher up, like the 
 principal stalk ; and there is also a second frill of leaves. Each 
 of these divisions bears a flower. This has a corolla with five 
 petals and five stamens. The corolla and stamens are inserted 
 upon the ovary itself, as is the case in many plants. The flower 
 of the umbelliferee is always small. 
 
 The stems of the umbelliferse are often hollow : and there are 
 very few trees in this family. The flowers of the elder seem also 
 to form an umbel ; but it is easy to see that they httve not the 
 same characters* 
 
17G DICOTYLEDONS SOLANACE^E DIAGRAM 13. 
 
 The carrot grows in Britain in a wild state, but tlie root is not 
 so large nor red as it becomes when cultivated. The leaves of 
 the carrot are compound, with a great many divisions. The stem 
 of the carrot, like that of most other umbelliferze, dies every year 
 when the seeds are ripe ; bnt the root still lives, and throws np 
 a new stalk in the following year. Each fruit, as in all umbelli- 
 fera, contains two seeds ; those of the anise and caraway are very 
 aromatic, whereas, in the parsley, chervil, and angelica, it is the 
 leaves and stalks which are valued for their flavour. 
 
 Poisonous umbellifera? may generally be known by the disagree- 
 able smell which is perceived on rubbing one of their leaves in the 
 hands. The hemlock is a large plant with reddish spots on the 
 stem. The fool's parsley is much commoner, and care must be 
 taken not to mistake it for the real parsley. It may always be 
 known by the shape of the leaf frill at the base of the last stalks 
 which support the flowers. This frill is composed of three leaves, 
 called bracts, as narrow as threads, which are drooping, and all 
 three placed together on the same side of the stalk. 
 
 FAMILY SOLANACB^E. 
 
 The family of the Solanacecu, like that of the Umbellifera?, 
 includes at once plants which are among the most useful to man, 
 as the egg-plant, the tobacco., the tomato- f the potato, and the 
 capsicum ; as well as the most poisonous plants, such as the night- 
 shade and the thorn-apple. It is true that some of these are of 
 great service in the hands of physicians, and then become useful 
 plants. The Solanacea? sometimes grow to small trees. Their 
 flowers differ considerably from that of the potato, which is wheel - 
 shaped, to that of tobacco) which is bell-shaped. But the calyx is 
 
DICOTYLEDONS SOLANACEJ2 DIAGRAM 13. 177 
 
 always simple, with five indentations ; and the corolla is similar. 
 Lastly, there are five stamens, which in the potato and the night- 
 shade, are perforated with a small hole, through which the pollen 
 es'capes. 
 
 The potatoes which we eat are swellings which are formed at 
 different points of the long creeping roots of the plant. These 
 swellings are called tubers ; they are formed by the large quantity 
 of starch which collects there. The starch in potatoes may be 
 extracted by crushing them, and afterwards sifting the bruised 
 pulp in water.. The grains of starch, being very small, pass 
 through the sieve, and sink to the bottom of the vessel by their 
 own weight. 
 
 If a potato-plant is left without being pulled up, the plant dies 
 at the end of the year, but next year each potato produces a new 
 shoot from the hollows which it contains, and which are called 
 eyes. A field of potatoes is always planted with pieces of potato 
 which still contain the eyes. If potatoes are kept in a damp and 
 dark place during the winter, these eyes are seen to bud, and 
 produce long pale filaments, on which pale yellow leaves some- 
 times grow. They are of a yellow colour because they have grown 
 in darkness ; and in order that the leaves of plants may acquire 
 their fine green colour, it is always necessary for them to be 
 exposed to the sun, or at least to daylight. The hearts of 
 cabbages and lettuces are not so green as the leaves surrounding 
 them ; and in the same way, the earth is heaped round celery, that 
 the leaves may remain yellow, and that the light may not turn 
 them green. The parts which thus remain yellow are also more 
 tender. 
 
 In the Tobacco, the leaves are used for the very general practices 
 of smoking, chewing, and snuffing. The leaves are pulled off, and 
 allowed to dry; when they are yellow, they undergo some 
 preparation, and are then rolled up to make cigars, or chopped to 
 make smoking tobacco, or powdered to make snuff. The use of 
 tobacco is never indispensable ; it can always be given up, and it 
 is often injurious to those who are addicted to it. The flowers of 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 DICOTYLEDONS SOLANACE^E DIAGRAM 13. 
 
 Tobacco. 
 
 Tobacco Flower. 
 
 the tobacco are arranged in pretty clusters, like those of the 
 potato ; and a capsule succeeds each flower, 
 containing small seeds which are sown 
 every year. 
 
 Many solanacese bear 
 berries which are always 
 dangerous to eat, and some 
 are very poisonous. The 
 berries of the bitter-sweet, 
 or woody nightshade, which 
 grows in hedges, are first 
 green and then red ; they 
 have a sweetish taste, 
 which soon changes to 
 bitter. The berries of 
 the deadly nightshade are of a reddish 
 brown, and the calyx of the flower re- 
 mains adherent to them. This plant, 
 which is one of the most poisonous found 
 in this country, should be very carefully 
 avoided. It is generally very dangerous 
 to eat unknown berries, however tempting 
 they may look. It is easy to perceive 
 when children have been made ill by 
 eating the berries of the deadly night- 
 shade, for the pupil of the eye is very 
 Deadly Nightshade. much dilated, so that the iris is scarcely 
 visible. The child should be made to vomit immediately, and a 
 doctor should be sent for. 
 
 Other solanaceas which are cultivated have highly esteemed and 
 wholesome fruit, such as the egg-plant and the tomato, as well as 
 the capsicum, the fruit of which is used in pickles. 
 
DICOTYLEDONS CHENOPODIACE^E DIAGRAM 13. 
 
 179 
 
 FAMILY EUPEORBIACE^E. 
 
 This family includes a number of plants which have a very- 
 peculiar appearance. The various kinds of spurge belong to the 
 family Euphorbiacese. The flower ex- 
 hibits no striking colours, and there is a 
 large pistil in the centre, from which we 
 can already perceive the shape which 
 the fruit will take. Many euphorbiacese 
 have a milk-white and very acrid juice. 
 
 The Box belongs to this family. It 
 J s an evergreen, and grows very slowly. 
 However, it becomes a large tree in 
 time, and its wood is very expensive. 
 It is used for wood engravings. A Spurge, 
 
 picture is drawn on a block of box-wood, which is then cut in such 
 a manner as to leave only the marks of the drawing in relief ; and 
 it is then covered with ink, and printed from. 
 
 The Castor-oil plant also belongs to the same family. 
 It is sometimes grown in England for ornament ; but in hot 
 countries the seed yields an oil which is used in medicine as a 
 purgative. 
 
 FAMILY CHBNOPODIACB^]. 
 
 This family contains the Spinach, the leaves of which are eaten ; 
 and the Beet, which is an extremely useful plant. The plants of 
 the chenopodiaceae, like those of the euphorbiacese, bear small 
 and inconspicuous green flowers. 
 
 The beet-root is not only used for human food when cooked, 
 and for food for cattle when raw, but is largely cultivated on the 
 Continent for the manufacture of sugar, which is contained in the 
 
180 DICOTYLEDONS POLYGONACE^E. 
 
 sap of which the beet-root is full. The root is chopped fine, and 
 pressed, and the juice is then allowed to evaporate. The sugar 
 remains, and is then made into loaves to be sold. 
 
 FAMILY POLYGONACE^J. 
 
 The Sorrel } the Dock, the Snake-weed, the Rhubarb, and the 
 Buckwheat belong to the family Polygonacece. The fruit is dry 
 like a grain of corn, but it has three sharp edges, and three sides. 
 The flowers of the polygonacese are not generally more brilliant 
 than those of the two preceding families. The flower of the 
 buckwheat, however, is an exception ; it is white, and has six 
 divisions and six stamens. It is easy to perceive at the first 
 glance that the buckwheat has no resem- 
 blance to common wheat ; the first is a 
 dicotyledonous plant, and the second has 
 leaves without transverse veins, and 
 belongs to the monocotyledons. Buck- 
 Fruit and Flower -of wheat is only grown in England in small 
 
 Buckwheat. .... /. , f -, -, 1 
 
 quantities as food lor deer and game ; but 
 
 its seed yields a brown flower which is used in some countries for 
 making bread and pancakes, &c. 
 
 The Rhubarb, which is used as a medicine, is the root of a plant 
 of this family which grows in Asia. The large-leaved rhubarb 
 which is grown in vegetable gardens, and the stalks of which are 
 used for pies, puddings, &c., is an allied, but perfectly distinct 
 plant. 
 
DICOTYLEDONS PAPAVERACE^E DIAGRAM 10. 181 
 
 FAMILY PAP^VERACEZE. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 10. ] 
 
 The name of this family is derived from the Latin word for 
 poppy. Contrary to the families which we have just been noticing, 
 it includes plants with a coloured corolla, which is bright red in 
 the corn poppy. The calyx is formed of two parts, which fall off 
 when the bud opens. The corolla has four petals, and the stamens 
 are very numerous. The pistil is already very large, and is of the 
 same form as the fruit which will succeed it, 
 the so-called poppy-head. Several holes 
 open at the top of the ripe capsule, to allow 
 the seeds, which are very small, to escape. 
 On closely observing them, their surface is 
 seen to be as it were chagrined ; they are Poppy Flower, 
 bean-shaped, and very numerous. 
 
 Some kinds of poppy are cultivated for their seed, from which 
 oil is extracted ; but the chief use of the plant is in medicine. 
 
 The poppy-heads contain a substance which produces sleep and 
 relieves pain. In hot countries, incisions are made in the stalk of 
 poppies in flower, and a white juice like that of the spurge exudes 
 from them. It turns brown on exposure to the air ; it is scraped 
 off and sold under the name of opium. This substance is much 
 used by doctors, and it has the property, like the poppy head, of 
 causing sleep, and relieving attacks of pain. 
 
 The Celandine, which grows by road-sides, belongs to the poppy 
 family, and may be known by its yellow and very acrid milk, 
 which is sometimes used to burn off warts. 
 
 Other curious plants of the same family are the white and 
 yellow water-lilies, which unfold their leaves and flowers on the 
 surface of ponds and slow rivers. The buds grow at the bottom 
 of the water, and rise to the surface to open. But the flower closes 
 every evening, and sinks under water for the night. Next morning 
 it rises again to the surface, and opens afresh till evening. 
 
182 DICOTYLEDONS LEGUMINOS.E DIAGRAM 12. 
 
 FAMILY RANUNCULACE^J. 
 
 The family Ranunculacece includes plants which hare all 
 brilliant corollas composed of several parts, but which are very 
 different in external appearance. The hellebore, the Christmas- 
 rose, the monkshood, the larkspur, the clematis, which grows in 
 hedges, and the buttercup or ranunculus are only alike in having 
 their fruits formed by a cluster of several small dry seeds. More- 
 over, nearly all the ranunculacese are poisonous plants, which 
 cattle often avoid, and which make them ill if they eat them. 
 But when dried they seem to lose part of their various properties ; 
 and it is for this reason that the buttercup does not injure the 
 quality of hay. The calyx of the buttercup is yellow ; its corolla 
 has five petals, and a great number of stamens like the poppy ; 
 but instead of having only one pistil, it has several, each of which 
 becomes a dry seed when ripe. 
 
 FAMILY LEGUMINOS^3. 
 [ DIAGRAMS 10 AND 12. ] 
 
 The family Leguminosce is one of the most important in the 
 whole vegetable kingdom. It includes a great number of plants, 
 from herbs to the largest trees. Its name is derived from its 
 fruit, which is called a legume in botany. This fruit is a capsule 
 with two valves, and is called a pod; and the seeds are inserted 
 upon the side of one of the lids. All the leguminosse bear a similar 
 
 fruit. This large family includes 
 the furze and broom, which are 
 not very useful ; and other plants 
 Pea. which are used for the food of 
 
 man such as peas, and beans of all kinds, lupins and lentils. 
 
DICOTYLEDONS LEGUMINOS.E DIAGRAM 12. 
 
 183 
 
 Other plants are used for forage, such as the lucerne, the vetch, 
 and the clover; one plant yields oil, arachis ; others are large 
 trees, such as the laburnum, the liquorice, the indigo, the rose- 
 wood, and the carob-tree ; and the curious sensitive plant, although 
 of a distinct tribe, Mimoseee, also belong to this order. 
 
 All the plants of the family Leguminosee have a pod for their 
 fruit, and their flower is also very similar ; the calyx is very 
 regular, with five divisions ; the corolla is irregular, and formed 
 of five parts ; it is often beautifully coloured, and is easily recog- 
 nized by its shape, which has been compared to that of a butter- 
 fly. There is an uneven part erected above, and then two lateral 
 parts which represent the wings. The stamens are ten in number, 
 but are divided into two distinct groups ; one is placed by itself ; 
 others are soldered together, and surround the pistil, which is 
 already pod-shaped. The leaves of leguminosse are almost always 
 compound. 
 
 The Arachis, or Earth-nut, is very 
 much like clover, but will only grow in 
 hot countries. When the flower is over, 
 and the fruit begins to ripen, the stalk 
 which bears it bends down, and the fruit 
 buries itself in the ground, where it 
 ripens. It is gathered there, and 
 brought to Europe in large quantities, 
 and is crushed to extract ground-nut oil. 
 
 Liquorice juice is extracted from the 
 root of a shrub which is very common 
 in South Europe. It is dried, and Arachis. 
 
 formed into sticks ; and the root itself is also sold, and is chewed 
 for its pleasant taste. 
 
 The Indigo plant yields one of the most useful dyes, and only 
 grows in the hottest countries. To extract the indigo, all the 
 green parts are placed in vats, and tightly pressed down, and 
 passed through various stages of filtration. The indigo then 
 separates, and is collected in the form of a blue paste, which 
 
184 DICOTYLEDONS LABIATE DIAGRAM 12. 
 
 is made into small lumps like pieces of chalk, which are exported 
 into all parts of the world. The indigo is one of the best dyes for 
 its fastness, and one of those which are most easily renewed. 
 The Sensitive Plant is a small leguminous plant which only 
 
 grows in hot coun- 
 tries, but is often 
 grown in green- 
 houses because of 
 the curious sensi- 
 bility to which it 
 owes its name. In 
 the evening, its com- 
 pound leaves close up 
 Leaf of Sensitive Plant, open. The same closed. and hang down to 
 
 sleep ; and those of nearly all leguminosse act in the same manner. 
 We have already spoken of the sleep of the clover, and of the false 
 acacia. What is peculiar in the sensitive plant is, that when the 
 leaves are expanded and the weather is warm, they close and droop 
 immediately if touched, as if they were going to sleep. Little 
 by little they rise up and re-open slowly, to close and droop 
 again, as soon as they are touched anew. 
 
 FAMILY LABIATE, 
 [ DIAGRAM 12. ] 
 
 The Labiatce, like the Leguminosse, form a family in which there 
 is a very considerable resemblance between the plants. We may 
 take the white dead nettle as an example, though it is not a useful 
 plant to man. We notice immediately that the stalk is square, 
 unlike that of most plants ; moreover the leaves are always 
 arranged two and two on the stem ; they are opposed, as it is said 
 in similar cases. The calyx is formed of a single piece in five 
 
DICOTYLEDONS--RUBIACE.E DIAGRAM 12. 185 
 
 divisions ; the corolla is also formed of a single piece, but it is 
 very irregular. It has a peculiar form, and seems to have two lips, 
 an upper and lower one ; and there are four stamens, which are 
 remarkable for two being large and two smaller. 
 
 Nearly all the plants of the family Labiatee are fragrant, and 
 none are poisonous. The principal plants are the rosemary, the 
 sage, the mint, the lavender, the thyme, the marjoram, and the 
 balm-mint. 
 
 FAMILY RUBIACE^l. 
 [ DIAGRAM 12. ] 
 
 This family is one of the most useful to man. It includes three 
 plants of the greatest importance the cinchona, the coffee, and the 
 madder. Quinine is the bark of the cinchona, a large tree 
 which grows in South America ; the coffee also is a tropical shrub 
 largely grown in Southern and Western Asia ; and the madder is 
 cultivated in South Europe. The only plants of the family 
 Rubiaceas which are found everywhere are the yellow bed-straw 
 and the goose-grass ; this last is much like the madder. Its stalk 
 is square like that of the labiatae, and the leaves also grow on the 
 same level, but more than two together. The corolla is regular, 
 with four or five divisions and as many stamens. The fruit is a 
 double pod. 
 
 Quinine, or Peruvian bark, is of two kinds, the grey and the red. 
 It has the property of curing intermittent fevers, which are 
 especially frequent in marshy countries. Instead of using the bark 
 itself, an alkali which, united with an acid used in the form of a 
 sulphate called quinine, which is extracted from it and possesses the 
 same qualities, is employed. Indeed, the bark only owes its virtue 
 to the quinine which it contains. 
 
 Coffee is the seed of a shrub which grows in Arabia, and is 
 cultivated in all warm colonies. There are two seeds, or coffee-beans, 
 
186 
 
 DICOTYLEDONS URTICACE.E DIAGRAM 15. 
 
 in each pod which the flower produces. 
 The beans have no flavour ; and this is only 
 developed when they are roasted. Coffee is 
 one of the most wholesome beverages, and 
 does not intoxicate like beer or wine. It 
 ought not, however, to be taken in excess, 
 because it then produces trembling, and 
 unfits us to perform various duties with 
 sufficient skill. 
 
 Coffee Bush. 
 
 Coffee Bean. 
 
 The Madder is cultivated in South Europe, and yields a fine 
 dye ; and it is this which is used in the manufacture of military 
 clothing. The root, which resembles a small branch of hard wood, 
 is the part employed. The bark and pith of the root are of a 
 dark red, and the wood is yellowish. 
 
 The name of the family Eubiacese is derived from the Latin 
 name of the madder. 
 
 FAMILY URTICACE^J. 
 [ DIAGRAM 15. ] 
 
 The family Urticacece is another which has not brilliant 
 flowers, but which is one of the most useful to man. Although on 
 the one hand it includes the common nettle, which stings severely, 
 and the pellitory, which is of no use, it also includes the fig, 
 the mulberry, the hop, and the hemp. We thus see that some of 
 the plants of this family are herbs, and others large trees. There is 
 
DICOTYLEDONS URTICACE^E DIAGRAM 15. 187 
 
 nothing remarkable about the flowers, which have generally 
 separate sexes. These sometimes grow together on the same 
 plant, and sometimes grow ( n different plants as is the case, as 
 we have mentioned before, with the hemp. The fruit of the 
 Urticaceae varies much. 
 
 In the Nettle, the male and female flowers grow on different 
 plants. The leaves are studded with very stiff hairs, which 
 pierce the skin, and inject a very active venom with which they 
 are filled ; and it is on this account that the sting is so painful. 
 The nettle may, however, be handled with impunity if suddenly 
 and firmly grasped, as the hairs will then be bent or broken. 
 The stalk of the nettle is fibrous like that of the hemp, and it has 
 sometimes been proposed to use it for manufacturing purposes. 
 
 The Hemp has the male and female flowers on different 
 plants. We have already said that the male plant is smaller than 
 the female. The male flowers have five stamens, and the females 
 have a pistil which becomes the hemp-seed used for feeding caged 
 birds. 
 
 The hemp possesses very stimulating properties, and an allied 
 plant, the so-called Indian hemp, is used in some countries to 
 produce a pleasurable intoxication. It is sometimes used in 
 medicine. 
 
 Hemp is generally sown in spring, and when the time has come 
 to harvest it, the plants are pulled up, tied in bundles, and allowed 
 to decay either in the ground or in water. This is done to rot 
 away all parts of the plant which cannot be used for making 
 cordage. The hemp then undergoes two other operations 
 stripping and combing. In the first, the central part of the stalk 
 which is not fibrous is broken off, and in the second, all the refuse 
 is removed; and the tow remains, which is first transformed into 
 thread, and then into canvas and cordage. 
 
 The Hop has leaves divided like the hemp, and is a climbing 
 plant which grows in hedges, and is also largely cultivated in the 
 south of England to be used in making beer. Beer is made of 
 barley, but is then sweetish, and hops are added to it to give it its 
 
188 
 
 DICOTYLEDONS URT1CACE.E DIAGRAM 15. 
 
 proper bitter taste. The hop is 
 also a plant with separate sexes. 
 The female flowers grow in 
 clusters at the end of the stalks, 
 and somewhat resemble small 
 pine-cones, with very thin and 
 delicate scales. We shall come 
 to families in which all the 
 flowers are thus arranged in 
 similar clusters. It is the female 
 clusters of the hop which are 
 employed. 
 
 The hops are planted at the foot 
 Female flower of Hop. Hop. of long poles six or eight yards 
 
 high, up which the plant climbs. When the time to gather it has 
 come, the year's growth is cut, the pole is lowered, and the clusters 
 are gathered and dried for sale. At the bottom of each scale is 
 found a small quantity of a yellow bitter resinous substance, which 
 gives its taste to beer. 
 
 The Mulberry is a very valuable tree, 
 not for the sake of its fruit, though this 
 is eatable, but because it is grown so exten- 
 sively in Southern Europe for feeding silk- 
 worms. 
 
 The Fig is also an abundant tree through- 
 out Southern Europe, though only seen 
 occasionally in English gardens. Figs are 
 eaten either fresh or dried ; and dried figs 
 packed in boxes are very largely imported 
 Mulberry. into England. 
 
 The Fig is a fruit which at once strikes us as peculiar, because 
 the fruit is not seen to succeed the flower on the tree. It is really 
 not a fruit like others. If we pluck a young fig and open it, we 
 perceive a cavity in the interior with an orifice at the top. On 
 
DICOTYLEDONS LAURACE^E DIAGRAM 15. 189 
 
 the sides of this cavity we can distinguish an 
 immense number of very small dull-coloured 
 flowers, like those of other urticacese. These 
 are male and female. The pistils of the latter 
 become the seeds which we find in dried figs. 
 As they ripen, the sides of the pouch thicken, 
 the orifice above closes ; and the well-known 
 sweet fruit is the result. 
 
 The family Urticaceae derives its name from the Latin name for 
 the nettle. 
 
 FAMILY LAURACB^. 
 
 This family is much less important than the preceding, and 
 includes in addition to the laurel, from which it derives its name, 
 the trees which yield cinnamon, nutmegs, and camphor. The plants 
 of this family are, therefore, like the labiatse, chiefly aromatic 
 plants, or rather trees. 
 
 The true Laurel is the tree which is generally called in England 
 the bay-tree. Its leaves are used as a flavouring on the Continent. 
 It is an evergreen shrub, which grows to a height of thirty feet. 
 The flowers are small and inconspicuous, with four or five divisions, 
 and nine stamens. Their pollen-sacs have small valves, which 
 open to allow the pollen to escape. 
 
 In ancient times, victors at the public games, etc., were crowned 
 with laurel. Our term poet-laureate owes its origin to this custom. 
 The fruit of this tree is a small berry. 
 
 The Cherry-laurel, generally called the laurel in England, is a 
 handsome shrub with large dark-green leaves. It seldom grows, 
 to a great height. It is an evergreen, and bears a spike of pretty 
 white flowers, but does not flower till it is several years old. Its 
 leaves, when bruised, have a very pleasant odour, which is due to 
 
190 
 
 DICOTYLEDONS LAURACE^ DIAGRAM 15. 
 
 Cinnamon Tree. 
 
 the large quantity of prussic acid which they contain, which 
 renders the cordial called cherry-laurel-water, which is distilled 
 from them, a most dangerous specific. 
 
 Cinnamon is the bark of a kind of laurel 
 which grows in the East Indies. The 
 young branches are cut down, and the 
 bark is peeled off and dried, after which it 
 is rolled into the form in which it is 
 known in commerce. 
 
 Camphor is produced by a large kind of 
 laurel which is found in China and Japan. 
 The camphor exists in the sap ; and when 
 an incision is made in the bark, the liquid 
 which exudes dries, leaving camphor. 
 But this method of extracting it, whicli is similar to that used to 
 procure opium, would be too costly. The broken branches and 
 roots of the tree are simply boiled, and the camphor then separates 
 from them. It is sent to Europe in greyish masses, which are 
 purified to give the camphor the whiteness which it possesses 
 when sold. One curious peculiarity which camphor exhibits is its 
 behaviour when a small piece is put into water. If the water is 
 very pure, and the vessel very clean, the camphor at the surface 
 becomes agitated, and darts about in every direction ; but if the 
 point of a knife which is a little greasy is dipped into the water, 
 the camphor at once ceases its movements, and will not move 
 again on the same water. When the camphor itself has touched 
 a slightly greasy substance, these motions do not show themselves; 
 and it is therefore necessary for the success of this experiment that 
 both the vessel and the water should be as clean as possible. 
 
DICOTYLEDONS MALVACEAE DIAGRAM 15. 
 
 191 
 
 FAMILY MALVACEAE. 
 [ DIAGRAM 15. ] 
 
 This family contains various low plants, such as the hollyhock, 
 mallow, and marsh-mallow. But it also includes large trees, and 
 among others, one of the largest known, the baobab. One of the 
 most useful plants to man, the 
 cotton plant, also belongs to 
 this family, The Malvaceae 
 have generally beautiful 
 flowers ; the calyx is in a 
 single piece, and the corolla 
 has five petals. The sta- 
 mens are very numerous, and 
 soldered together round the 
 pistil, which is thus enclosed 
 in a kind of sheath. The 
 fruit is a capsule, containing 
 a variable number of seeds. Mallow. 
 
 The Cotton plant is a shrub which grows in hot countries. It is a 
 textile plant ; but the material which it yields is not obtained from 
 the stalk as in the hemp, but is found in the fruit. The cotton plant 
 bears a beautiful yellow flower, and the capsule which succeeds it 
 opens in several valves when ripe. The cotton is then seen inside 
 the capsule, forming a lining packed round the seeds. It is 
 roughly cleared from the husk, and packed in bales to be exported 
 to countries where it does not grow. It is an article of great 
 commercial importance. It is first cleaned and carded, to free it 
 from the seeds which still remain in it. It is then spun and woven 
 to make calico. When coloured designs are printed on it, it is called 
 print. Whole countries live by the cotton trades ; both those 
 where it is cultivated, and those where it is spun, woven, or 
 printed. The cotton trade is one of the most important in the 
 world. 
 
DICOTYLEDONS OLEACE^E DIAGRAM 14. 
 
 Another plant closely allied to the family Malvaceae is that 
 which produces chocolate. The Cacao is a tree which 
 grows to the height of thirty or forty feet, and bears 
 pale red flowers. It only grows in tropical America. 
 Its fruit is about four inches long, and resembles a 
 cucumber, but the outside is as hard as wood. Each 
 contains twenty or thirty seeds as large as almonds. 
 Chocolate is only a mixture of sugar, spices, and cacao 
 beans roasted and ground. These, like coffee beans, 
 only acquire their flavour when roasted. Cocoa is 
 
 also prepared from the cacao beans. 
 Cacao-po d. 
 
 FAMILY LINAGES. 
 [ DIAGRAM 15. ] 
 
 This small family only contains one useful plant, but one of the 
 greatest importance, the Flax. It is very pretty, and would be 
 grown for ornament if it were not also a valuable textile plant 
 The corolla is of a beautiful caerulean blue, and has five petals ; 
 there are ten stamens, only five of which are provided with pollen 
 sacs. Flax is converted into linen in exactly the same manner 
 as hemp. It is pulled up, steeped, broken, and combed, to get rid 
 of what cannot be spun. The residue forms a very fine tow, much 
 finer and more compact than that of hemp, and from which muslins 
 and linens of the finest quality are manufactured. 
 
 FAMILY OLEACB^E. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 14. ] 
 
 The family Oleacece also contains only one plant of real import- 
 ance, the Olive. Its flowers are not remarkable. Its foliage is dark, 
 and composed of small, stiff, scattered leaves. The fruit is fleshy 
 
DICOTYLEDONS ROSACES DIAGRAM 14. 193 
 
 with a stone. The olive grows slowly, like the box, and its wood 
 is also very hard. It is not grown 'in England, and grows to a 
 larger size in the East than in South Europe. The fruit is only 
 gathered when the cold weather sets in. The olives are then 
 pickled to be eaten, or pressed to extract the oil, which is the 
 finest kind known. 
 
 The Ash is placed in the same family as the olive. The manna 
 which is sold by druggists is produced by a species of ash which 
 grows in the East. The manna flows from the bark of the tree 
 and forms what is called tears. It is gathered and sold without 
 any other preparation. 
 
 FAMILY ROSACEJE. 
 [ DIAGRAM 14. ] 
 
 Th e family Rosacece is one of the largest and most important. 
 Besides the rose, the strawberry, and the raspberry, it includes 
 a great many fruit-trees; the apple, pear, peach, medlar, 
 cherry, plum, apricot, and almond. The characters of the Rosaceae 
 must not be looked for among our garden roses, they are plants 
 which have been completely changed by cultivation. Cultivation 
 often produces this effect, and it soon happens that a cultivated 
 plant no longer resembles the plant from which it was derived. 
 One of the first effects of cultivation is to multiply to an inordinate 
 extent the number of petals, and to produce what are called double 
 flowers instead of single flowers. But cultivation likewise increases 
 their perfume. 
 
 The character of the family Rosaceag, as it is exhibited by the 
 wild roses which grow in the hedges, is to have five expanded 
 petals and numerous stamens. But these petals and stamens are 
 
 o 
 
194 DICOTYLEDONS CRUCIFER^E DIAGRAM 14. 
 
 inserted on the calyx, which is formed of 
 a single thick fleshy piece. There are 
 sometimes several pistils and sometimes 
 only one, according to whether the fruit is 
 to produce several seeds, like the rose, 
 Wild Rose. t j ie s t raw berry, and the raspberry ; or 
 
 only one, like the plum and the almond. 
 
 The double rose is not simply a garden plant, but is cultivated 
 extensively in some countries to extract from it the precious oil 
 called attar of roses. Whole fields are planted with roses ; the 
 petals are collected, and they extract, by squeezing them, a few 
 drops of this essence, which is always very dear, but which has a 
 very powerful odour. 
 
 The Apple is not only the most valuable of all fruits, but in some 
 parts of England it is made into a drink called cider. The apples 
 are peeled and pressed, and the extracted juice is allowed to 
 ferment. 
 
 FAMILY CRUCIFERffi. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 14. ] 
 
 All the plants of the family Cruciferae have much general re- 
 semblance, but most of them are small herbs. It includes the 
 muxtard, the rape, the callage, the turnip, the radish, and the 
 rocket. We have already described the flower of the rocket in 
 detail (see p. 172, diagram 9); all the others resemble it, and are 
 composed of four petals arranged in the form of a cross ; hence the 
 family derives its name Cruciferae, " Cross Bearers." The Cruciferaa 
 have generally four long, and two short stamens. The fruit is a 
 capsule with two valves, but has two divisions separated by a parti- 
 tion, while in the fruit of the family Leguminosae there is no film. 
 
 The Cruciferse are especially food-plants ; and are also very 
 wholesome. We eat the root of the radish, turnip-radish, and 
 
DICOTYLEDONS AMPELIDE^E DIAGRAM 14. 195 
 
 turnip ; and the large bud which surmounts the cabbage-stalk. 
 The cauliflower is a cruciferous plant with very crowded and 
 aborted flowers, while their stalks have become monstrously 
 developed by cultivation. The seed of the rape is pressed to 
 extract colza oil. The essence which causes mustard to irritate 
 the eyes and tongue, does not exist in the seed itself, and is only 
 formed when water is added to flour of mustard. If we taste 
 flour of mustard before mixing it with warm water, and afterwards, 
 we shall easily perceive the difference. 
 
 FAMILY AMPELIDE^B. 
 [ DIAGRAM 14 ] 
 
 The only plant of this family which we shall mention is the 
 Vine. Its flowers have a calyx with five teeth. The corolla has 
 five petals, but they do not open ; they are soldered together at 
 the top, and detach themselves like a small bell, which falls off 
 immediately. There are also five stamens. The well-known fruit 
 is a berry with about four seeds or stones. The vine is universally 
 cultivated throughout Central and Southern Europe, but is no 
 longer grown in England to any extent, except in greenhouses, 
 for the fruit does not ripen well in our cool summers ; and scarcely 
 any grape-wine is now made in England, though the vine .was 
 largely cultivated for this purpose in the middle ages. 
 
 It is sometimes supposed that the difference between red and 
 white wine depends on the colour of the grapes from which it is 
 made ; but it really depends on the preparation. The juice is 
 pressed out of the grapes, and allowed to ferment, and thus 
 becomes wine. The refuse is then distilled to make brandy and 
 other alcoholic drinks. 
 
 Wine is an excellent drink in moderation, but the use of 
 
196 DICOTYLEDONS COMPOSITE DIAGRAM 11. 
 
 brandy and all spirituous liquors is nearly always injurious, except 
 perhaps to revive those who have been exposed to wet or cold, but 
 even in this case very little should be taken. This advice is im- 
 portant, for it should never be forgotten that brandy is still more 
 dangerous in winter than in summer. 
 
 FAMILY COMPOSITE. 
 
 [ DIAGRAM 11. ] 
 
 This is one of the most extensive families among Dicotyledonous 
 plants. It does not include any trees, but it covers the fields. 
 Several compositse are useful, and others are cultivated as orna- 
 mental plants. This family includes the endive, the lettuce, and 
 the dandelion, the leaves of which are eatable ; the salsify and the 
 Jerusalem artichoke, of which the roots are eaten ; the chicory, 
 the leaves of which are used as salad, and the powdered root 
 mixed with coffee ; the centaury, thistle, and artichoke, which are 
 also eaten by man or beast ; the marigold, dahlia, and sun-flower 
 which grow in our gardens ; the wormwood, from which the highly 
 deleterious liquor called absinthe is distilled ; the camomile, which 
 is used in medicine ; and finally the daisy. 
 
 If we examine all these flowers, we immediately notice that while 
 they have considerable resemblance to each other, they are at the 
 same time very unlike other flowers ; and at first we recognize 
 neither calyx, nor corolla, nor stamens, nor pistil. The fact is that 
 the thistle, sun-flower, and daisy are not really flowers, but clusters 
 of flowers, as it is easy to perceive with a little attention, and it 
 is on this account that these plants are called compositse. If we 
 take a dandelion, or a sim-flower, and pull out the yellow centre, 
 we shall see that it is composed of a great number of parts, and in 
 each of these a small flower is easily to be distinguished, with its 
 corolla, stamens, and in the middle of them a pistil divided into 
 two recurved branches surmounting the whole. The corolla is 
 
DICOTYLEDONS- -COMPOSITE DIAGRAM 11. 197 
 
 inserted on the ovary itself, and this is placed with the other 
 ovaries of the adjacent flowers, very regularly on a kind of plate 
 or receptacle. When we eat an artichoke, we take out what is 
 called the choke, which is nothing else than small flowers still in 
 bud, for which the bottom of the artichoke forms the receptacle. 
 This is very large in the sun-flower, and is also conspicuous in 
 the thistle, when its violet flowers are pulled out. The receptacle 
 is always surrounded with scales or leaves like those of the arti- 
 choke. They form a kind of basket, in which the flowers are 
 contained like a bunch of flowers in a vase. 
 
 Sometimes all these small flowers are alike, as in the thistle, 
 but in other cases they differ considerably. Those of the margin 
 are often larger and differently coloured ; in the daisy and 
 camomile they are white, while those in the centre of the flower 
 are yellow. They may be regular or irregular, male, female, or 
 hermaphrodite, or have neither stamens nor pistils. 
 
 Let us take a thistle first. All its flowers are nearly similar. 
 The corolla is regular, and shaped like a tube widened above, and 
 cleft into five divisions. The corolla is inserted upon the ovary ; 
 and the stamens in their turn are inserted on the corolla. They 
 are five in number, and soldered together by their pollen-sacs, 
 while the threads are distinct. The united sacs form a canal into 
 which the pistil, which ends in two bifurcated branches, passes. 
 The thistle gives us an example of a composite plant, the flowers 
 of which are all regular. When they fade, the ovary becomes a 
 seed furnished with small silky sails which allow it to be carried 
 away by the wind. 
 
 The Centaury and Wormwood have very small baskets, and their 
 flowers are complete and regular like those of the thistle. 
 
 In the Chicory, the flowers are still complete, that is, they are 
 male and female, but they are no longer regular; the corolla, 
 instead of being tube-shaped, is cleft from above downwards, 
 and removed beyond the receptacle, in the shape of a small plate, 
 at the extremity of which the five divisions of the regular corolla 
 of thistles are still to be recognized. Each of these corollas is 
 
198 DICOTYLEDONS CUPULIFEE^E DIAGRAM 16. 
 
 inserted, as in the thistle, upon the ovary ; and it has five stamons 
 with the pistil in the middle. We find in the camomile and the 
 daisy, besides the ordinary yellow regular flowers, others which are 
 irregular like those of the chicory, and white, and form a rim 
 round the others. But these irregular flowers are also incomplete ; 
 they have neither stamens nor pistils, and are neither male nor 
 female, but neuter ; and therefore produce no seeds. 
 
 In the Sunflower the receptacle is also surrounded with irre- 
 gular neuter flowers ; but there is a difference between the flowers 
 within them. In the centre of the receptacle they have a pistil 
 and no stamens, and are female flowers ; but towards the edges of 
 the receptacle, they are male flowers, with stamens and no pistil. 
 The latter, like the neuter flowers, of course produce no seeds. 
 
 The Dahlia is a composite plant in which all the flowers have 
 been rendered neuter and irregular by cultivation. In its native 
 country, there is only a row of large neuter flowers round the 
 receptacle, and the others are small and yellow, as in most 
 composite. 
 
 FAMILY CUPULIFERffi. 
 [ DIAGRAM 16. ] 
 
 This family has inconspicuous flowers, and in- 
 cludes most of our forest trees, such as the oak, 
 the Spanish chestnut, the beech, the hazel, and the 
 hornbeam. The flowers are in most cases reduced 
 to a simple scale, sometimes isolated, and some- 
 times in clusters, like the flowers of the hop. The 
 sexes are sometimes found on the same tree, 
 and sometimes separated. They are male clusters, 
 or tassels, which hang on the branches of the hazel at 
 the end of winter, before the leaves have appeared. 
 On looking at them closely, it is easy to see the 
 
 stamens inserted at the base of the scales. The 
 Male Tassel of 
 the Hazel, female flower is often single. The fruit is variable, 
 
DICOTYLEDONS CUPULIFER^E DIAGRAM 16. 199 
 
 but consists in many cases of a seed which seems to be contained 
 in a small cup, or cupula, from which the name of the family is 
 derived. The cupuliferse yield valuable timber and bark for many 
 industrial purposes. The bark of these trees is almost always 
 very bitter. 
 
 The acorn of the Oak is the typical example of a fruit contained 
 in a cup. It is well known in what esteem the wood of the oak is 
 held by builders and joiners, for its durability and beauty. The 
 bark is not less useful. When young oaks are cut down, it is 
 carefully removed, and is used in tanning hides, to convert them 
 into leather. The tan, after being used, is sometimes spread in 
 the streets in front of houses where a person is dangerously ill, to 
 deaden the sound of passing vehicles. 
 
 Cork is the bark of another kind of oak, which grows m the 
 South of Europe and North Africa. When the tree is fully 
 grown, an incision is made at the top and bottom of the trunk, and 
 the bark is removed. It is allowed to dry, and then cut into corks. 
 
 It is on the oak that the Gall nuts are produced in some coun- 
 tries by the attacks of the cynips, which are used in the manufac- 
 ture of ink. (See p. 142.) 
 
 The Hazel) or Nut-tree, has a fruit in a cup like the oak, but this 
 covers it entirely. The branches of the hazel are straight and 
 flexible, and are used for many purposes. 
 
 The edible, or Spanish chestnut, although a native of Asia, is 
 abundant throughout Central and Southern Europe, and in South 
 Europe the fruit forms a most important article of food. It is 
 also not rare in England. Each fruit generally contains two 
 chestnuts. The flowers are inconspicuous, like those of all the 
 family of Cupuiiferse, and are simply composed of small scales. 
 They are remarkable for their very powerful and sickly odour. 
 Chestnut wood is valuable, and it is said that insects will not 
 attack it. The branches are always straight and flexible, and are 
 used, when split, for barrel-hoops. 
 
 The Horse-chestnut does not belong to this family, and is a 
 foreign tree which has been introduced into Europe, like all trees 
 
200 DICOTYLEDONS CONIFERS DIAGRAM 16. 
 
 which bear handsome flowers, and are not fruit trees. It is also a 
 native of Asia. It is extensively grown in England for ornament, 
 and is much more frequently seen than the Spanish chestnut. It 
 is a hardy tree of very rapid growth, and presents a beautiful 
 appearance in the spring, when in full flower, but the fruit is not 
 eatable, and the wood is of little value. 
 
 FAMILY SALICACE^E. 
 
 The Poplars and Willows generally prefer a damp situation. 
 Their wood is light and of little value, but is used for purposes 
 where lightness without great durability is required, for making 
 cricket-bats, for instance. Their fruit differs from that of the oak 
 and hazel, and is a capsule which contains seeds furnished with a 
 kind of down ; and they are sometimes carried by the wind to a 
 very great distance, when the capsule opens. The young shoots 
 of the willow are extremely strong and flexible ; they are called 
 osiers, and are employed for all kinds of basket-work. 
 
 FAMILY BETULACEJE. 
 
 The Birch, which belongs to this family, may be immediately 
 recognized in woods by the conspicuous whiteness of its trunk, and 
 by its foliage, which is not so thick as in other trees. The birch- 
 bark flakes off outside, but is very solid, and when a large branch 
 is cut into lengths, very strong boxes can be made of the bark. 
 
 FAMILY CONIFERS. 
 [ DIAGRAM 16. ] 
 
 This family may be known at once by the very peculiar ap- 
 pearance of the trees which compose it, such as the pine, the fir, 
 the cedar, the larch, and the juniper. They resemble no other 
 
DICOTYLEDONS CONIFERS DIAGRAM 16. 201 
 
 plants. Their leaves are hard, slender, with parallel fibres, like 
 the leaves of monocotyledons ; and they do not fall off annually ; 
 in other words, the trees of this family are all evergreens, with two 
 or three exceptions, as the salisburia and larch, which have 
 deciduous leaves. 
 
 The name of the family is derived from the fruit, which is 
 cone-shaped, and is commonly called pine-cones. The flowers are 
 inconspicuous, as in the Cupuliferse ; the sexes are separate, the 
 male flowers form clusters, and the female flowers are likewise 
 often arranged in clusters. The latter increase and become 
 pine-cones ; their scales thicken, and inside each we find a fruit 
 furnished with a membrane like a wing. The male clusters are 
 often crowded together, and yield an abundant pollen which 
 forms a yellow dust. If we gather a branch of fir in spring, 
 which is thus loaded with clusters, we shake off much of this 
 dust, which the wind carries to a great distance. Jf the pollen 
 of a pine forest is carried away by a gust of wind, it forms a 
 real cloud when it descends upon the country at a distance. As 
 this pollen is yellow, and burns easily, it has sometimes been 
 mistaken for sulphur. 
 
 Plants of the family Coniferse nearly always grow on moun- 
 tains, or in dry countries, even on the sands of the sea-shore. 
 Their timber is specially adapted for ship-building, and they 
 also yield resin, tar, and pitch. Fir trees are sometimes planted 
 on sand-dunes near the sea, that their roots may hold the sand 
 together and prevent its spreading further inland, and making 
 the neighbouring country sterile. 
 
 The Pinaster is a cultivated plant in England. On the Con- 
 tinent it grows either on mountains or by the sea-side ; its 
 leaves are long, and inserted in pairs into a common sheath. 
 The scales of the cone are thick. The pinaster is cultivated 
 abroad for the sake of the* resin which it yields while living, and 
 the planks which it makes when felled. It is not used until it 
 is of about twenty or thirty years' growth, and then the collectors 
 of resin make an incision through the bark about a foot long, 
 
202 
 
 DICOTYLEDONS CONIFERS DIAGRAM 16. 
 
 and the resin flows from under the bark at the top of the 
 wound. Every week they stimulate it by removing a small 
 layer of wood, and the resin which was a little slackened begins 
 to flow better again. It is received in earthen jars, which are 
 put under the incision at the foot of the tree. It is gathered 
 from the month of May to the end of September. When the 
 turpentine, which is liquid, has been extracted from it, the 
 resin, which is hard and brittle, remains. 
 
 The Firs may be known by having their leaves arranged like 
 the teeth of a comb ; the cones are cylindrical, and formed of 
 slender scales. The firs are large trees which only grow on high 
 mountains. Their trunk is always very straight, and is used to 
 make masts for ships. The fir also yields resin, but not abun- 
 dantly, and people are contented to collect what flows naturally 
 and which is found in large lumps on the trunk. This resin is 
 more esteemed than that of the pine. But the best is that which 
 is called Venice turpentine, and is obtained from the larch tree. 
 
 The Cedar is a beautiful tree which 
 was originally brought from Mount 
 Lebanon, but which is now frequently 
 grown for ornament, as it is very 
 hardy. The wood generally -em- 
 ployed for making lead-pencils is the 
 Bed Cedar of North America, Juni- 
 perus Virginianus. 
 
 The Yew and the Juniper do not 
 bear cones like other coniferse, but 
 berries, and the berries of the yew 
 are red. Yew-wood is also highly 
 valued for its elasticity, and it is 
 used for making bows. 
 
 Juaiper. 
 
MONOCOTYLEDONS LILIACE^E DIAGRAM 1 7 
 
 203 
 
 CLASS OF MONOCOTYLEDONS; 
 
 OR, PLANTS THE SEED OF WHICH HAS ONLY ONE COTYLEDON. 
 
 Some of the families of Monocotyledons have very beautifully 
 coloured flowers, as the lily, the flag, and the tulip ; and other 
 families, such as the grasses, have inconspicuous flowers. These 
 latter are generally the most useful families to man. 
 
 FAMILY LIIiIACE-ffi. 
 
 This family includes a great number of orna- 
 mental plants like the tulip, the lily, and the 
 hyacinth, and other plants which are used for food 
 or condiments, such as the shalot, leek, garlic, 
 and onion. The aloe also belongs to the lili- 
 acese. The nerves or veins of their leaves are all 
 parallel, a character common to nearly all the 
 monocotyledons. In the Lilies the stein arises 
 annually from an underground bulb, and dies 
 down in the autumn. The liliaceae have no 
 calyx. They have a beautiful corolla with six 
 divisions ; there are six stamens, and the fruit 
 is a capsule with three valves and three divisions, 
 or a berry. The corolla is inserted below the 
 ovary. 
 
 The Tulip is remarkable for its gay colours, 
 but it is of no special use, nor is the lily. 
 
204 
 
 MONOCOTYLEDONS IRIDE.E DIAGRAM 17. 
 
 The African Aloe yields a resin used in medicine as a purgative. 
 Its leaves are very large, and yield a textile substance composed of 
 very coarse, but very strong fibre ; ropes and cordage are made of 
 it. Beautiful hammocks are made also by the natives of Tropical 
 America with the fibres of several species found in that country. 
 
 The leek, garlic, onion, and shalot have flowers arranged in an 
 umbel, as in the Umbelliferse, but the stalk is only divided once. 
 The flower, as in the lily, has six divisions and six stamens. In 
 all these plants it is either the bulb or else the base of the leaves 
 which is used for flavouring. 
 
 The name of the family Liliaccse is derived from the Latin name 
 of the lily. 
 
 FAMILY 
 
 The Iridece include odoriferous flowers, like the flag and the 
 saffron. Like the Liliacege, the flowers of this small family have 
 a beautiful corolla, usually termed a perianth, and no calyx. They 
 have six divisions ; three outer and three inner. 
 There are only three stamens. In the Flag, they 
 are hidden by the pistil, and terminated by three 
 very large divisions which at first appear like 
 petals. One important difference between the 
 iridese and the liliaccsB is that the flower of the 
 former is inserted on the ovary, instead of being 
 inserted below it. 
 
 The pistils of the Saffron flower are gathered 
 to make the well-known dye. They are also 
 used in confectionery, and are thought to im- 
 prove the health of caged birds when put into 
 their drinking water. They are dried and 
 powdered before being used. They have a very penetrating odour, 
 
 Saffron. 
 
MONOCOTYLEDONS AMARYLLIDE^E DIAGRAM 17. 
 
 205 
 
 which sometimes causes illness, and that of the flag is also 
 sometimes attended with very serious effects. The root of the 
 swce' flag, called Orris-root, is odoriferous, and is used after being 
 powdered. 
 
 FAMILY AMARYLLIDE^E. 
 
 This is another small family which also comprises handsome 
 plants, like the daffodil and narcissus. The perianth has six 
 
 divisions as in the Iri- 
 dese, which are also 
 inserted on the ovary, 
 but there are six 
 stamens. The daffodil 
 and narcissus, which 
 are common in mea- 
 dows in many parts of 
 England, and are still 
 more frequently grown 
 in our gardens on 
 account of their bean- 
 Agave, tiful white and yellow 
 flowers, are very poisonous plants, and their odour, like that of 
 most strong-scented flowers, will make some persons ill. The 
 agave or American aloe* belongs to this family, and bears leaves 
 very similar to those of the aloe, which yield a fibre of great 
 fineness and strength, and which are also very much employed for 
 making ropes, hammocks, etc. 
 
 Narcissus. 
 
 * See Diagram 8. 
 
206 
 
 MONOCOTYLEDONS GRAMINE.E DIAGRAM 17. 
 
 FAMILY PALMACE.^3. 
 Palm trees are inhabitants of warm 
 countries. They sometimes grow to a 
 very great height. We have men- 
 tioned already (see p. 169) that their 
 trunk does not increase in thickness 
 with age, but only in height. It is 
 surmounted by a crown of beautiful 
 leaves which make it bend before the 
 slightest wind. The palms yield very 
 various kinds of fruit dates and cocoa- 
 nuts, for example. Their leaves are 
 very much employed for making hats, 
 mats, &c. 
 
 Palm Tree. 
 
 FAMILY 
 
 This family is indisputably the most numerous of the vege- 
 table kingdom. It includes all the plants which are commonly 
 called grasses, and many others also. It furnishes man with a 
 large portion of his food in the form of cereals, which are all 
 grasses. The sugar-cane is also a plant of this family. 
 
 Most of the Graminese must be planted annually, as they die every 
 year. Their stalk is not like that of other plants, but is hollow, 
 with knots at different intervals. A leaf grows from each knot, 
 which at first surrounds the stalk, and then spreads out from it. 
 The flower of the grasses is inconspicuous. Its centre is composed 
 of a pistil with a bifurcated extremity resembling two small and 
 very li^ht feathers. Round the pistil hang three stamens, the 
 pollen-sacs of which are supported by very fine threads. The 
 pistils and stamens compose the whole flower, they issue from 
 more or less numerous scales which are called chaff, and which 
 rcmnin round the corn. 
 
MONOCOTYLEDONS GRAMINE^E DIAGRAM 17. 207 
 
 Wheat is sown either at the beginning of winter or at the 
 beginning of spring. When sown in autumn, it sprouts and resists 
 the cold, but does not grow through the winter, and only begins 
 to grow again on the return of warm weather. Each grain of 
 wheat produces one or several stalks, and consequently ears. After 
 the plant has flowered, and the corn has acquired its full growth, 
 the stalk and ear begin to turn yellow, or, in other words, to die. 
 The wheat is then reaped, and afterwards threshed to separate the 
 corn from the chaff. 
 
 There are many different varieties of wheat suitable for different 
 soils and situations. Some are much more hardy than others. 
 The less hardy kinds yield a floury grain which can be easily 
 reduced to powder, and are the best for bread making. The 
 hardy kinds are smaller, more horny, and are more easily broken 
 than ground ; they yield a flour which makes very nutritious 
 bread, but not of a fine colour ; it is well adapted for pastry. 
 
 In order to make bread, the wheat is put into a mill, where it 
 passes between two millstones, one of which revolves, which 
 grind it ; but the flour in this condition is not yet sufficiently 
 prepared. It is mixed with the bran which proceeds from the 
 outer skin of the corn ; this is removed by passing the flour 
 through a very fine sieve. Wheat, thus converted into flour, 
 will keep for a long time in a dry place. When it is required for 
 use, it is kneaded with water and salt, but if cooked thus, it yields 
 a heavy compact dough, which is not fit to eat. It is necessary 
 for the bread to rise when it bakes, and we must therefore add to 
 it a little yeast, a microscopic fungus which becomes developed in 
 the course of the fermentation of beer, and which is found in the 
 form of a whitish scum in the vats where beer is made. When 
 this is done the dough will rise in baking. 
 
 Bread is one of the best foods known, and is the more nourishing 
 in an inverse proportion to its whiteness ; but it is by no 
 means indispensable to life, and potatoes, beans, rice, or meat 
 can be substituted. Bread is the principal article of food in 
 some countries, while the inhabitants of others eat little or none, 
 
208 
 
 MONOCOTYLEDONS GRAMINE^E DIAGRAM 17. 
 
 Cob of 
 Maize. 
 
 and supply its place with other food. Maize, which is much 
 grown in America and in the south of Europe, is 
 one of the Gramineae, but differs somewhat from the 
 cereals 3 the flowers have only one sex, and form two 
 ears on each plant. The ear of male flowers is at the 
 very top of the stalk. That of female flowers is lower, 
 and nothing can at first be seen but a tuft of large 
 pistils, which unfold from the leaves. The ripe grains 
 form a compact ear, or cob, which is stripped to make 
 flour. It is chiefly used in England for making pud- 
 dings, &c., but in America the grain is cooked in a 
 great variety of ways. 
 The Sugar-cane is another plant of this family, which is largely 
 cultivated in the West Indies. All the sugar used in Europe was 
 obtained from it until the beet-root begun to be cultivated for the 
 production of sugar. The stalk of the sugar-cane is nearly as large 
 as the arm of a young child, the knots are very close together, 
 and the whole interior is filled with abundance of a 
 sweet sap. When it is time to gather them, the canes 
 are pulled up, stripped of their leaves, and passed 
 between heavy rollers, which crush them. The juice 
 thus obtained is evaporated in ovens, and the residue 
 is the raw sugar which is imported into Europe. 
 To make white sugar, it must be refined. Molasses 
 is the refuse sap which will not crystallise after 
 evaporation. The remains of the crushed canes 
 are not wasted, but are fermented to make rum. 
 
 The maize and sugar-cane are much larger grasses 
 than those of our fields and our cereals, but there 
 are others which greatly surpass these in size, and 
 which reach the size of trees. The Bamboos which 
 grow in warm countries are really gigantic grasses. 
 They are sometimes as large as the arm or the leg ; 
 as the space between the knots is hollow, it is enough 
 to cut the stalk between each knot to make household utensils. 
 
 Sugar-cane. 
 
ACOTYLEDONS DIAGRAM 18, 209 
 
 CLASS OF ACOTYLEDONS; 
 
 OR, PLANTS WITH NO COTYLEDON. 
 
 All the plants which still remain to be noticed, and which 
 form the class of Acotyledons, are distinguished from the others, 
 not only because they have no cotyledons, but because the plants 
 themselves have no flowers. They never bear either pistils or 
 stamens. At the proper season, seeds appear at some part of 
 the plant, but do not succeed to flowers. These seeds themselves 
 are most frequently of extraordinary minuteness, so that they 
 resemble dust, like the pollen of coniferse. They are so different 
 from all other seeds that they have received a special name, and 
 are called spores. Some families of the acotyledons still resemble 
 other plants to some extent by their greenness and a kind of 
 foliage, but there are others, such as fungi, which are entirely 
 different from ordinary plants. 
 
210 
 
 ACOTYLEDONS FERNS MOSSES DIAGRAM 18. 
 
 FAMILY OF FERNS. 
 
 Ferns are green, and somewhat resemble other plants. The 
 spores are developed under the leaves, or 
 fronds, as they are called, owing to their 
 bearing the spores in small clusters of 
 variable form. Sometimes they are long 
 and narrow, and sometimes round or bean- 
 shaped. In one beautiful fern called the 
 maiden-hair, the stalk of which is black and 
 slender, the spores are placed under the 
 very edges of the leaves which seem to be 
 
 folded over to cover them. In the so-called flowering fern, the 
 spores are arranged as a kind of stem, but its resemblance to a 
 flowering plant is only apparent, and not real. 
 
 Our British ferns are all plants of moderate size, but in hot 
 countries they grow to a great height, and resemble the palms, 
 both because their stem grows in length without increasing in 
 breadth, and because they are likewise surmounted with a crown 
 of large leaves. 
 
 FAMILY OF MOSSES. 
 
 Mosses, like ferns, resemble other plants in external appearance ; 
 they are green, and have a woody stalk, one might say, like those of 
 yery small trees. The spores of mosses are not developed under the 
 leaves, as in ferns, but in special and very elegant organs. When 
 we look at mosses during the season, chiefly in winter and spring, in 
 which they fructify, we notice straight slender filaments projecting 
 
ACOTYLEDONS FUNGI DIAGRAM 18. 211 
 
 from their foliage, and terminating in a knob of very compli- 
 cated construction. It at first appears covered with a small hat, 
 formed of fibres like a straw roof ; it is pointed and hangs over the 
 sides of the knob. If we remove it, we find beneath it a capsule 
 closed by a cover. It is shaped like a wine-glass, and the cover 
 itself has sometimes a kind of small button in the middle. It must 
 be raised in order to see the spores arranged in the little cup. 
 When they are ripe, the hat and cover fall off and allow them to 
 escape. 
 
 FAMILY OP FUNGI. 
 
 We no longer find the ordinary appearance of plants, either in 
 this family, or the two following. Fungi, or at least the most 
 familiar kinds, have a well-known appearance, but a number of 
 other plants, such as the moulds, must be arranged in this family, 
 which never present the umbrella-shape of ordinary fungi. 
 
 This umbrella or cap of the fungus, is supported on a stalk of 
 variable thickness. Sometimes the cap has slender pendant plates, 
 called gills, below, and the fungus then belongs to the genus 
 Agaricus, which includes the true mushrooms ; and sometimes the 
 under-surface of the cap exhibits only a multitude of tubes crowded 
 together, and open at the lower extremity, and the fungus then 
 belongs to the genus Boletus, or Ceps. But there are many others, 
 such as the morels, the puff-balls, and the truffles, which have quite 
 a different appearance. 
 
 The stalk of the mushroom often has a kind of collar or ring 
 at about two-thirds of its height. The stalk sometimes grows 
 directly out of the ground, and sometimes out of a kind of 
 bladder, which seems to burst to let it come out. This bladder 
 
212 -ACOTYLEDONS FUNGI DIAGRAM 18. 
 
 is Called the volva. It is an important peculiarity to know, be- 
 cause it enables us, in some cases, to distinguish the species of 
 fungi. 
 
 Many fungi are poisonous, and others have a pleasant taste. 
 It is very necessary to remember that no one can distinguish the 
 wholesome and poisonous kinds without assistance ; for they 
 cannot be separated either by their odour, or by the places 
 where they grow. Which are good and which are bad can 
 only be learned by long experience, or by the aid of a person 
 who is thoroughly well acquainted with the species. In any case, 
 it is necessary not to decide at a glance, but carefully to examine 
 the colour of the fungus, to make sure that it is really the kind 
 which we imagine. If, after eating fungi, the least incon- 
 venience is felt, an emetic should be taken at once, and a doctor 
 called in. 
 
 The only fungi commonly eaten in England are one or two 
 species of mushrooms, which can only be confounded with others 
 by gross carelessness. But many other fungi are commonly eaten 
 in France and Italy ; and it may be mentioned that the puff-balls 
 are unmistakeable, and perfectly wholesome when young. 
 
 Mushrooms grow very fast, and it is common to find a quantity 
 in a field where there were none the evening before. They are 
 grown on hotbeds in a cellar, or in a damp, dark place. When 
 the hotbed on which they grow is removed, whitish filaments are 
 seen which are called mushroom spawn or mycelium. Mushrooms 
 only grow from this, and it is put into the beds to sow them. 
 Most fungi are eaten by the larvae of insects, which are very fond 
 of them. When the puff-balls are ripe they become dry and 
 brown, and when pressed, burst, and clouds of dust, entirely formed 
 of spores, fly up. Dried puff-ball is a useful remedy for stopping 
 bleeding. 
 
 Mould is composed of different kinds of very small fungi, wholly 
 formed of slender filaments analogous to those which form mush- 
 room spawn. When they are ripe and filled with spores they 
 assume a greenish tint. 
 
ACOTYLEDONS LICHENS DIAGRAM 18. 
 
 213 
 
 There are many kinds of fungi similar 
 to mould, but still smaller, which are in- 
 visible to the naked eye, and can only 
 be detected by their ravages. The oidium 
 which attacks the vine is a fungus of this 
 description ; and the disease called mus- 
 cardine, which attacks silkworms, is 
 caused by another ; the potato disease is 
 either caused, or frequently accompanied 
 by, a similar fungus ; another produces a 
 disease called fumagine in the olive ; and 
 yet others produce mildew, smut, and ergot, 
 in cereals. The ergot chiefly attacks rye, 
 when, instead of the ordinary grain, we 
 see large black horny grains developed, 
 shaped something like a cock's spur. 
 Ergot is poisonous, but is of great use in 
 medicine. Man himself is subject to 
 diseases caused by the presence of fungi 
 of this kind, such as the thrush and Erg,t of %e. 
 
 ringworm. In the thrush, the white points which form on the 
 tongue and inside the mouth of children, are caused by the pre- 
 sence of a fungus. In the ringworm, it is also a fungus which 
 form the yellow crusts shaped like buttons, hollow in the middle, 
 which grow at the roots of the hair. 
 
 We may add that the yeast which we have mentioned as found 
 in beer vats is also a fungus of this kind. 
 
 FAMILY OF LICHENS. 
 
 The Lichens resemble fungi, but instead of being moist, like the 
 latter, are dry. They often resemble parchment, and we should 
 scarcely take them for living plants if we did not see them grow 
 
214 ACOTYLEDONS ALG^E DIAGRAM 18. 
 
 with time. They are generally of a grey colour, and sometimes 
 grow on the trunks of trees, and sometimes on walls and slates. 
 They require very little moisture. Some lichens appear like large 
 pendant filaments, which sometimes cover over fir-trees, and finally 
 destroy them. 
 
 FAMILY OF ALGLffi. 
 
 The family of Alga includes, firstly, the geeen filaments which 
 are found in stagnant waters, and secondly, the marine plants, 
 which are sometimes of a beautiful green, and sometimes of a brown 
 or red colour ; they cover the rocks, and it is a pleasant amusement 
 to collect and dry them. But they must be allowed to lie for 
 some time in fresh water, til) all the salt which they contain has 
 been washed out, or else they will not dry. 
 
 The marine algae, or seaweeds, are useful for many purposes ; 
 firstly, they form an excellent manure when collected and spread 
 upon the land ; and, secondly, soda, iodine, and other chemicals 
 which are very useful in manufactures and medicine, are procured 
 from them. Soda is obtained by drying seaweeds in large heaps, 
 and then burning them and washing the ashes. The water 
 dissolves the soda, and, on evaporation, the soda is deposited in 
 crystals. 
 
 Some species of seaweeds are used for food, such as the duke, 
 which is eaten raw or boiled, as a kind of vegetable, and the 
 
 Carrageen Moss, which is used to make a kind of jelly. 
 
 The longest of all known plants are seaweeds, and one species, 
 
 which abounds in the Antarctic seas, is said to grow to the 
 
 enormous length of 600 feet. 
 
MINERAL KINGDOM DIAGRAM 19. 215 
 
 MINERAL KINGDOM, 
 
 THE Mineral Kingdom includes, as we have said, all substances 
 which are not organic. The different kinds of stones and metals 
 belong to the mineral kingdom, as well as water, and the gases 
 which are mingled in the atmosphere. 
 
 If we descend into a quarry or cutting, and look at the sides, 
 the soil generally appears to be formed of different kinds of 
 earths or rocks arranged one above another. These are called 
 strata. Sometimes these strata are horizontal, and at other 
 times they are more or less slanting. There are some rockSj 
 however, which do not present this stratified appearance, and 
 which simply form large masses, like a single block. This is 
 more especially the case in countries where granite is found ; 
 but still two layers can be distinguished, for the granite is 
 nearly always covered with a layer of vegetable earth. The 
 formations when the strata are arranged one above another are 
 called Sedimentary, and the others Primitive formations. 
 
 Primitive formations are so called because they are those 
 which were most anciently formed. The sedimentary formations 
 have been deposited above them by the agency of water. 
 
 In sedimentary formations, the strata are often very dissimilar 
 to each other. They also frequently contain the imprints of 
 animals or plants, or else bones and petrified teeth. These re- 
 mains of beings which lived formerly are called fossils. In 
 some places there is an innumerable quantity of them, but in 
 others they are rare. When any are discovered which do not 
 
216 GEOLOGY DIAGRAM 19. 
 
 resemble those which are commonly observed, or when they are 
 found in formations where they are very rare, they ought always 
 to be preserved, when possible, to be shown to persons who know 
 and can appreciate their scientific value. 
 
 Mountains. The central mass of mountains is generally com- 
 posed of granite, while sedimentary strata are found on their 
 flanks and in their valleys. The snow and rain which accumulate 
 on the highest mountains sometimes form great masses of ice, 
 which may be several miles long and broad, and are called 
 glaciers. The thickness of these masses of ice is sometimes 
 considerable, and they contain great cracks called crevasses, into 
 which there is danger of falling when they are hidden by newly- 
 fallen snow. 
 
 While the fall of snow and rain increase the glacier, it partially 
 melts in the sun, and rivers which run into the valleys always 
 flow from the foot of a glacier. In spring, when the rain 
 which has fallen on the mountains melts away, these rivers 
 are transformed into torrents. Their force then is irresistible, 
 and they carry away with them earth, pebbles, and rocks from 
 the highest parts of the valleys, and carry all this mass into 
 lower lying districts, where they form, in time, immense fertile 
 plains. Consequently, elevated countries are always being more 
 and more worn away by the action of the rain, and the melting 
 of the snow ; and this action is called erosion. The waters of 
 heaven thus remove, little by little, and by piecemeal, the soil 
 from the sides of mountains, just as the waters of the sea 
 gradually eat away the land on many coasts by another kind 
 of erosion. 
 
 Springs. The water which results from the melting of snow 
 and ice is not the only water which flows on the surface of the 
 earth. The greater part is supplied from springs, which appear 
 to rise from beneath beds of earth. The fac.t is that all the rain 
 which falls does not flow into the brooks, nor dry up in the air. 
 When much rain falls, it always penetrates and infiltrates into 
 the ground, till it reaches a layer which it is unable to traverse, 
 
GEOLOGY DIAGRAM 19. 
 
 217 
 
 either because the rock is too hard, or because it is clay, and all 
 this water flows at the surface of the impenetrable layer which 
 stops it, and flows out in the neighbourhood, forming a spring. 
 
 Warm Springs. Warm springs, possessing medical properties 
 for the cure of diseases, are often met with in mountainous 
 countries. They are called mineral waters, or thermal springs, 
 thermal being derived from a Greek word meaning warm. Some- 
 times these waters contain a large quantity of sulphur, and smell 
 strongly of rotten eggs. 
 
 Wells, Artesian Wells. The wells which are dug to obtain 
 water are designed to strike one of these springs of subterranean 
 water which is supposed to exist at a moderate depth. When 
 it is found, the water is seen to filter into the well from all sides 
 
 Subterra- 
 nean 
 Spring. 
 
 Section of Strata pierced by Artesian Wells. 
 
 of its surface, and it is raised from the bottom by buckets, or a 
 pump. 
 
 But it may also happen that a spring of water enters between 
 two layers of impenetrable soil, resting on the slope of a 
 mountain, and then one part of the spring of water will soon be 
 much higher than the other, and will form a kind of raised 
 reservoir, like those constructed to give more force to water, and 
 make it rise in a fountain in ornamental basins. Artesian wells 
 are designed to pierce to a great depth in the ground, to attempt 
 to strike a spring of this kind, for then there is no occasion to 
 draw the water, for it will rise to the surface of the ground of 
 itself. The name of these wells comes from the district of Artois, 
 where the first were dug. 
 
218 
 
 GEOLOGY DIAGRAM 19. 
 
 Lakes. When several springs unite, they form streams, which 
 in their turn unite to form a river, which flows to the sea where 
 the formation of the country permits it. But if this is not the 
 case, and the formation of the country opposes its course, the 
 waters accumulate, and form a lake or a pool. When the water 
 from rain, or from a river, is discharged into broad plains where 
 it can neither flow into the sea, nor accumulate to form a lake, 
 these plains become marshes and peat bogs. 
 
 Banks and Cliffs. If rain water daily tends to remove pebbles 
 
 from the mountains, and 
 to deposit gravel in low- 
 lying plains, the sea also 
 plays a double part on 
 its banks. It encroaches 
 on the land in some 
 places, and is encroached 
 upon by the land in 
 others. This is especially noticeable at the mouths of rivers. 
 The earth and gravel carried down by the current after rain 
 gradually accumulates at the mouths of rivers and streams, and 
 form flats which advance further and further into the sea. The 
 sea in its turn throws up heaps of sand on some coasts, while at 
 other points it wears away its banks, and advances into the land. 
 When this is elevated a cliff is the result. 
 
 Volcanoes. There are mountains in some countries with a 
 large hole in the summit called a crater, whence issue stones, 
 
 
 Cliffs. 
 
 Volcuuo in Eruption, 
 dust, smoke, and flames. These mountains are called volcanoes. 
 
VEGETABLE SOIL DIAGRAM 19. 219 
 
 Sometimes the side of the volcano opens, and discharges incan- 
 descent lava, like the molten metal that flows from a furnace. 
 This lava forms a true river of fire, which flows upon the surface 
 of the ground, and consumes everything in its track, but it 
 generally advances very slowly. There are no longer any vol- 
 canoes in England or France, but there were formerly many. 
 The best known of these extinct volcanoes are those of Auvergne, 
 in France, which no longer discharge smoke, or flames, or lava, 
 
 Extinct Volcanoes of Auvergne. 
 
 but which were formerly active, and discharged lava-torrents 
 which can still be traced. 
 
 Earthquakes are tolerably frequent in the neighbourhood of 
 volcanoes, though they may also occur in countries which are 
 not volcanic. These are shakings of the ground, which, when 
 sufficiently violent, cause great catastrophes by overturning 
 houses. But earthquakes are fortunately very uncommon, and 
 by no means severe in England, for the very reason that there 
 are no volcanoes nearer than Iceland and Italy. 
 
 Atmospheric Air. The air which surrounds us, and which we 
 breathe, is also a mineral substance in a gaseous state. We have 
 mentioned its composition and properties at pages 11 and 12. 
 
 ARABLE OR VEGETABLE SOIL. 
 
 This is so called because it is the soil most favourable to the 
 growth of plants useful to man. It is formed naturally of 
 sand and clay, or the detritus of rocks mixed with an uncertain 
 proportion of organic matter yielded by all the animal and vege- 
 table substances which rot on its surface. The presence of these 
 
220 VEGETABLE SOIL DIAGRAM 19. 
 
 organic matters is requisite to form a good vegetable soil. Dead 
 leaves, the fragments of plants which fall on the ground, and soil 
 drifted by the wind, all contribute to increase continually the 
 thickness of this vegetable layer. 
 
 Many rivers overflow their banks at certain seasons of the 
 year, and cover broad plains with their waters, which there 
 deposit the earth which they carry with them. Soil, thus formed 
 of earth or sand brought down by the agency of water, is called 
 an alluvial deposit. 
 
 Vegetable earths may be classed in four principal groups : 
 1st. Sandy soils. 
 
 2nd. Clayey soils. 
 3rd. Calcareous soils. 
 4th. Peaty soils. 
 
 1st. Sandy soils are chiefly composed of gravel or of sand, 
 which is sometimes very fine, and does not retain water ; these 
 soils are liable to drought. Such soils are generally found on 
 the shores of the sea, or of rivers. When mixed with a large 
 proportion of decaying vegetable matter, the sandy soils form 
 heath-soil, which may be rendered very productive by abundant 
 watering or manuring. 
 
 2nd. The clayey earths are those where clay predominates, and 
 agriculturists generally call them stiff, or heavy soils. They are 
 often of a reddish colour, and may even be recognized at a distance 
 by their appearance. When mixed with water, they form a kind 
 of stiff paste. Clayey soils are nearly impervious to water ; if 
 sloping, they are easily cultivated, and yield large returns, but 
 if they cover a flat country, the water cannot run off, but ac- 
 cumulates at the surface, and the vegetation is to some extent 
 drowned. Then, when warm weather returns, the soil hardens, 
 cracks, and thus tears the roots of the plants. 
 
 On the other hand, when clayey suils contain a proper propor- 
 tion of sand or lime, they are excellent for agricultural purposes. 
 
 3rd. Calcareous soils are those which are formed by the decom- 
 position of calcareous strata. When there is too much lime, the 
 
INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 221 
 
 quality of the land is bad, like clayey soils which contain too 
 much clay, or sandy soils which contain too much sand. When 
 there is too much lime in the soil, the surface, when moistened, 
 cakes, and forms a crust which prevents the air from penetrating 
 into the ground. Frost loosens the chalky soil, pulverises it, and in 
 this condition the earth is sometimes carried away by the wind, and 
 leaves the plants uncovered, and without proper support for the roots. 
 
 But, in most cases, calcareous soils contain more or less silicious 
 sand or clay, and they then form excellent soils. When the 
 chalk or limestone is simply mixed with clay, the soil is very good 
 for the growth of corn and provender. If sand is also present, 
 the land which is composed of the three elements, sand, clay, and 
 chalk, also forms a soil which is favourable to the growth of most 
 cultivated plants, and especially to the growth of trees. Calcareous 
 soils generally yield more succulent and nourishing crops than 
 clayey and siliceous soils ; animals are generally stronger and 
 fatter there, and their milk is richer. 
 
 4th. Peaty soils are those which contain a large proportion 
 of more or less decomposed organic substances, and these earths, 
 after being dried, lose a fourth of their weight when burned. 
 They are generally of a dark colour, on account of the large 
 proportion of organic matter which they contain. 
 
 If peaty soil does not contain a sufficient proportion of mineral 
 substances, it is unproductive. The roots of plants cannot fix 
 themselves in it with sufficient firmness ; moreover, it dries up 
 too rapidly, and therefore the plants which grow upon it do not 
 always obtain sufficient moisture. 
 
 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS. 
 [ DIAGRAM 20. ] 
 
 After having briefly described the most remarkable phenomena 
 of the earth, we will notice the principal useful substances which 
 man has found in it. Those which he obtains from the Mineral 
 
222 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 
 
 Kingdom are not less numerous or important than those derived 
 from the Animal and Vegetable Kingdoms. 
 
 Granite. The primitive formations are chiefly composed of 
 granite. It is found at the surface of the ground in many 
 places, only covered by a thin layer of vegetable soil. 
 
 Granite is generally considered the hardest and most durable 
 of stones. There are certainly some kinds of granite which 
 possess these qualities, but all do not possess them in the same 
 degree, and there are some kinds of granite which deteriorate 
 very easily. Hard granite is used for engineering purposes, but 
 does not answer so well for architecture. It is sometimes rose- 
 coloured, and sometimes bluish or black. The working of this 
 stone is always somewhat difficult, firstly on account of its hard- 
 ness, and secondly because it exists, like all primitive rocks, 
 in enormous masses which are more difficult to deal with than 
 rocks, which are perhaps quite as hard, but which are arranged 
 in layers one above another. 
 
 Fossils are never found in granite. 
 
 Pumice-stone. Pumice-stone is a volcanic product, and is only 
 found where volcanoes exist or have existed. It is a stone re- 
 markable for its porous structure, which causes it to float in 
 water on account of the air contained in its cavities. Pumice- 
 stone is very brittle and friable, but at the same time very hard. 
 It is reduced to powder, and used in industry to polish wood and* 
 ivory, as well as leather and parchment. 
 
 Sulphur is another volcanic product, which is found under the 
 same circumstances as pumice-stone. Sulphur, however, is of 
 much more extensive use in industry. It is employed to make 
 gunpowder, mixed with charcoal and Saltpetre. It is used for 
 matches, and is also employed in the manufacture of sulphuric 
 acid, or oil of vitriol, great quantities of which are used in industry. 
 Lastly, powdered sulphur is also used by agriculturists to destroy 
 microscopic fungi on plants. The sulphur gathered near volca- 
 noes is sometimes very pure, and is then called native sulphur. 
 But it is generally mixed with earth, and must be purified 
 
INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 
 
 223 
 
 before it is fit for use. Sulphur burns in air with a blue 
 flame, but when it is heated out of contact with air, it volatilises 
 and becomes deposited in the form of a powder which is called 
 flowers of 'sulphur. This is what is used in agriculture. 
 
 Slates and Schists. All laminated rocks are called in a genen 1 
 way schists. To extract slate, large square blocks of suitable size 
 are first detached in the quarry ; it is then carried to the work- 
 shops, where workmen called splitters divide it into sheets of 
 variable thickness, and these are the slates which are used for 
 roofing houses. Slates are also used to make school writing- 
 tablets, billiard-tables, and whetstones. 
 
 Coal. Co.il is one of the most precious productions of the earth. 
 It is generally found at great depths, whence it must be procured 
 by mining, and the aid of powerful machinery. 
 
 The districts where coal is found are called coalfields. Coal 
 belongs, like the schists, to the lowest sedimentary deposits. It 
 is generally arranged in thin layers, near each other, and very 
 
 Coal Mine. 
 
 slanting. When a shaft has been dug deep enough to reach 
 these layers, galleries are pierced into them, by means of which 
 the coal is brought to the foot of the shaft, from whence it is 
 raised by machinery. These galleries are generally very narrow, 
 and just large enough to allow a small waggon to pass. The coal 
 and rock are then separated. 
 
 Coal mines are subject to special dangers which do not exist 
 in other mines to the same extent. Water is often abundant in 
 them, and must be pumped out day and night to allow the work 
 to proceed, for if the pumps should stop for only a minute, it 
 
224: INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 
 
 might happen that the galleries would be inundated, and work 
 become impossible. Another danger is fire-damp. The coal in 
 some mines emits a gas which explodes as soon as it touches a 
 light, shatters the works, and kills the miners. This danger is 
 avoided by using lamps, the flame of which is protected by wire 
 gauze, and the fire-damp burns within the gauze, but does not 
 communicate the flame to that without. Another danger is 
 choice-damp, a gas likewise emitted by the coal, which does not 
 explode like fire-damp, but which suffocates the miners. 
 
 Another danger is that of a coal mine taking fire, which is less 
 dangerous to the life of the miners, but which leads to enormous 
 losses. Whenever it occurs, the mine must be closed immediately, 
 and several years must sometimes elapse before work can be resumed. 
 
 Coal is a source of immense wealth to the countries where it 
 occurs. It is not only used in fire-places, for its principal use is 
 to heat the water in the boilers of steam-engines. But coal is 
 also used for many other purposes. The gas which is used to 
 light our streets and houses is made of it. For this purpose it is 
 heated in iron retorts out of contact with air, which is called the 
 destructive distillation of coal. The gas which it produces is 
 collected in large receptacles called gasometers, and coke is found 
 in the retorts when they are opened. Other products besides coal 
 gas are obtained by the distillation of coal, such as salammonic 
 and coal tar. "When coal tar is distilled anew, a number of 
 useful substances are extracted from it, such as the beautiful dyes 
 called mauve, magenta, aniline, &c. 
 
 Bituminous Schists. These are laminated rocks like slate, but 
 mixed with a large quantity of bitumen. When this stone is 
 distilled, rock oil for lamps is obtained from it, as well as sub- 
 stances analogous to coal tar. 
 
 Bitumen or Asphalte. In some countries this substance flows 
 from strata formed of bituminous schists, either alone or mixed 
 with water. At other times it is found solid, but it then melts at 
 a low temperature. On distilling it, oils similar to rock oil, or to 
 petroleum are obtained. 
 
INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 225 
 
 Petroleum is now in universal use. Its name is derived from 
 two words meaning mineral oil. The use of petroleum has be- 
 come much more general since the discovery in America of true 
 subterranean springs of petroleum as abundant as springs of water. 
 When wells are dug, the petroleum immediately flows in 
 abundance, and sometimes rushes up to a considerable height, like 
 the water of an artesian well. 
 
 Graphite. Graphite, also called plumbago or Hack lead, is found 
 in granitic formations, in small layers or masses. The last term 
 is improper, as it does not contain a trace of lead, but is a kind of 
 charcoal which burns with difficulty. When it is extracted in 
 blocks of sufficient size, it is sown into small square sticks, which 
 are then enclosed in two pieces of wood to make pencils. 
 
 When the graphite is not of sufficiently good quality, it is 
 ground and made into a paste which is allowed to dry, and from 
 which the leads for the pencils are cut. Powdered plumbago is 
 used to blacken and polish grates and fire-irons. 
 
 The most important and best known mine of graphite is at 
 BoiTowdale in Cumberland. 
 
 Limestones. All soft or hard rocks are called by this name 
 which yield quick-lime when calcined in the fire. Limestones 
 have another peculiarity. If a drop of vinegar or any acid is 
 poured on a rock of this nature, it immediately produces an 
 effervescence of small bubbles of carbonic acid gas. 
 
 Limestones may exhibit every degree of hardness, from that of 
 chalk to that of marble, and they may be of the most different 
 colours. There are black, yellow, red, white, and grey marbles, 
 and others which are veined with several colours. 
 
 Marbles, on account of their hardness and beauty, are the 
 stones which are generally employed for monuments. They are 
 generally very expensive, especially white marble, which is used 
 for carving statues and busts. 
 
 All limestones do not possess the hardness and beauty of 
 marble, but these stones are used almost everywhere for building 
 and stone-cutting. They contain many fossils. 
 
 Q 
 
226 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 
 
 Chalk is a very soft and white limestone, which becomes a paste 
 in water. When this paste is sifted, it is dried, and called whitening. 
 
 There is a very finely-grained grey or yellowish limestone 
 which is used for taking impressions. A drawing is made on 
 these stones with a particular kind of ink, and by pressing the 
 design against a sheet of white paper, we can take as many im- 
 pressions as we wish. This process is called lithography, from two 
 Greek words which mean writing on stone. 
 
 We have mentioned that all limestones yield quick-lime when 
 heated to redness, and this operation is performed in lime kilns. 
 When quick-lime is thrown into water, it grows hot, and forms a 
 paste with it which is mixed with sand to make mortar. There 
 are three kinds of lime ; fat lime, poor lime, and hydraulic lime. 
 
 Fat lime is produced by the hardest limestones. A large pro- 
 portion of sand can be mixed with it to make mortar, and it is 
 therefore economical, but the mortar is not very firm. 
 
 Poor lime is generally not so white, and much more of it must 
 be employed to make mortar, but it holds much better. 
 
 Lastly, hydraulic lime, or Roman cement, is made of limestones 
 which contain a large proportion of clay. It is then enough to 
 mix it with water to produce a paste which immediately becomes 
 very hard, so it is used to construct works which are to be sub- 
 merged. When hydraulic lime is placed in water it becomes 
 harder and harder. 
 
 Sands and Sandstones. There are entire layers of sand in the 
 earth similar to that on the sea-shore. They are sometimes white, 
 sometimes bluish, and at other times red in consequence of 
 containing iron. 
 
 Tripoli is an exceedingly fine and hard sand which is used to 
 polish metals. 
 
 Sandstone is entirely formed of conglomerated grains of sand. 
 Sandstone is sometimes friable, and easily disintegrated, and at 
 other times it forms a very durable stone which is used for paving 
 the streets of towns. 
 
 Silex, or Flint, is formed of the same substance as grains of 
 
INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 227 
 
 sand. It is generally blackish or grey, but sometimes reddish. 
 It breaks like glass, and is sometimes semi-transparent. When 
 struck with iron, sparks appear, which are particles of iron 
 chipped off and ignited by the concussion. 
 
 Millstone Grit is another kind of silex which is generally of a 
 white or reddish colour, and is hollowed with a number of large 
 and small cavities. In spite of the presence of all these holes, 
 millstone grit is an exceedingly durable stone, with which founda- 
 tions and buildings which are required to possess unusual solidity 
 are constructed. Millstone-grit is so called because it is also used 
 to make millstones. For this purpose stones must always be 
 chosen which are both hard and full of holes, so as to crush and 
 bruise the corn better. Millstone-grit answers these conditions 
 very well, but it is very rare to find quarries in which millstones 
 can be cut in one block, so they are made of several pieces fitted 
 together, and joined by cement. The millstone is then strongly 
 bound with iron, and allowed to dry for a very long time before 
 being used. These millstones are as solid as if they were made 
 out of a single piece. 
 
 Rock-crystal, Agate, Glass. Rock-crystal and Agate are also 
 formed of the same substance as sand, sandstone, and millstone. 
 This substance is silex, flint, or quartz. When it is perfectly 
 pure, it is also perfectly transparent, and forms rock-crystal. In 
 agates, the quartz is slightly coloured, or traversed by veins of 
 different colours. Rock-crystal and agates are extremely hard* 
 and are frequently used to make ornamental articles. 
 
 Glass is made of sand and soda, which is melted together at 
 an intense heat. Fine glass is often called crystal. It is more 
 sonorous, and is cut easier than glass. It is obtained by adding 
 a definite quantity of litharge to melted glass. 
 
 Clays. Clays are earths of exceedingly fine grain, which form, 
 when mixed with water, an adhesive paste, which can be worked 
 in different ways. They are composed of more or less impure 
 alumina. Clays are sometimes bluish, yellowish, or red. Though 
 they can be mixed with water, water cannot easily penetrate them, 
 
228 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 
 
 and we therefore see the rain remain on the surface of the ground 
 for a long time in clayey districts. 
 
 Bricks, and the different kinds of crockery and earthenware, 
 are made of the paste formed by the mixture of clay and wator. 
 Porcelain is simply made of a white kind of clay called kaolin. 
 All bricks and earthenware must be baked before they are suffi- 
 ciently solid to be fit for use. 
 
 Fuller's Earth is a greenish clay, greasy to the touch, which 
 dissolves in water, and makes it soapy. It is used to remove 
 the oil from cloth, for it is necessary to apply oil to wool before 
 it can be spun and woven. 
 
 Gypsum, or Plaster of Paris. Gypsum is a stone which has 
 much external resemblance to limestone, but it does not effervesce 
 with acids, and does not yield quicklime when burnt, but plaster. 
 Sometimes gypsum is found in the form of large crystals, shaped 
 like spear-heads, which also yield plaster when heated. This does 
 not require so intense a heat as the manufacture of lime. When 
 gypsum is taken from the kiln, it is easily reduced to powder, 
 which again becomes solid when mixed with water. If plaster 
 has been exposed to the air before using it, it is no longer 
 serviceable, because it has absorbed moisture from the atmo- 
 sphere. Plaster is used either to join brickwork or masonry, or 
 to make ornaments and stucco on walls. It is also run into 
 moulds, and is taken out with the desired form. This process is 
 called moulding, and is used to reproduce statues and busts. 
 
 Rock Salt. A large part of the salt which we use is collected 
 by evaporating sea-water in shallow pools. This is called sea-salt, 
 or bay-salt. But salt is also found in the earth in layers. It is 
 sometimes deposited in thick beds -like rock, from which it is hewn 
 like stone. It is then very white and transparent, and called rock- 
 salt. At other times the salt is mixed with clay or sand in the 
 earth, and in this case water is allowed to flow into the mines, 
 which dissolves the salt, and afterwards deposits it on evaporation. 
 
 Salt is not only very useful for food, for salting provisions, 
 making bread, etc., but is also used to make soda, a substance 
 
INDUSTRIAL MINERALS ORES DIAGRAM 20. 229 
 
 very useful in industry. We have mentioned that it can be 
 extracted from sea-weeds, but the greater part is manufactured 
 directly from salt. 
 
 Diamonds and Precious Stones. Most precious stones are only 
 valuable and esteemed on account of their rarity. But the 
 diamond is the hardest known substance, and scratches all others. 
 It is therefore used to cut glass. There are no diamonds found in 
 Europe, but they are generally found in gold-producing countries, 
 such as the East Indies, America, and South Africa. They are 
 generally found in the gravel of river-beds, but they must be cut 
 in facets to give them lustre. 
 
 Feat. Peat is not, strictly speaking, a mineral. It is a deposit 
 of dead plants which collect in the waters of marshes, and on 
 clayey flats which have no outlet for the rain. The plants and 
 mosses grow one above another, and finally form a compost which 
 burns readily when dried. This compost is then removed in clods 
 and put to dry in the sun. They shrink very much, and then 
 form a good combustible, which has only the inconvenience of 
 producing much ash. 
 
 Guano. Guano is only found in the Chinchas Islands, off Peru, 
 and is brought from thence to be used as manure. It is a 
 yellowish earth of a very strong odour. Remains of the feathers 
 and bones of birds are often found in it, and it is believed to be 
 chiefly composed of the dung of sea-fowl, which have frequented 
 these islands for a long period. Guano is one of the best manures 
 known, but it must be mixed with earth or other substances 
 before it is used, or else it would be too strong, and destroy the 
 crops, instead of improving them. 
 
 ORBS. 
 
 Those productions of the earth from which metals are ex- 
 tracted are called Ores. It is rare to find metals existing pure in 
 a natural state, although some are met with in this condition. 
 
230 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 
 
 Generally they are completely unrecognizable, and are only 
 obtained by more or less complicated processes. Metallurgy is the 
 name given to these operations. 
 
 Ores sometimes form considerable deposits, but they are 
 generally arranged in thin layers called veins or lodes. These 
 veins are often several leagues in length, by a breadth which does 
 not exceed a few inches. Most veins form hard masses, which are 
 worked by being blasted with powder. The mines which are dug 
 to procure them are not generally subject to the same dangers as 
 coal mines, but are often difficult to work on account of the 
 hardness of the rock in which the veins are embedded. 
 
 Iron Ore. This is often met with at the surface of the ground, 
 and is nearly always of a red colour similar to that of rust. To 
 obtain the iron, the ore is thrown into very hot furnaces 
 called smelting furnaces. Coal is thrown in at the same 
 time, and the molten metal is collected at the bottom of the 
 furnace, where it flows into trenches of sand, and cools in masses 
 which are called pig-iron, or cast-iron. This cast-iron must be 
 melted again before it can be used. It is then made into a great 
 many articles, such as grates and kettles, and it is also made into 
 stoves, but these ought to be used as little as possible, because 
 they are unhealthy, and may even cause serious accidents to 
 persons who work in rooms and workshops heated by these 
 stoves. 
 
 To work cast-iron it is put into the fire, and when it is suffi- 
 ciently softened it is put under an enormous hammer, the blows 
 of which remove those substances called scorice, which make it 
 brittle and easily fusible. Iron thus purified melts with diffi- 
 culty. It is not brittle, and can be forged at will, and it is 
 called soft iron. When the iron ore contains a large proportion 
 of sulphur, the iron remains brittle after having been purified. 
 
 To make Steel, the iron is mixed with a proper proportion of 
 coal, and is heated to redness. Steel is brittle, but elastic and 
 very hard. These qualities can be increased by heating it more or 
 less, after which it is plunged either into oil or into water, to be 
 
INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 231 
 
 suddenly cooled. This process is called tempering. The uses of 
 cast-iron, iron, and steel, are innumerable. 
 
 Loadstone is a kind of iron ore which possesses the property of 
 attracting iron to it. When bars of soft iron are rubbed with it, 
 they acquire the same property, and are then called magnets. 
 Loadstone is not, however, the only body which thus attracts 
 others. It is enough to rub a stick of sealing wax on cloth, and 
 put it near the down of a feather or a very small piece of paper, 
 to see these very light bodies attracted as is iron by the magnet. 
 This, however, is produced by electricity, and not by mag- 
 netism. 
 
 When a piece of soft iron has thus been rendered magnetic, we 
 find that one end attracts and the other repels iron. If the 
 magnet is then suspended so that it can move freely, we shall 
 find that it will move round until the attracting or positive pole 
 points to the north, and the repelling or negative pole to the south. 
 The mariner's compass, by which ships are guided across the sea, 
 is formed of a needle which has thus been rendered magnetic, and 
 always points north and south. 
 
 Copper Ore. Copper, like iron, is rarely met with in a pure 
 state, but is nearly always mixed with sulphur. The treatment 
 of copper ore is rather tedious. When it has been washed and 
 crushed, it is roasted several times to burn the sulphur. It is 
 then melted, and the copper separates. Copper is of a red 
 colour, and is used to make boilers, saucepans, and a variety of 
 utensils, but they ought always to be kept very clean, as other- 
 wise verdigris forms in them, which is a violent poison. To avoid 
 this inconvenience, the inside of copper vessels which are not 
 required to be exposed to a great heat, are tinned, but they are 
 useless if too much heated, as the tinning melts. 
 
 When copper and tin are mixed together in proper proportions, 
 we obtain bronze, which is more durable than copper, and much 
 less easily tarnished in the air. Bronze is used to make statues, 
 cannons, and a great many objects which are very little injured by 
 time. 
 
234 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIAGRAM 20. 
 
 Aluminium. This metal is not found pure in the bosom of 
 the earth. It is extracted by very complicated processes, from 
 alumina, which forms the base of clay. It is white, exceedingly 
 light, nearly unalterable, and very resistant at the highest 
 temperatures. Much use will certainly be made of it in the 
 arts, but it is only a few years since they have been able to 
 prepare it. 
 
 Mercury. Mercury, or quicksilver, is a metal which is liquid 
 like water. It is found in a pure state in some mines, and in 
 others it is extracted by different processes. Mercury can be 
 boiled and reduced to a state of vapour, like water, but these 
 vapours are dangerous, and seriously affect the health of the 
 workpeople employed in the numerous industries where mercury 
 is used. Mercury has the power of dissolving gold and other 
 metals, just as water dissolves sugar. When there is a large 
 quantity of the metal in proportion to the quantity of mercury 
 with which it is mixed, they form a paste which is called an 
 amalgam. It is an amalgam, of mercury and tin which is used 
 to form the silvering of mirrors. 
 
 METEORIC STONES. 
 
 This name is given to stones which sometimes fall from the 
 sky, and they are also called aerolites. But it must not be sup- 
 posed that these stones are common, and this origin has been 
 wrongly ascribed to many fossils. True meteoric stones have 
 always an irregular shape, and are generally of a black colour. 
 The shooting stars which are seen at night are meteoric stones 
 passing through the air, very few indeed of which, however, 
 reach the earth in the form of stones, being nearly always 
 reduced to an impalpable dust in the highest regions of the 
 atmosphere. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 NATURAL, HISTORY. 
 
 f.\GK 
 
 Introductory Remarks 1 
 
 MAN. Races of Men ... ... ... ... ... ... 6 
 
 Structure of the Human Body ... ... ... 7 
 
 Organs of Respiration, Circulation of the Blood, and 
 
 Digestion ... ,,. ... ... ... 11 
 
 Organs of the Senses ... ... ... ... 20 
 
 Organs of the Voice ... ... ... ... ... 25 
 
 ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 Classification ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 26 
 
 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. CLASS MAMMALIA ... ... 27 
 
 Order Quadrumana ... ... ... ... 32 
 
 Insectivora ... .. ... ... .- 32 
 
 Carnivora 36 
 
 Rodentia 42 
 
 Pachydermata 45 
 
 Ruminantia ... ... ... ... ... 49 
 
 Marsupialia ... ... 55 
 
 Cetacea 55 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CLASS AVES. Structure 57 
 
 Classification Orders of Birds 63 
 
 Order of Birds of Prey, or Raptores 65 
 
 Climbing Birds ... ... ... ... ... 68 
 
 Perching Birds 70 
 
 Gallinaceous Birds ... ... ... ... ... 78 
 
 Wading Birds 80 
 
 Web-footed Birds 82 
 
 Struthiones Birds ... ... ... ... ... 85 
 
 CLASS REPTILIA. Structure, Classification ... ... 86 
 
 Chelonians ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 87 
 
 Saurians ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 88 
 
 Ophidians 89 
 
 Batrachians ... ... ... ... ... ... 92 
 
 CLASS PISCES ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 
 
 ARTICULATA. CLASS INSECTA. General Observations ... 104 
 
 Order Coleoptera .,. ... ... ... ... ... 110 
 
 Lepidoptera ... ... ... .. ... ... 120 
 
 Hemiptera ... ... ... ... ... ... 126 
 
 Orthoptera 129 
 
 Neuroptera ... ... ... ... ... ... 131 
 
 Hymenoptera ... ... ... ... ... ... 135 
 
 Diptera 143 
 
 Parasita 145 
 
 CLASS ARACHNIDA 147 
 
 CLASS MYRIAPODA ... ... ... ... ... 151 
 
 CLASS CRUSTACEA ... ... ... ... ... 152 
 
 CLASS ANNELIDA ... ... ... ... ... 155 
 
 CLASS OF INTESTINAL WORMS ... ... ... ... 157 
 
 SUB-KINGDOM MOLLUSCA ... ... ... ... ... 160 
 
 SUB-KINGDOM RADIATA ... 164 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 General Remarks ... ... ... ... .. ... 167 
 
 Respiration and Nutrition of Plants ... ... ... 171 
 
 CLASS of DICOTYLEDONS ... ... ... ... ... 175 
 
 Family Umbelliferaa 175 
 
 Solanacese ... ... ... ... ... ... 176 
 
 Euphorbiacese 179 
 
 Chenopodiacese ... ... ... ... ... 179 
 
 Polygonacese ... ... ... ... ... ... 180 
 
 Papaveracese ... ... ... ... ... ... 181 
 
 Ranunculacese... ... ... ... ... ... 182 
 
 Leguminosse ... ... ... ... ... ... 182 
 
 Labiatse 184 
 
 Rubiacese ... ... ... ... ... ... 185 
 
 Urticacese ... ... ... ... ... ... 186 
 
 Lauracese ... ... ... ... ... ... 189 
 
 Malvacese 191 
 
 Linacese ... ... ... ... ... ... 192 
 
 Oleacese 192 
 
 Rosacese 193 
 
 Cruciferse 194 
 
 Ampelidese ... 195 
 
 Compositse ... ... ... ... ... ... 196 
 
 Cupuliferaa 198 
 
 Salicaceaa 200 
 
 Betulacese 200 
 
 Coniferse 200 
 
 CLASS OF MONOCOTYLEDONS 203 
 
 Family Liliaceas 203 
 
 Irideae 204 
 
 Amaryllidese 205 
 
 Palmacese 206 
 
 Graminese ... ... ... ... ... ... 206 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CLASS OF ACOTYLEDOJSS. General Remarks ... ... 209 
 
 Family of Ferns 210 
 
 Mosses 210 
 
 Fungi 211 
 
 ,, Lichens ... ... ... ... ... ... 213 
 
 AlgsB 214 
 
 MINERAL KINGDOM. 
 
 General Remarks ... ... ... ... ... ... 215 
 
 Arable or Vegetable Soils 219 
 
 Industrial Minerals ... 221 
 
 Ores : '.*.f. 229 
 
 Meteoric Stones ... ... 234 
 
BOUOARD'S SERIES 
 
 OF 
 
 litierrial Diagrams ^fjtoiural 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF 
 
 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, 
 GEOLOGY, AND MINERALOGY. 
 
 Consisting of 20 Sheets, size 18in. by 24iu., comprising 166 Diagrams of 
 Animals and Plants, life size, beautifully printed in Colours, and 37 Natural 
 Specimens of Woods and Minerals. Neatly mounted on very stont cardboard, 
 with rings for hanging on the wall. 
 
 LIST OF THE SERIES, 
 
 Sheet I. Man. Respiration, Circulation of the Blood, Digestion. 
 2. Man. Organs of the Senses. 
 3- Vertebrates. Mammals, Dental System, Insect Feeders. 
 
 4 Vertebrates. Birds. 
 
 5 .-Vertebrates. Keptiies, Fish. 
 
 6. Articulates. Useful, Auxiliary and Injurious Insects. 
 
 7. Articulats. Crustacea, Intestinal Worms, Annelides, Mollusca, Radiates 
 (Zoophytes). 
 
 8. Plants. Woods (Natural Specimens). 
 
 9. Plants. Leaves, Flowers. 
 10. Plants. Fruits and Seeds, Germination. 
 1 1. Plants, DICOTYLEDONS. Composite Tribe. 
 12. Plants, DICOTYLEDONS. Leguminous Tribe. 
 13- Plants, DICOTYLEDONS. Umbelliferous and Solanaccous Tribes. 
 14- Plants, DICOTYLEDONS. Olive, Eose, Cruciferous and Vine Tribes. 
 15- Plants, DICOTYLEDONS. Nettle, Mallow, and Flax Tribes. 
 16- Plants, DICOTYLEDONS. Coniferous and Cupuliferous Tribes. 
 17. Plants, MONOCOTYLEDONS. Grass and Lily Tribes. 
 
 18. Plants, ACOTYLEDONS. Fern, Mushroom, Moss, Lichen and Seaweed Tribes. 
 19. --Geology. Study of the formation of the earth, Fossils. 
 2O- Mineralogy. Minerals employed in the Arts (Natural Specimens). 
 
 The Set Complete, with Handbook, in a Strong Box, 42s. 
 Handbook separate, Price 4s., paper; 4s. 6d., cloth. 
 
 JCouboit : 
 
 A. BOUCAKD, NATURALIST, 55, GREAT KUSSELL STREET. 
 THOMAS MUIXBY, 32, BOUTERIE STREET, FLEET STREET. 
 
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