vided with two antenna, composed of eight or ten pieces; the extremities of the antenna are club-shaped, and composed of plates or joints, either disposed like the leaves of a book, or arranged perpendicularly to the axis, like the teeth of a comb. The eyes are large and protuberant, especially in the carnivorous species, and in those, the slowness of whose habits makes them need quick powers of sight, for the purpose of avoiding their enemies. Of the three segments of the thorax, the corslet greatly surpasses the two others in size; and the chief movement of the parts of the trunk upon one another, is between the first and second segments of the thorax. The two fore-legs of beetles, and even the others, in some instances, are dentated externally, and suited for burrowing. These are the principal characters which distinguish this numerous family; but it is necessary to observe that nearly all of them are subject to some exceptions. The larvae are soft, flexible, whitish, semicylindric worms, having the body divided into twelve rings, and having a scaly head, armed with strong jaws. They have nine stigmata, or breathing-holes, on each side; and the feet, which are six, are scaly. The body is thicker at the posterior than at the anterior extremity, and rounded, almost uniformly curved downwards, so that the larva moves with difficulty over an even surface, and frequently tumbles down. The period during which the larvae remain in the state of destructive worms, varies in different species; those of some kinds becoming nymphs at the end of several months, and of others not sooner than three or four years. During this period they live in the earth, where they feed upon the roots of vegetables, animal matter in a state of decomposition, &c. It is in this stage of their existence that various species prove exceedingly injurious to farmers and gardeners, from their great numbers and voracity. When about to undergo their change of form, they make an egg-shaped cocoon, from fragments gnawed off wood, &c., which are united by a peculiar glutinous fluid furnished by their bodies. The form of the future beetle is now plainly perceived, the different parts being encased in distinct sheaths. Though the varieties of this genus arising from size and colour are wonderful-some being no larger than a pin's head, while others are several inches in length and circumference, their most essential difference proceeds from the stages of their existence, some undergoing all their transformations in a few months, and others requiring nearly four years to complete their production. BELEMNITES. A genus of fossil Cephalopoda, which at different periods have received the names of Thunderstone, Arrowhead, and Fingerstone. The name is derived from Belemnon (Gr.), a dart or arrow. They abound in several of the older rocks, especíally the lias and oolite; and consist of an interior cone divided into partitions connected by a syphon, as in the Nautilus, and surrounded by a number of concentric layers, made up of fibres radiating from the axis. These layers are somewhat transparent, and when burnt, rubbed,or scraped, give the odour of rasped horn. From the weight of its dense internal shell the Belemnite may be supposed to have usually maintained a vertical position; and as its chambered portion was provided with a siphuncle analogous to that which we find in the Nautilus, the animal probably had the power of ascending and descending in the water with facility. The animal, of which the Belemnite was the internal bone," has been proved by Mr. Owen to have been a dibranchiate eightarmed Cuttle-fish, somewhat resembling the recent genus Onychoteuthis. This he was enabled to do by access to specimens found near Chippenham, in Wiltshire, during the excavations that were making for the Great Western Railway. The species are now extinct. BELL-BIRD. (Procnias carunculata.) This is a species of Chatterer, distinguished by a long soft caruncle at the base of its beak; it is white when adult, greenish when BELL-BIRD.(PROCNIAS CARUNCULATA) young. It is a native of South Americathe celebrated Campanero or Bell-bird of Guiana-the loud sonorous voice of which, heard from time to time in the depths of the forest, during the stillness of mid-day, exactly resembles the tolling of a bell. Mr. Waterton, in his hearty "Wanderings in Demerara," often alludes to it. In one passage he says that it "never fails to attract the attention of the passenger; at a distance of nearly three miles you may hear this snow-white bird tolling every four or five minutes like the distant convent bell. From six to nine in the morning the forests resound with the mingled cries and strains of the feathered race, after this they gradually die away. From eleven to three, all nature is hushed as in a midnight silence, and scarce a note is heard, saving that of the campanero of the pi-pi-yo; it is then that, oppressed by the solar heat, the birds retire to the thickest shade, and wait for the refreshing cool of the evening." BELLEROPHON. A genus of fossil shells, the animals of which are unknown, but which are now generally supposed to have been allied to Carinaria, the structure of whose shell it resembles. BELLUÆ. The sixth order of the Mammalia; the characters of which are, that their fore-teeth are obtusely truncated, their feet hoofed, and their food vegetables. The genera of the Horse, Hippopotamus, Hog, and Rhinoceros belong to this order. BELONE. A genus of fishes remarkable for the bright green colour of their bones. The jaws are much extended, and furnished with small teeth, without any others in the mouth, except in the pharynx. The body is very long, and covered with scales which are scarcely visible, except one keeled row on each side, near the under edge of the fish. [See GARFISH.] BELUGA. (Delphinus leucos.) A Cetaceous animal, of the size of the Grampus. It chiefly inhabits the seas of the Arctic regions, but is sometimes met with even on the British coasts. [See WHALE.] It is also the Russian name for the largest species of Sturgeon (Accipenser huso). BELYTA. A genus of Hymenopterous insects, being a species of minute four-winged flies, which frequent sandy situations. BERNACLE GOOSE. (BERNICLA LEUCOFSIS.) seen in the south except in very severe weather. About February it retires to the north to breed, and is then found in Russia, Lapland, Iceland, Spitzbergen, and other high latitudes. The length of the Bernacle is rather more than two feet. The bill is black, with a reddish streak on each side, and between it and the eyes is a small black streak; the irides dusky-brown; the forehead, sides of the head, and the throat, are of a pure white; the rest of the head, neck, and shoulders black, the upper part of the plumage is marked with blue, grey, black and white; and the legs are black. The history of this bird has been rendered singularly remarkable by the marvellous accounts which were related in the darker ages concerning its growth; it being a reduced in a kind of cirripede, the lepas ceived opinion that the Bernacle was proanatifera of Linnæus, growing on rotten ship-timber and other kinds of wood, and Among these is Gerard, a famous botanist in trees which lay under water on the coasts! his day, whose account is too absurd to give be tolerated: "When it is perfectly formed, in detail, but perhaps a short extract may the shell gapeth open, and the first thing that appeareth is the aforesaid lace or string; out; and as it groweth greater, it openeth next cometh the legs of the bird hanging all come forth, and hangeth only by the bill. the shell by degrees till at length it has In short space after it cometh to full matu BEMBEX: BEMBECIDEÆ. A genus and family of Hymenopterous insects, peculiar to hot climates, and, in some instances, very much resembling wasps both in size and colour. Bembex rostrata, an insect about the size of a wasp, is the type of this family, and is remarkable for having the lower parts of the mouth produced into a long trunk or proboscis. The female forms oblique cylindrical burrows in sandy banks, with a cell at the end of each, and having collected five or six flies, and placed them in her cell, she deposits a single egg in it; then having carefully closed its mouth, she proceeds in the same manner with another cell. These flies are no sooner hatched than the larva devours them; it then changes into the pupa state, and shortly after to the per-rity, and falleth into the sea, where it feet insect. BEMBIDIIDÆ. A family of minute carnivorous beetles, which generally frequent damp situations, such as the banks of rivers, ditches, &c. They are usually of a bright blue or green metallic colour, having two or four pale yellow spots on the elytra. gathereth feathers, and groweth to a fowl, bigger than a mallard, and lesser than a goose, having black legs, and bill or beak, and feathers black and white, spotted in such manner as our magpie 1" Again, Sir Robert Murray, in his account inserted in the Philosophical Transactions, says that he found "an old fir tree on the coast of Scotland, covered with bernacle shells, and that in every shell that he opened he found a perfect sea-fowl; the little bill, like that of a goose; the eyes marked; the head, neck, breast, wings, tail, and feet formed; the feathers every where perfectly shaped, and blackish coloured; and the feet like those of other water-fowl!" Such are some of the wild chimeras that have been handed down concerning the origin of these birds; such the dangerous contagion of the errors of science, where the imagination is allowed to soar beyond the region of common-sense. There are several other species, some of which we shall briefly describe : The RED-BREASTED BERNACLE. (Bernicla ruficollis.) This is a beautiful bird, about twenty-two inches in length; the beak is brown, with its hook black; between the beak and the eye is a white space; behind the eyes and on the sides of the neck it is white; the top of the head, the throat, belly, tail, and all the upper parts are deep black; the vent, under tail-coverts, and rump are pure white; but the breast and fore part of the neck are bright red. A band of black extends the entire length of the hinder part of the neck; the greater wingcoverts are tipped with white; and the legs are black. This beautiful bird inhabits the arctic countries of Asia, living on the borders of the Frozen Ocean: it appears periodically in Russia, and occasionally in Germany; but in England it is very rarely seen. British-killed specimen, however, has been seen by us in the British Museum. A The WHITE-WINGED BERNACLE. (Bernicla leucoptera.) This bird varies in length from about thirty-two to forty inches; the head, neck, lesser wing-coverts, and under parts of the body, white; the lower part of the neck behind, and as far as the middle of the back, crossed with numerous dusky-black lines; the two middle tailfeathers black; the rest white; and the legs black. It stands pretty high upon its legs; walks and flies with great ease; and has not that disagreeable cackling cry peculiar to the rest of its kind. The flesh is wholesome and nourishing. It inhabits the Falkland Islands, where it is called the Bustard Goose. The ANTARCTIC BERNACLE. (Bernicla Antarctica.) This is rather smaller than a tame goose: beak narrow, short, and black; the whole plumage of a dazzling snowy whiteness; on the bend of the wing a blunt knob: legs yellow. It inhabits Christmas Sound, in Terra del Fuego. Its flesh is unfit to be eaten. BEROE. (Beroe, or Cydippe pileus.), A small marine animal belonging to the class Acalepha, and to which the name Cydippe is now very frequently applied. This little animal is nearly of a globular form, somewhat elongated, and about three-fourths of an inch in length. It is composed of a gelatinous substance, strengthened by eight bands of rather firmer texture, which are covered with rows of large vibratile cilia, ar ranged side by side, so as to form narrow plates of a fin-like character. There are, in the most common species, from three to seven cilia in each row, and about twenty rows on each ridge: over these the Bere has complete control; it can retard or stop their movements at pleasure; and arrost the play of one, two, or more rows, whilst the remainder continue in rapid vibration, and act like so many little paddles. By these means it is capable of swimming through the water with considerable activity, and of changing its course at will. These little animals are of a bright faintly-blue aspect; and the cilia when in motion present vivid iridescent hues. The mouth is situated at one end, which is always directed forward when the animal is in motion, and is then widely dilated. From the stomach, there passes a narrow straight intestine, which terminates at the opposite extremity of the body. When the Beröe is in active movement, therefore, a continual stream of water will enter its mouth, and pass out again behind; and from the minute particles contained in the water, it evidently derives its nourishment; exceedingly minute crustacea may indeed be seen in the transparent stomach for some terior part of the body arise two lengthened time after being swallowed. From the pos BEROE.-(CYDIPPE PILEUS.) filaments, or tentacula, furnished on one side with cirri, which are sometimes spread out as delicate hairs, and, at others, are spirally convoluted, or coiled like the tendrils of a pea. When the main filaments have been ejected from the body, the little tendrils begin to uncoil. If a Beroe is placed in a vessel of sea-water, its various movements may be watched with interest: sometimes it remains at the bottom, projecting its long filaments upwards; at others, it darts swiftly upwards, drawing its long filaments after it, and alternately retracting and extending them; not unfrequently it remains for some time at the top of the water, till at length, wishing to descend, it turns over, drawing up its filaments suddenly, and then swims, mouthdownwards, to the bottom. In a small but intertesing volume on the A Popular Bictionary of Animated Nature. Natural History of Arran by the Rev. David Landsborough, the author makes the following remarks on the species Berbe cucumis, several specimens of which he had taken during his "Excursions," to that island; the largest being three inches in length, by about one inch and a half in diameter. They varied, he says, from the size of a lemon to that of a lady's thimble, were very beautiful, and in shape resembling an antique pitcher contracted at the neck, with a graceful revo lution, or turning back at the brim; but the exact form was difficult to assign, as it varied by partial contractions at the animal's pleasure. "The whole body has a tinge of pink, and the eight ribs closely set with cilia are beautifully adorned, having on each side an edging like fine crimson lace. In the larger specimens, this lace-work was studded with little orange oval-shaped bodies, like little grapes, attached by a capillary peduncle. When the Beroe was at rest, they rested; but when the cilia began rapidly to play, and the current of water, mixed at times with air-bubbles, to rush through the tubes of the ribs, then all the little orange bodies were in quick motion, as if dancing to the music of the spheres; or, believing in fairies as our forefathers did, one might have fancied that they were lace-bobbins, moved by nimble, invisible fairy hands, weaving the beautiful lace edging with which they were intermingled. Professor Forbes, however, says, as I had conjectured, that they are the eggs attached to the placentary membranes; and I doubt not that they are thus shaken by the motion of the cilia, that when fully ripe they may thereby be detached." Mr. Rymer Jones, in describing the beautiful mechanism of the Berde, has made some pertinent philosophical reflections on it, in language at once elegant and forcible. "Man," says he, "justly prides himself, among the countless triumphs of his intellect over the stubborn elements, at his success in having found the means of struggling through the opposing surge, propelled by steam revolving wheels whose paddles urge his vessel on with giant force. But man in this contrivance, as in many more, is but a bungling artist when compared with Nature, when he chooses to adopt machinery which she likewise has employed. Examine well the berde, and see if any paddle-wheels can equal hers. Stretching from pole to pole of this translucent little orb, like lines of longitude upon a globe, and placed at equal distances, are eight broad bands of more consistence than the other portions of the body. On these bands are placed thirty or forty paddles, broad flat plates, for such they seem when magnified, with which the little creature rows itself along. But here the difference lies between the art of Man and Nature. Man to move his wheels must have much cumbersome machinery; the furnace, and the boiler, and the Herculean arm that makes the wheel revolve; but here all these may be dispensed with, for the paddles are themselves alive, and move themselves at will with such degree of force as may be needed, either at once, or singly, or in groups, work these a bird can move its wings with a degree of strength which is almost incredible: the flap of a swan's wing would break the leg of a man; and a similar blow from an eagle has been known to cause instant death. Such, consequently, is the force of the wing, and such its lightness, as to be inimitable by human art. The eyes of birds are admirably adapted optic nerves, which renders the impression to vision, by a particular expansion of their of external objects more vivid and distinct. From this peculiar conformation, it appears that the faculty of sight in birds is infinitely superior to that of other animals, and, indeed, is indispensably necessary to their support and security. Were the eye less perfect, the bird, from the rapidity of its motion, would probably strike against almost every object in its way as well as be totally incapable of discerning its proper food when soaring in its own element. rupeds, and in some respects surpass them. In mental capacity birds fully equal quadmany words and phrases which they have Parrots, starlings, &c., retain in memory been taught, and many singing-birds whole melodies. Their powers of memory seem also to be evinced by the fact that birds of passage, after an absence of six months, or even a longer time, and after travelling thousands of miles, return to their former home; the swallow to her beam, the finch to the tree where last year she reared her young, or where she herself was hatched. The difference between such birds as love to dwell in uninhabited places, secure from persecution, and such as are found in the neighbourhood of men, surrounded by dangers, is a proof that their prudence, cunning, and docility can be awakened and improved. which the greater part of birds are distinThe voice is a peculiar gift of Nature, by guished from all the rest of the animal world. The wind-pipe of birds is composed of entire rings of cartilage, with an exception in the case of the ostrich. At its bifurcation is a glottis supplied with appropriate muscles, called the lower or inferior larynx. It is here that the voice of birds is formed; the contributes to the force, and the wind-pipe, vast body of air contained in the air-cells by its form and movements, to the modification, of the voice. The superior larynx is very simple and unimportant. The gift of song is given to the male birds only, and their notes are mostly an expression of love. They sing only when they are cheerful; in sadness, during rough weather, and in bodily disorders, they are silent. It is commonly birds in northern climates, and that nature, said that the gift of song is confined to the in the warmer regions, has endowed them, instead, with more brilliant colours; but Foster relates, that in Otaheite the birds sing with charming sweetness; and Cook, on his first voyage, found the forests of Queen Charlotte's Sound, in New Zealand, filled with little birds, whose voices sounded like silver bells. To no other animal have such various tones been granted for giving utterance to different feelings: hunger, fear, |