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Cabbage (Brassica oleracea and other species) is a hardy biennial vegetable of the family Cruciferae, allied to the turnip and the wild charlock. It is an important table vegetable and numerous varieties are cultivated.
The wild cabbage is a native of the coasts of Britain, but is much more common on other European shores. The kinds most cultivated are the common cabbage (Brassica oleracea), the savoy, the broccoli, and the cauliflower. The common cabbage forms its leaves into heads or bolls, the inner leaves being blanched. Its varieties are the white, the red or purple, the tree or cow cabbage for cattle (branching and growing when in flower to the height of three meters), and the very delicate Portugal cabbage. The garden sorts form valuable culinary vegetables, and are used at table in various ways.
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Cabbage Butterfly is a name often given to butterflies of the genus Pieris, but applied especially to Pieris brassicae, the Large White or Cabbage White form so common in gardens in summer. The eggs are laid on the under surface of the leaves of cabbage and other cruciferous plants, and hatch in about a fortnight giving rise to bluish-green larvae. These are exceedingly voracious and very destructive to the host plants. When fully fed the larvae quit the host plant and pupate on walls, trees etc. The autumn brood remains in the pupa stage until spring, and then hatching gives rise to the early butterflies, whose offspring form the butterflies of full summer. In fine seasons there may be three generations, the rate of development being dependant upon the weather.
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The Cabbage Fly (Anthomyia brassicae) is a dipterous insect closely resembling the common house fly in appearance. The larvae attack the stalks of cabbage and other vegetables and often cause great destruction.
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The Cabbage Moth (Mamestra brassicae) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 37 and 45 mm found in the Palaearctic region from western Europe to Japan and also in North America where it is an agricultural pest and produces between one and three generations depending upon temperature, with one generation being produced in cooler climates, that fly from May to October.
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The Cabbage Palm or Cabbage Tree (Euterpe oleracea) is a tree native to the West Indies where it often attains a height of thirty metres. It is a handsome tree with a trunk free from the remains of the leaf-sheaths of dead leaves. The terminal bud and the interior of the stem are edible, pickled or boiled.
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The cabbage rose (Rosa centifolia) or pale rose, as it is also known, is a deciduous shrub of the family Rosaceae with thin brown branches armed with numerous greatly flattened almost straight prickles. The leaves are odd pinnate, with between five and seven ovate to elliptic, dark-green coloured, serrate leaflets which are softly hairy beneath. The petioles and peduncles are almost thornless, but have glandular bristles. The flowers are fragrant, pink in colour, with many petals which are whiter towards the base. The fruit consists of numerous hairy achenes enclosed in the enlarged, fleshy, flask-shaped, bright red receptacle.
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Caccobius is a genus of small dung beetle of the family Scarabaeidae found in horse manure and cow dung.
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Cactus is the family of fleshy, thickened and mainly leafless plants, the Cactaceae (also known as the Indian Fig family). The species are succulent shrubs, with minute scale-like leaves (except in the genus Pereskia, tree-cactus, with large leaves), and with clusters and spines on the stems. They have fleshy stems, with sweetish watery or milky juice, and they assume many peculiar forms. The juice in some species affords a refreshing beverage where water is not to be got. All the plants of this order, except a single species, are natives of America. They are generally found in very dry localities. Some are epiphytes. Several have been introduced into the Old World, and in many places they have become naturalized. The fruits of some species are edible, as the prickly-pear and the Indian Fig cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region. The flowers are usually large and beautifully coloured, and many members of the family are cultivated as house plants.
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The caddis-fly (may-fly) is an insect of the genus Phryganea, of the order Neuroptera. The larva forms for itself a small case of stones, grass-roots, shells etc and lives under water until it is ready to emerge from the pupa state. The larva devours large quantities of fish-spawn, and, ironically, are a favourite bait of anglers.
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The Caecilia is an order of small, legless, amphibians of which comparatively little is still known. Species are either terrestrial or aquatic. Terrestrial species tending to eat earthworms, while the aquatic species may also feed on dead fish. The largest of all Caecilians is Caecilia thompsoni of Colombia and Ecuador. It reaches a length of more than 150 cm, while Grandisonia larvata of the Seychelles Islands is the only known specimen of 10 cm or less in length. The fatest species is Typhlonectes obesus of the Amazonian drainage. This water-living species may get as fat as a human arm.
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Caenocara is a genus of small beetle of the family Anobiidae, that live in puff-balls.
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Caenoscelis is a genus of beetle of the family Cryptophagidae.
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Caesalpinia is a genus of tropical, leguminous trees and shrubs of great beauty, and of some economic importance because of the dyes obtained from them.
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Caesalpinieae is a subdivision of the natural order of Leguminosae plants, containing several genera. The typical genus is Caesalpinia, to which belong the Brazil-wood, sapanwood, Nicaragua-wood, etc. The Caesalpinieae include also among their number senna, the carob, tamarind, aloes-wood, logwood, etc.
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Caffre-Corn (Sorghum vulgare) is a variety of millet.
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Cafius is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, found on sandy shores.
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The Cairn Terrier is a Scottish breed of small dog originating before the 17th century. The breed evolved in the west of Scotland and on the Isle of Skye and were first exhibited in 1909 when they were described as short-haired Skye Terriers, however breeders of Skye Terriers objected to the name and the present name was adopted. In 1913 the breed was introduced to the USA. They are even-tempered and affectionate dogs which make good family pets, although they will instinctively hunt vermin and have a tendency to dig - including flowerbeds!
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Cajanus is a genus of Leguminous plants of the sub-family Papilionacea. The only species, Cajanus indicus, is a valuable pulse found in the tropics where it is commonly called Congo Pea or Dhal.
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The Cajeput Tree, also known as White Tea Tree, Swamp Tea Tree and White wood (Melaleuca leucandendron) is a tree of the family Myrtaceae native to the East Indies and Tropical Australia. It has a long flexible trunk with irregular ascending branches, covered with a pale, thick, lamellated bark. It is soft and spongy and from time to time sheds its outer layer in flakes. The leaves are entire, linear, lanceolate, ash colour and alternate on short foot-stalks. The flowers are sessile and white on a long spike. An oil (tea tree oil) is distilled from the fresh leaves and twigs.
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The Calabrese is an Italian breed of horse which developed over the past two thousand years, originally in Calabria in southern Spain, whence the name. The
Calabrese stands between 15.3 and 16.2 hands high and is grey, bay, chestnut, brown or black in colour with a refined head and a straight or sometimes convex profile. The Calabrese is used as a general purpose riding horse, having a mix of a calm and manageable nature with an active and energetic manner.
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Caladium is a genus of plants, of the order Araceae. They are natives of tropical South America and are often cultivated in hothouses on account of their large finely coloured leaves.
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Calamarinae is a subfamily of reptiles of the typical snakes family (Colubridae). The subfamily contains nine genera divided into some 65 species found in south Asia across New Guinea and the Philippines, mainly in rain forests and montane rainforests to an altitude of 1800 metres. Most members have pointed or shovel-shaped snout, and the head is indistinct from the body. Generally the rostal shield extends forward over the mouth, the scales are smooth and iridescent and the relatively short tail ends with a spine. All of the members of the subfamily are subterranean, living in burrows, emerging at night or after heavy rain to hunt earthworms and over invertebrates and larvae. Some species live in termite mounds and feed on the termites and their nymphs.
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Calamint is a plant of the genus Calamintha, of the family Labiatae. The plants are herbs or shrubs with dense whorls of purple-white or yellow flowers, with two-lipped corolla and four conniving stamens.
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Calamobius is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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Calamus or Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus) is a perennial herb of the order Araceae native to Europe, Asia and North America. It has narrow sword-shaped leaves and a thick branched rhizome. The flowering stem is also sword-shaped, and ends in a flattened envelope (apathe) from which emerges the flower-spike with hundreds of yellow-green coloured simple flowers. When crushed the leaves emit an odour of tangerine.
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Calandrinia is a genus of plants of the rock purslane family (Portulaceae). All the species are fleshy, with sprawling or trailing habit and entire leaves. Some are annual and some are perennial. The flowers open fully only in sunshine.
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Calanthe is a genus of terrestrial orchids. The leaves are broad and plaited, the flowers are large, white and pink, borne on long spikes and are characterized by the possession of a large calcarate lip. Some species are deciduous and some evergreen.
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Calathea is a genus of perennial, handsome leaved plants native to Central and South America. They are members of the Scitaminaceae.
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Calathus is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae. Some seven species are found in Britain all with a similar elongate oval form. They hide by day under leaves, moss, stones or between grass roots and come out at night to hunt.
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The Calayan rail is a nearly flightless bird of the rail family found in the forests of the Philippine island of Calayan. It has black plumage and a scarlet beak and orange-red legs. The Calayan Rail, known locally as the piding, remained unknown to Westerners until August 2004.
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Calcarea are a class of sponges with a spicular skeleton made of calcium carbonate. The common British purse sponge is an example.
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Calceolaria is a genus of plants native to South America, Mexico and the West Indies, belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae.
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Calendula is a genus of hardy flowering English plants (the Common Marigolds).
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A calf is a young bovine animal, especially a young cow.
Calf is the name given to a young red deer not yet two years old.
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A calico cat is a cat with black, ginger and white patches.
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California buckeye (Aesculus californica) is a deciduous shrub of the family Hippocastanaceae, with opposite, palmately divided leaves with five leaflets; the flowers appear in a long, terminal cluster, white or pinkish, with stamens longer than the five petals; the fruit is a smooth, leathery capsule with one to three large brown, shiny seeds each with a pale scar.
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The Californian Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getulus californiae) is an American snake, native from Canada south to Ecuador, where they are found in varying habitats ranging from deserts to pine forests, mountain slopes, dry river beds and even in city suburbs. The Californian Kingsnake is generally banded with black and white hoops, is terrestrial and grows to about 120 cm long. They feed on lizards, birds, rodents and other snakes, including venomous species and other Californian King snakes. The Californian Kingsnake is a popular pet as they are non-venomous, easily tamed, enjoy being handled, like a small terrarium and are robust living for as long as fifteen years.
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The Californian Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica) is a perennial herb of the poppy family, from the California coast. It has finely-cut leaves and bright- yellow, saffron-eyed, four-petaled blooms.
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Calla is a genus of plants of the family Araceae, order Oronticeae comprising only a few species, the best known being Calla palustris (arum lily, water arum, wild calla). It is a handsome plant with heart-shaped leaves and showy white flowers found in wet places in cool northern temperate and sub-arctic regions of Europe and America. It has a creeping root-stock extremely acrid in taste, but which, when deprived of its causticity by maceration and boiling, is made by the Lapps into bread. The beautiful Richardia ethiopica (Ethiopian lily) was formerly included in this genus, and is still sometimes called Calla ethiopica.
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Callichthys is a genus of cat-fish or siluroids, including about a dozen species found in the rivers of tropical America. The body is enclosed in four rows of bony plates, and the head is also armoured. Like their allies in the same region, these cat-fish are capable of migrating over land from one river to another, and construct nests of leaves for their ova.
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Callidium is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) characterized by a broad, flat pronotum.
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Calligonum is a genus of hardy, mostly evergreen desert and steppe shrubs of the family Polygonaceae. They are natives of North Africa, Western Asia and Southern Europe. They are sand-tolerating switch-plants and were planted along side railway lines in the desert to act as a living screen against sand-drifts.
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Callimellum is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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Callistus is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, represented by a single species in Britain and Europe, Callistus lunatus, which ranges from 4 to 7 mm in length, and is to be found on warm, dry, chalky hillsides. In Britain the species is very rare, and is restricted to a few locations around London.
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Callorhynchus is a fish genus nearly allied to the Chimaera. It inhabits the seas of the south temperate zone and has a long tail bent upwards at the extremity.
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Calluna is a genus of the family Ericaceae of which one species,
Calluna vulgaris (ling or common heather) occurs wild in Britain. The genus is marked from its allies by its rosy calyx, the four sepals of which are much longer than the bell-shaped corolla within. Outside the calyx are four green bracts. The tiny downy leaves imbricate in four rows.
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Calophyllum is a genus of beautiful, evergreen, leathery-leaved tropical trees. The flowers which are borne in loose racemes are usually white and fragrant.
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Calophyrium is a genus of plants of the natural order Guttiferae, consisting of large timber trees, with shining leaves which have numerous transverse parallel veins. Calophyrium Inophyllum yields a medical resin, the tacamahae of the East Indies. The seeds afford an oil which is used for burning, for making ointment, etc.
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Calopogon pulchellus is a North American tuberous-rooted orchid, bearing purple flowers with a straw coloured beard in July or August.
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Calosoma is a genus of ground beetles (Carabidae) usually found climbing trees where they prey on other insects, such as caterpillars. The larva stage lasts a few weeks, the adult stage between two and four years.
Calosoma sycophanta has a green elytra and was imported into North America from Europe to combat caterpillars. Other species have different coloured elytra, which may be brassy-green, blue or black. Calosoma auropunctatum, found in the Mediterranean region, is unusual in having gold-green dimples in its elytra.
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Calotropis is a genus of shrubs or small trees of the family Asclepiadaceae.
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Caltha is a genus of plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae, including the marsh marigold. The species like wet, heavy soil.
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The Calumba, or Colombo (Jateorhiza palmata), is a plant indigenous to the forests of Mozambique, of the natural order Menispermaceae. The large roots are much used as a bitter tonic in cases of indigestion. American or false calumba is the bitter root of Frasera Carolinensis, a gentianaceous herb found in North America.
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Calvia is a genus of ladybird (Coccinellidae).
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Calycanthus is a genus of hardy American shrubs, of which one species, Florida allspice (Calycanthus floridus), has yellow flowers, and is sweet-scented.
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Calynda brocki is a Costa Rican species of stick insect. About 140 to 180 mm long, green or yellow-brown in colour and with two 'horns' on their head. Both the male and female are wingless.
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The calyptoblastea is an order of hydrozoa. They are marine colonial forms in which the perisac is extended to form hydrothecae around the hydranths and gonothecae around the blastostyles.
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Calyptomerus is a genus of beetles of the family Clambidae. A single species,
Calyptomerus dubius, occurs in Britain.
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The calyptra is the hood of the theca or capsule of mosses. The same name is given to any hood-like body connected with the organs of fructification in flowering plants.
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Calyptraea is a genus of gastropod molluscs which includes forms presenting some resemblance in habits and external appearance to the limpets, to which they are not nearly related. Externally the shell appears simple and cap- shaped, but beneath the apex there is a concealed inner whorl.
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Calystegia is a genus of plants which is a subdivision of the family of the Convolvulaceae, and is closely allied to the genus Convolvulus, in which its species are often included.
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In botany, the calyx is the outer floral envelope comprised of a number of individual sepals that protects the developing flower bud.
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Cam miles is a perennial dwarf herb of the family Compositae.
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Camarasaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Remains of Camarasaurus were discovered in 1877 and named by E D Cope. It was about 18 metres long, with a large heavy body, thick legs and a long neck and tail similar to Apatosaurus, but with a shorter neck and tail. The mouth was furnished with long, blunt teeth which pointed forwards and indicate a herbivore.
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The Camargue is French breed of pony indigenous to the Rhone delta of southern France. They stand about 14 hands high, are grey in colour, and while good natured are also semi-wild and as such spirited.
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Camassia is a genus of hardy North American liliaceous plants closely related to the scillas. The bulbs of
Camassia esculenta were commonly cooked for food by the Indians.
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The Camberwell beauty (Vanessa antiopa or Nymphalis antiopa) is a European butterfly of the brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae) family found in lowlands, mountains, forests, watersides and parks. Occasionally the Camberwell Beauty visits Britain, and was named on account of formerly being seen at Camberwell before the area was developed in the late 19th century.
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The Cambridge Bronze is an old, rare breed of domestic turkey, slightly smaller than the mammoth bronze.
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The camel is a group of two species of even-toed, ungulate ruminating mammals of the family Camelidae characterised by the absence of horns, the possession of incisor, canine and molar teeth, a fissure in the upper lip, a long and arched neck, one or two humps or protuberances on the back (the Arabian camel has one hump, the Common, Asian or Bactrian Camel, two), and a broad elastic foot which does not readily sink into the sand of the desert.
The native country of the camel is said to extend from Marocco to China, within a zone of 900 or 1000 miles in breadth. The common camel (Camelus Bactridnus), having two humps, is only found in the northern part of this region, and exclusively from the ancient Bactria, now Turkestan, to China. The dromedary, or Single-hump camel (Camelus dromedarius), or Arabian camel, is
found throughout the entire length of this zone, on its southern side, as far as Africa and India. The Bactrian species is the larger, more robust, and more fitted for carrying heavy burdens. The dromedary has been called the race-horse of its species. To people residing in the vicinity of the great deserts the camel is an invaluable mode of conveyance. It will travel three days under a load and five days under a rider without drinking. The stronger varieties carry from 700 to 1000 Lbs. burden.
The camel's power of enduring thirst is partly due to the peculiar structure of its stomach, to which are attached little pouches or water-cells, capable of straining off and storing up water for future use, when journeying across the desert. It can live on little food, and of the coarsest kind, leaves of trees, nettles, shrubs, twigs, etc. In this it is helped by the fact that its humps are mere accumulations of fat (the back-bone of the animal being quite straight) and form a store upon which the system can draw when the outside supply is defective. Hence the camel-driver who is about to start on a journey takes care to see that the humps of his animal present a full and healthy appearance. Camels which carry heavy burdens will do about 25 miles a day, those which are used for speed alone, from 60 to 90 miles a day.
The camel is rather passive than docile, showing less intelligent co-operation with its master than the horse or elephant; but it is very vindictive when injured. It lives from forty to fifty years. Its flesh is esteemed by the nomadic Arab and its milk is his common food. The hair of the camel serves in the East for making cloth for tents, carpets and wearing apparel. It is imported into European countries for the manufacture of fine pencils for painting and for other purposes. The South American members of the family Camelidae constitute the genus Auchenia, to which the llama and alpaca belong; they have no humps.
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Camel's Thorn is a name of several plants belonging to the genus Alhagi, natural order Leguminosae, and the sub-order Papilionaceae. They are herbaceous or half-shrubby plants growing in the deserts of Egypt and the East, and derive their name from the fact that they afford a food relished by camels. Some of the species yield a manna-like exudation from the leaves and branches.
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Camelidae is the camels, llamas, alpacas, vicugnas and guanacos family of animals of the order Artiodactyla. Camelids are all large, the South American forms ranging in weight from 35 kg to almost 100 kg. Old World camels, however, are much larger, weighing between 450 kg and 650 kg. Camelids vary in body shape from slender to stocky, but all have long, gracile necks; a small head; and long, slender legs. The upper lip is deeply and distinctively cleft. Their toes are splayed, and Camelids are the only plantigrade or fully digitigrade ungulates. The skulls of Camelids have an elongated rostrum, a well developed sagittal crest, and a complete postorbital bar. They lack horns or antlers. The cheek teeth are selenodont. Upper incisors are present; young have three on each side, but adults have only one, which is canine-like. The spatulate lower incisors project forward. The canines, which are present in both upper and lower jaws, are medium- sized and hooked. A wide diastema separates incisors and cheek teeth.
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Camellia is a genus of Asiatic evergreen trees and shrubs belonging to the family Ternstroemiaceae including the shrubs from which tea is obtained. The members have showy flowers and elegant dark-green, shining, laurel-like leaves and named from George Joseph Kamel, a Moravian Jesuit. The Camellia japonica, in Japan and China, is a lofty tree of beautiful proportions. It is the origin of many double varieties of our gardens. Besides this species, the Camellia Sasanqua, with small white scentless flowers, and the Camellia reticulata (net-veined), with its large peony-like flowers, are cultivated in Europe.
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Camelopard was a name once (originally by the Romans) given to the giraffe, in the mistaken belief that the creature was a cross between a camel and a leopard.
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Camomile or Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) is an annual perennial dwarf herb of the family Compositae found in Europe. The stem is hollow, round, downy, and furrowed. The leaves are pale green, sharply incised, sessile. The flowers are small, yellow-white. Camomile is used in medicine. Internally the infusion of the flowers is used for diarrhoea, dyspepsia, stomach problems, inflammation of the urinary system and painful menstruation. In external use, it is used in infusion, as a compresses over sores and wounds, skin diseases, haemorrhoid and inflammation of the eyes. The ground seeds produce the same effect. The decoction of the flowers or seeds is used to wash mouth inflammation. It is a good aid for sitz bath. The steam (vapour) bath of the camomile tea is recommended for asthma in children, or the relieve the symptoms of a cold.
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Camouflage is colours or structures which allow an animal to blend in with its surroundings.
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Campanula is the bellflower genus of plants of the family Campanulaceae. The species are herbaceous plants, with bell-shaped flowers usually of a blue or white colour. Nine species are indigenous to Britain, of which the most common and best known are the Campanula rotundifolia, blue-bell of Scotland or harebell, a native also of Asia and North America, and the Campanula medium, or Canterbury-bell, a well-known garden flower with double and single varieties.
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The Campanulaceae (Campanula) are an extensive family of gamopetalous dicotyledons usually herbaceous, with an inferior two or more celled fruit, many minute seeds, regular bell-shaped showy blue or white corolla, and milky acrid juice. They are natives chiefly of northern and temperate regions.
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The Campine is a breed of chicken.
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Campion is a group of caryophyllaceous plants contained in the two genera Silene and Lychnis.
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The Campion Moth (Hadena rivularis) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 27 and 30 mm distributed in lowlands and sub-montane elevations in the temperate zone from Europe to eastern Asia. One or two generations are produced flying from May to August.
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Camptosaurus was a herbivore dinosaur from the Jurassic period. A heavily built dinosaur, it was about 7 metres long and similar to Iguanodon. It mainly stayed on all-fours, but could rear up on its hind legs to run away from predators. It had small hooves instead of claws on its fingers, and rows of hundreds of teeth in its mouth. Remains of roughly ten species of Camptosaurus of varying sizes and proportions have been discovered in different parts of the USA and Europe since 1885.
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The canaan dog (Kelef K'naani) is a breed of dog known for its intense barking, trainability, and survival abilities when food and water are scarce. The coat is short to medium in length, harsh, and straight and may be white with large spots in either black, red, or brown or it may be all brown or all black with or without white marks. The ears are medium-sized, pointed, and held erect. The tail is plumed and usually held curled over the back. The eyes are dark-coloured. The adult dog stands 48 to 61 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weighs 16 to 25 kg. The breed was developed during the late 1930s as a guard dog for kibbutzim and trained for mine detection in the Second World War. They are now used also as seeing-eye dogs, herding dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, and for tracking.
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The Canada Goose (Brenta canadensis) is an American wild goose, about 80 centimetres long, brownish above, lighter below with a black head, neck, bill and feet and a white patch on the cheek.
The Canada Goose breeds in the north of the continent, and migrates southwards when the frost becomes severe.
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The Canada jay or 'whiskey jack' (Perisoreus canadensis), is a bird of rather sombre colouring, but of the bold, noisy, and active habits of others of the jays.
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Canada Rice (Zizania aquatica) is a floating grass found growing in lakes and sluggish streams in Canada and the northern USA. It yields an edible grain.
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The Canadian Cutting Horse is a Canadian breed of horse based largely upon the American Quarter Horse and bred to be quick, agile, and athletic as well as calm, alert and willing. The Canadian Cutting Horse stands between 15 and 16 hands high and occurs in any whole colour.
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Canadian fleabane (Conyza canadensis) is an annual herb of the family Compositae with an erect, glabrous or slightly hairy stem, which is much branched near the top. The leaves are slightly hairy and linear to lanceolate. The numerous bell-shaped white and yellow flowers are arranged in long terminal panicles. The fruit is a yellow downy achene.
Canadian fleabane is native to North America, and was introduced to Europe during the 17th century.
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Canadian Hemp or Canada Hemp (Apocynum Cannabinum) is a perennial herb of the diogbane family, native to North America, with upright stems and branches headed by erect, many flowered stems and leaves which are nearly sessile. It grows in gravely or sandy soil, mostly near streams. It is used in California for making twine, bags, cordage, fishing-nets and a coarse kind of linen.
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Canarium is a genus of trees which are natives of tropical countries. Many of them yield nuts of some economic value.
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The canary or canary-bird (Serinus canarius) is an insessorial singing bird of the finch family and native of the Canary islands. They were introduced to Europe in the latter part of the fifteenth century. Many of the caged canaries kept are actually mules produced from cross breeding a canary with an allied species such as the goldfinch, siskin or linnet.
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Canary Grass, ribbon-grass or gardener's-garters (Phalaris canariensis) is a hardy annual grass, striped green and white, bearing beautiful flower-spikes in summer, followed by fruit containing the canary seed.
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The canary-flower (Tropceolum peregrinum) is an annual climbing plant of the Indian cress family, a native of New Granada, cultivated in Europe for its showy yellow flowers.
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Cancer root or beech drop (Epiphegus Virginianus) isan American parasitic plant of the natural order Orobanchaceae, growing on the exposed root of the beech-tree. The whole plant is powerfully astringent, and the root brownish, spongy, and of a very nauseous bitter taste. It has been used in cases of cancer.
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The candle fish (Thaleichthys) is a small fish allied to the smelt and found off the Pacific coast of North America. It receives its popular name from its oily flesh which will burn like a candle. Living in huge schools in Alaskan's salt waters. They are a blue-brown colour on the back with black flakes on the fins and the tail with a silver colour on the bottom. The upper jaw extends past the eyes. In spring, between April and May, mature fish head toward rivers to spawn in fresh water, most die after spawning. Females lay around 17, 000 to 60,000 eggs, depending on their size, after becoming mature at about three to four years old.
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The candle nut or candlebery tree (Aleurites triloba and Aleurites moluccana) are evergreen trees belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, and grow wild in the Pacific islands. They are characterized by large, thick maple-like alternate leaves and clusters of small white flowers. The nuts are very rich in oil, and are sometimes used as torches for fishing by.
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The candle tree (Parmentiera cerifera) is a tree native to Central America of the family Burseraceae. It bears large white flowers at the nodes, followed by yellow edible fruit not unlike wax candles in appearance.
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The candleberry, candleberey myrtle, wax myrtle, etc (Myriad cerifera), is a shrub of the natural order Myricaceae, growing from four to eighteen feet high, and common in North America, where candles were made from its drupes or berries, which are about the size of peppercorns, and covered with a greenish-white wax popularly known as Blayberry tallow. The wax was collected by boiling the drupes in water and skimming off the surface. A bushel of berries yields from 4 to 5 lbs. of wax. Another plant belonging to the same genus is the sweet-gale (Myrica Gale), which grows abundantly in bogs and marshes in Scotland. It is a small shrub, with leaves somewhat like the myrtle or willow, of a fragrant odour and bitter taste, and yielding an essential oil by distillation.
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Canella is a genus of evergreen tropical trees native to the West Indies.
Canella alba grows to a height of four metres and bears small violet flowers which yield a musk-like fragrance.
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The Canidae are the dog family, the only family included in the section Cynoidea, of the order Carnivora. The Canidae are much less highly specialized forms than the cats, as is shown by their more numerous and less strictly carnivorous teeth, their blunt non-retractile claws, and certain minor anatomical peculiarities. Most of the dogs hunt in packs, combining to overthrow animals which would be too powerful for the efforts of individuals. The members of the family are widely distributed, the type genus Canis being truly cosmopolitan, to which belong dogs, wolves, jackals and foxes, animals which differ from one another only in minor peculiarities.
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In horticulture, canker is a kind of gangrenous disease to which fruit-trees especially are liable, beginning in the younger shoots and gradually extending to the trunk.
In farriery, canker is a disease in horses' feet causing a discharge of fetid matter from the cleft in the middle of the frog, generally originating in a diseased thrush.
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The cankerworm are two destructive caterpillars - the spring cankerworm (Paleacrita vernata) and the autumn cankerworm (Also phila pometaria) - found in the USA from Maine to Texas. The eggs are laid on fruit and shade trees, and the larvae frequently destroy the foliage of whole orchards in a few days. The larvae feed on most broad-leaved trees and shrubs, but prefer the American elm, Manitoba maple, basswood, Siberian elm, and apple. The first noticeable sign of an infestation is small ' shot-holes' in the young leaves. At this time the tiny larvae are found on the underside of the leaf. As the larvae continue feeding, the holes grow larger, until almost all of the leaf tissues are eaten. During severe outbreaks, trees and shrubs may be completely defoliated. Healthy trees and shrubs usually produce a new crop of leaves by mid-July and show little permanent injury from a single defoliation. However, after three or more consecutive years of heavy attack tree growth is slowed down and branches in the crown die back.
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Canna is a genus of plants, of the natural order Marantaceae, some species of which have fine flowers, and some from their black, hard, heavy seeds are called Indian shot.
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Cannabinaceae is the order of plants to which only two plants, hemp (genus Cannabis) and the hop, belong, closely allied to the nettle order.
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Cannabis is a genus of narcotic plants of the family Urticaceae, order Cannabinaceae, of which hemp is a typical species.
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The Cannon-ball Tree (Couroupita guianensis), is a tree of the natural order Lecythidaceae, a native of Guiana, with a hard globular fruit.
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The Cantaloupe is a small round variety of musk-melon, globular, ribbed, of pale-green or yellow colour, and of delicate flavour. It is so named on account of first being grown in Europe at the castle of Cantaloupe.
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Cantharellales is an order of fungi similar to the mushrooms and toadstools, but the members don't form proper gills with a sharp edge. Instead spores are formed on radiating folds and ridges.
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Cantharellus is a well-known genus of fungus of the order Cantharellales (the Chanterelles) . It has a funnel-shaped fruiting body. The genus includes the chanterelle wild mushroom.
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Cantharidae is the soldier beetle family of insects of the order Coleoptera. They are beetles with a rather thin and soft cuticle, so that the body and elytra are much less rigid than is usual for beetles. The members of the family generally eat other insects, but some eat nectar, pollen or young oak tree shoots. The larvae crawl about on the ground eating slugs and snails.
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The Cantharides or Spanish Fly (Lytta vesicatoria) is a kind of beetle of the family Meloidae, found in Italy, Spain and France. The body is about 20 millimetres long and of a golden-green colour. They live on trees and eat leaves. They exude a poison, cantharidin, when bruised which is used in blistering plasters.
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Cantharis is a genus of soldier beetle (Cantharidae), represented by fifteen British species between 9 and 15 mm long.
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The canvasback (Aythya or Nyroca valisineria) is an American diving duck related to the pochard, but larger. The head is chestnut coloured, the back lighter (resembling canvas in colour, whence the name), the beak long and narrow. The canvasback is a popular eating duck in America.
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The capelin (Mallotus villosus) is a small fish of the salmon family found in North American coastal waters where it is used as a bait for cod and also eaten.
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Caper (Capparis spinosa) is a deciduous, shrubby perennial of the family Capparidaceae found in rocky places and waste areas of the Mediterranean region. It has straggly, sometimes spiny stems branching from the base. The leaves are circular to ovate in shape and rather fleshy. The flowers are carried singly in the leaf axils, opening flat with four white or purplish- tinged petals. The fruit is a rounded berry, about two centimetres across, which splits open when ripe to reveal numerous seeds embedded in a sticky mucilage.
Picked and pickled in vinegar and salt the, unopened flower-buds are much used as a condiment (caper-sauce being especially the accompaniment of boiled mutton). The plant was introduced into Britain as early as 1596, but has never been grown on a large scale. The flower-buds of the marsh-marigold (Caltha palustria) and nasturtium are frequently pickled and eaten as a substitute for capers.
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Capercailzie, capercaillie, or cock of the wood, is the wood grouse (Tetrao urogallus), the largest of the gallinaceous birds of Europe, weighing from 9 to 12 Ibs. In the male the neck and head are ashy black, the wings and shoulders brown with small black dots, the breast variable green, the belly black with white spots, the rump and flanks black with zigzag lines of an ashy colour, and the tail-feathers black, with small white spots near their extremities. The female, about one-third less than the male, is striped and spotted with red or bay, black and white, and has the feathers of the head, breast, and tail of a more or less ruddy hue. It is common in northern Asia, in parts of Russia, and throughout Scandinavia. For some time it was almost or wholly extinct in Great Britain, but was successfully re-introduced during the 19th century.
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A capitulum is a type of flowering shoot characteristic of plants of the family Compositae in which the tip of the shoot is flattened and bears many small stalkless flowers surrounded by an involucre of bracts giving the appearance of a single flower.
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Capnodis is a genus of jewel beetle (Buprestidae). The larvae live in the roots of cultivated fruit trees and wild Prunus.
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Capparidaceae is a family of dicotyledonous, polypetalous, herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees, having four petals and sepals, a great number of stamens, and an ovary elevated upon a long stalk. The caper tree is the most familiar example. They are mostly natives of the tropics or of subtropical regions. All of them appear to be more or less acrid. Some are very poisonous, others act as vesicatories, and a few are merely stimulant.
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Capridae is the goat tribe, a family of ruminating animals, in which the horns are directed upwards and backwards, and have a bony core.
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Caprifoliaceae is a family of annual and perennial herbs, shrubs and trees of wide distribution. The characteristics of the members are opposite leaves without stipules, free anthers, epipetalous stamens, and fruit not splitting open when ripe. It includes a number of erect or twining shrubs and herbaceous plants, comprising the honeysuckle, elder, viburnum, and snowberry.
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Caprimulgidae is the Nightjar or Goatsucker family of Fissirostral birds. They are characterized by a short beak, enormous wide gape; soft and loose plumage giving the birds an owl-like appearance; the habit is usually nocturnal, and the diet chiefly of insects caught on the wing. The wings are long and formed for powerful flight.
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Caprinae is a sub-family of even-toed ungulates of the Bovidae. It includes the sheep and goat and the musk ox. The family is distinguished by the presence of ridged, curved, or spiral horns in both sexes, a somewhat hairy muzzle, and a short and flattened tail.
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Capromyidae is the Coypu family of the suborder Hystirco Morpha.
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Capsicum is a genus of tender annual South American plants of the family Solanaceae. They have straight, woody stems and single, star-shaped, white flowers in the axils of the leaves, a wheel-shaped corolla, and a many-seeded berry. The flowers are followed by juiceless berries or pods, which vary in shape and size. They are green at first and change to red, yellow or purple. They contain many flat, kidney-shaped, white seeds, which are very hot tasting. Kinds that are commonly grown are varieties of Capsicum frutescens, which are the Peppers grown in the vegetable garden and include those from which red pepper, cayenne pepper, Tabasco and paprika are made.
In tropical countries it is a perennial and will form a shrub as high as two meters, but when it is grown in gardens it is treated as an annual and is raised from seeds every year. Capsicum frutescens grossum, the Sweet or Bell Pepper, is a popular vegetable. When the fruit is ripe it is red or yellow, but it's used as a vegetable in the green stage.
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The capuchin monkey (Cebus capuchinus) is a tropical American monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae. They are distinguished by the comparative shortness of their tail, and the absence of a naked area on the underside of the tail. The hair is not woolly, the limbs are of moderate length and slender. The monkeys live in troops, frequenting the tops of tall forest trees eating fruits, shoots, buds, insects, eggs and young birds. The ease with which they are trained, together with their gentle nature has made them popular as pets and performers.
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The capybara (Hydrochoerus capybara) is a species of aquatic rodent of the guinea-pig family Cavidae, also known as the river-hog, water-hog or water-horse and in South America it is called the carpincho. It is about one metre long with a large thick head, a thick body covered with long, coarse brown hair and short legs with long feet which are webbed. It is found in South America where it feeds on vegetation and fish.
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Carabidae is the Ground Beetle family of insects of the order Coleoptera. They are mostly predacious, though some species are omnivorous or vegetarian.
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Carabus is a genus of large and flightless beetles of the family Carabidae ranging from 30 to 40 mm in length, and found all over Europe where they live for between two and three years. In most species the membranous hindwings have regressed, and they have an abdominal gland from which they can release or squirt a malodorous defensive secretion. They are predominantly predators, but also eat fruit.
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The Caracal, Desert Lynx or Persian Lynx (Felis caracal or Caracal caracal) is a cat, formerly thought to be a species of lynx - with which they resemble - native to northern Africa and south-west Asia. It is about the size of a fox, mostly a deep-brown colour with tufts of long black hair on the ears. Studies conducted during the 1980's revealed that Caracals prey on a variety of mammals, with rodents making up almost 90% of their diet supplemented by birds which the Caracal is skilled at catching in flight - leaping into the air and swiping them with their front paws, larger mammals and occasionally carrion. In the wild Caracals are mainly active at night.
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The Caracara (Polyborus tharus) is a Brazilian carrion hawk. It is a dull- coloured bird, with bare throat and cheeks, long legs and feet almost like those of a game bird. It has a powerful flight, but is largely terrestrial in its habits, running with great speed. It feeds mainly on carrion, but they also hunt in packs. The nest is built on the ground.
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The Carambola or Coromadel Gooseberry (Averrhoa Carambola) is a small evergreen tree of the family Geraniaceae, bearing short racemes of red flowers, followed by round, yellow, orange-sized fruits which are full of juice but very sour.
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Carapa is a genus of tropical plants, of the natural order Meliaceae. A South American species, Carapa guianensis, is a fine large tree, whose bark is in repute as a febrifuge. Oil made from its seeds (called carap-oil or crab-oil) was formerly used for lamps, and masts of ships were made from its trunk. The wood is called crab-wood. The oil of the African species, Carapa guineensis, called Coondi, Kundah, or Tallicoona oil, is used by the natibes for making soap and anointing their bodies. The oil of the South American carapa is used for the same purpose also.
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A carapace is a dorsal shield. The name is also given to the upper part of the hard shell of chelonian reptiles such as the tortoise, the lower part being called the plastron.
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Caravan is the collective noun for a group of camels.
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Caraway (Carum carvi) is a biennial or perennial herb of the family Umbelliferae. It has a spindle-like tap root, finely divided feathery leaves which are two or three times pinnate, and erect branched furrowed stems terminated by compound umbels of white or rose-tinted, deeply notched flowers. The fruit is a rectangular, ribbed achene with two crescent-shaped seeds. Caraway grows throughout Europe and Asia in grassy, sunny locations, especially mountains up to an altitude of 2000 metres.
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Carcharodontosaurus was a giant carnivorous dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Remains of Carcharodontosaurus have been found in North Africa since 1931, from which it is believed the dinosaur was about 8 metres long, walked on its hind legs, had short arms with powerful claws and fed on herbivorous dinosaurs in the surrounding area.
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Cardamom is an aromatic perennial herb of the family Scitamineae.
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Cardinal Beetle is a common name for insects of the family Pyrochroidae, order Coleoptera. They are notable for their red elytra. The larvae live under the dry bark of deciduous trees and feed on other insects, or if none are available, each other.
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The Cardinal Bird or Red Bird or Virginian Nightingale (Cardinalis virginianus) is a handsome North American bird, the male being of a fine red colour marked with black. It belongs to the finch family (Fringillidae), and has a bright sweet song. It is found from Mexico to Massachusetts.
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The Cardinal butterfly (Pandoriana pandora) is a species of brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) and with a wing span of about 65 mm is Europe's largest fritillary. The butterflies occur in one generation lasting from May to October and like to assemble in open country rich in flowering thistles.
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Cardinal-flower is the name commonly given to Lobelia cardinalis, because of its large, very showy, and intensely red flowers. It is a native of North America, but is much cultivated in gardens in Britain.
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Cardiophorus is a genus of click beetle (Elateridae).
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Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) is a perennial herb of the family Compositae with a stout, erect, branched stem and numerous spiny lanceolate leaves, which are smooth above and white-felted beneath. The terminal globose flower heads have a fleshy receptacle and blue-violet ligulate florets.
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Carex is a large genus of plants of the family Cyperaceae. They are the sedges, perennial grass-like herbs with unisex flowers aggregated in spikelets. There are more than a thousand species distributed all over the world, about sixty being indigenous to Britain.
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The Cariacou or Carjacou is the Virginian deer (Cervus virginianus), found in all parts of North America up to 43 degrees north latitude. It is smaller than the common stag, and its colour varies with the season. In spring it is reddish-brown, in autumn slaty-blue, and in winter dull-brown.
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The cariama is a large, long legged bird found in south America.
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The Caribou or Cariboo is two American species of reindeer, sometimes regarded as specifically identical with the Old World reindeer. They have never been brought under the sway of man, but are a great object of chase for the sake of their flesh.
The woodland cariboo (Rangifer caribou) most nearly resembles the common reindeer. It is found over considerable tracts of Canada, as also in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is migratory in its habits. The Barren Ground cariboo (Rangifer groenlandicus) is much smaller, but has larger horns. It inhabits the Barren Grounds north-west of Hudson Bay, and also extends into Greenland. It executes considerable migrations, going north to the Arctic Ocean in summer, and returning in autumn.
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Carinaria is a genus of gasteropodous molluscs, of the order called Heteropoda or Nucleobranchiata, whose shells are known as Venus' slipper and glass nautilus. The gills are protected by a small and very delicate shell of glassy translucence. The creature itself is about five centimetres in length, and is of oceanic habits. It is so transparent that the vital functions may be watched by the aid of a microscope.
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The carinatae are an order of birds. They can fly.
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Carinatse is Huxley's second order of the class Aves or birds, the other two being Saururae and Ratitae. The Carinatse include all the living flying birds, that is, all existing birds except the Cursores, and are characterized by the fact that the sternum or breast-bone is furnished with a prominent median ridge or keel, whence the name.
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The Carline-thistle (Carlina vulgaris) is, a thistle common in dry fields and pastures throughout Britain and the European continent, about 30 cm in height, with prickly, somewhat hoary leaves, and a purple head of flowers with a straw-coloured involucre.
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Carludovica is a genus of palm-like monocotyledons native to tropical America.
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Carmarina is a member of the order Trachylina.
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The carnation (Dianthus) is a hardy perennial plant of the family Caryophyllaceae. Also known as the clove-pink or pink.
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The Carnauba palm (Copernicia cerifera) is a native palm of Brazil. When young the leaves, berries and stalks are covered in a wax (carnauba wax) which is used to make candles, and as a glazing agent in book binding, leather work and on fruit.
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Carnivora is a term applicable to any creatures that feed on flesh or animal substances, but is now applied specially to an order of mammals which prey upon other animals. The head is small, the jaws powerful, and the skin is well covered with hair. Two sets of teeth, deciduous or milk and permanent, are always developed in succession, and in both sets incisors, canines, and molars are distinguishable. The stomach is simple and the alimentary canal short, thus making the body as light and slender as possible for the purpose of hunting and springing on its prey.
The muscular activity of the Carnivora is very great, their respiration and circulation very active, and their demand for food is consequently constant. Carnivora are often divided into Plantigrada, comprising the bears, badgers, raccoons, etc; Digitigrada, comprising lions, tigers, cats, dogs; and Pinnipedia or Pinnigrada, comprising the seals and walruses. The two former divisions are also classed together as Fissipedia. The typical Plantigrada are distinguished by their putting the whole sole of the foot to the ground in walking, while the Digitigrada walk on the tips of their toes. The Plantigrada are also less decidedly carnivorous, and feed much on roots, honey, and fruits. In the Pinnigrada the body is long and of a fish shape, the fore and hind limbs are short and form broad webbed swimming-paddles. The hind-feet are placed far back, and more or less tied down. to the tail by the integuments.
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A carnivore is a carnivorous mammal, that is a member of the carnivora.
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Something which is carnivorous eats flesh.
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Carnivorous plants are those which derive nourishment directly from the bodies of insects or other small creatures entrapped by them in various ways. Such plants, of which there are several hundred kinds, mostly belong to the natural orders Sarraceniaceae or Pitcher-plants (genera Sarracenia, Darlingtonia, etc.), Droseraceae (genera Drosera, Dioncea, Aldrovanda, etc.), Lentibulariaceae (genera Pinguicula, Utricularia, etc.), and Nepenthaceae (genus Nepenthes).
In all these the apparatus for catching insects consists of a modified leaf or portion of a leaf, and in some the modifications are so curious and the adaptations so perfect that the plant seems almost endowed with intelligence. In the pitcher-plant order the leaf consists of a longer or shorter tube, ventrally winged, and sometimes crowned by a sort of hood. Insects are enticed to the leaves by means of a sugary secretion near the mouth, and sometimes also continued down the edge of the wing, so as to form what has been described as a 'saccharine trail' from near the ground up to the orifice. The tube when not hooded may contain rain, in addition to the secreted juice, but in the hooded forms rain is excluded.
In Nepenthes the sessile leaf-blade is continued as a twining tendril, which bears on its summit a pitcher closed in the younger plants by a hinged lid. The species of Drosera, or Sun-dew, of which some are common in British bogs, have their leaves provided with stalked glands, which exude a clear juice. When an insect alights on any of these glands, those in the neighbourhood bend towards it in order to secure it more effectively. In the allied Dioncea muscipula or Venus's Fly-trap of Carolina, however, the leaf-blade bears on its apex a sort of trap, consisting of two pieces hinged together. These have bristles on their outer ends and a few sensitive hairs on their inner faces, and if any of the hairs or the hinge is touched by an insect the trap closes and secures it. The common Butterwort of Britain (Pinguicula vulgaris) also has leaves which catch insects (and vegetable matters) by means of sensitive glandular hairs; and the Bladderworts (Utricularia) are provided with small submerged ascidia or pitchers.
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The carob, bean tree or locust tree (Ceratonia siliqua), is a Leguminous evergreen tree of the sub-order Caesalpinieae found in Mediterranean countries. It has a dark-green foliage, and produces pods in which the seeds are embedded in a dry nutritious pulp of a sweet taste. It was introduced to England in the 16th century. The pods of the tree, sold as locust beans were formerly feed to pigs and cattle.
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The carp (Cyprinus) is a genus of soft-finned fresh water fish distinguished by a small mouth, toothless jaws and gills of three flat rays. They have a single dorsal fin and fairly large scales.
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The Carpathian (Karpacka or Carpatina) is a European breed of long-haired goat. Often white in colour, they also occur in other colours and have twisted horns. They are kept for meat and milk production in Poland and Romania.
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Carpel is a botanical term referring to a simple pistil or a single member of a compound pistil.
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Carpelimus is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae. Some species live on algae, and they mostly live beside water in parts of the bank devoid of vegetation.
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The carpenter bee (Xylocopa) is different species of bee named on account of the habit of forming a nest in dry wood, in which it excavates parallel galleries. Within these galleries cells are formed of wood pulp moistened by salivary juice. The species are numerous in Asia, Africa, and America, and one species inhabits the south of Europe. They are generally of a dark violet-blue, and of considerable size. They usually form their nests in pieces of half-rotten wood, cutting out various apartments for depositing their eggs.
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Carpophilus is a genus of sap-beetle (Nitidulidae).
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In botany, a carpophore is a continuation of the flower-stalk, which passes in certain flowers, notably those of the family Umbelliferae, between the carpels, until it reaches their highest points. Often when the carpels are ripe, and separate from one another, they remain attached to the carpophore at its summit.
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Carrageen (Irish Moss) is a common British seaweed (Chondrus crispus). It is a very variable weed, with a flat branching frond usually of a deep purple-brown colour. When dried and boiled it becomes whitish in colour and yields a jelly used in food and medicine.
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The carrier pigeon is a variety of the common domestic pigeon used for the purpose of carrying messages. Several varieties have thus been employed, but what is distinctively called the carrier pigeon is a large bird with long wings, large tuberculated mass of naked skin at the base of the beak, and with a circle of naked skin round the eyes. This variety, however, is rather a bird for show than use, and the variety generally employed to carry messages more resembles an ordinary pigeon.
The practice of sending letters by pigeons belongs originally to eastern countries, though in other countries it has often been adopted, more especially before the invention of the electric telegraph. An actual post-system in which pigeons were the messengers was established at Bagdad by the Sultan Nureddin Mahmud, who died in 1174, and lasted until 1258, when Bagdad fell into the hands of the Mongols, and was destroyed by them.
Carrier pigeons can be utilized in this way only in virtue of what is called their homing faculty or instinct, which enables them to find their way back home from surprising distances. But if they are taken to the place from which the message is to be sent and kept there too long, say over a fortnight, they will forget their home and not return to it. They are better to get some training by trying them first with short distances, which are then gradually increased. The missive may be fastened to the wing or the tail, and must be quite small and attached so as not to interfere with the bird's flight. By the use of microphotography a long message may be conveyed in this way, and such were received by the besieged residents in Paris during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871, the birds being conveyed out of the city in balloons. Seventy-two miles in two and a half hours, a hundred and eighty in four and a half, have been accomplished by carrier pigeons. Large numbers of these birds are kept in England, Belgium, France, etc and now called racing pigeons, there being numerous pigeon clubs which hold pigeon races to test the speed of the birds. These pigeons were also kept in several European countries for military purposes, and were used during the Great War and the Second World War.
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The Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) is a British bird of the family Corvidae, order Passeriformes, closely related to Corvus cornix, the hooded crow. The carrion-crow, or simply the crow, is about 45 cm inches in length, and about 92 cm between the tips of the wings. Its plumage is compact and glossy blue-black with some greenish reflections. Its favourite food is carrion of all kinds; but it also preys upon small quadrupeds, young birds, frogs, lizards, etc, and is a confirmed robber of the nests of game birds and poultry. It is not gregarious, being generally met with either solitary or in pairs. It builds a large isolated nest, with from four to six eggs, generally of a bluish-green with blotches of brown. The carrion-crow is easily tamed, and may be taught to articulate words.
In the USA the name carrion crow refers to the black vulture.
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The carrot (Daucus carota) is a plant of the family Umbelliferae, having a large, edible tapering root high in sugar which has long been cultivated for food. In the natural state the root is of a purplish colour, but over the years the domestic carrot developed an orange-coloured root.
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The Carthusian is a Spanish breed of horse now comprising a side-branch of the Andalusian breed, but originated around the early part of the 18th century from a stallion called Esclavo. The Carthusian stands between 15 and 16 hands high and is mostly grey, but also chestnut or black in colour and is a kind and lively breed.
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The cartilaginous fish is a general designation for those fishes whose skeleton consists of cartilage instead of bone, and which comprise the sharks and skates or rays.
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A caruncle is a small hard outgrowth formed on the seeds of certain plants, such as the castor oil plant. A caruncle is the fleshy excrescence on the head of a fowl, such the comb of a cock or the wattles of a turkey.
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Carya is the hickory genus of plants.
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Caryocar is a genus of plants of the family Caryocaraceae, consisting of tall trees native to tropical America which produce good timber and also butter-nuts.
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Caryophyllaceae are a family of plants. They have opposite undivided leaves without stipples, tumid articulations of the stems, and seeds disposed upon a free central placenta, surrounded by several carpellary leaves. The great proportion of the species are inconspicuous weeds, like chick-weed, sandwort, etc, but many are found as favourite plants in our gardens, as the carnation, sweet-william, etc.
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Caryophyllia is a member of the order Zoantharia.
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Caryopsis is the botanical term for small one-seeded, dry, indehiscent fruit in which the seed adheres to the thin pericarp throughout, such as in wheat and other grains.
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Caryota is a genus of spineless palms with doubly pinnate leaves. The genus is sometimes known as the fish-tail palms from the shape of the leaflets. When fully grown the plants bear large green or purple flowers, the spadices hanging down in graceful bundles.
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The Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) is a small evergreen tree found in the Caribbean. It's fruit is called the cashew-nut, and is small, kidney-shaped, ash-grey and contains an acrid juice. Its noxious property is destroyed by roasting after which it is deemed a great delicacy.
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The cashmere is a small domesticated goat with large ears and small horns kept for its wool, milk and meat in mountainous areas of China, Iran and Kashmir, and also extensively farmed in the USA and other developed countries primarily for its wool. The Cashmere goat is remarkable for its fine downy fleece, said to be found in perfection only in Tibet in the neighbourhood of Lhassa, but also found in other parts of this region, including Ladakh, now a province of Cashmere. The colder the region where the goat pastures, the heavier is its fleece. A full-grown goat yields not more than eight ounces, the fine curled wool being close to the skin. A large shawl of the finest quality requires 5 lbs of the wool; one of the inferior quality from 3 to 4 lbs.
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The Caspian is an ancient breed of Iranian miniature horse, often referred to as a pony, standing between 10 and 12 hands high. The Caspian is placid, good natured and mostly bay or brown in colour. Their good nature makes them excellent for children, and their grace and charm makes them attractive for showing.
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Cassava (Manihot utilissima) is a South American shrub of the family Euphorbiaceae. It grows to about 2.4 metres in height and has broad, shiny leaves roughly in the shape of a human hand and attractive white and pink flowers. The root is used in cooking.
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Cassia is a large genus of leguminous plants found in tropical countries. The species consists of trees, shrubs and herbs. The leaves are abruptly pinnated and usually bear glands on their stalks. The drug Senna is obtained from the leaflets of many of the species.
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The Cassicus is a genus of American insessorial birds, the Cassicans (American Orioles). They are allied to the Starlings and are remarkable for the ingenuity with which they weave their nests.
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Cassida is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) and are sometimes pests of beet and turnip.
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The cassowary (Casuaridae) are a family of ruminating birds of the order Casuariformes. They are similar to the ostrich, but have characteristic feet with three toes, the inner toe possessing a long sharp claw, unusually strong legs, a bare head and neck and a helmet on the head which is larger on the male than the female. Cassowary are found in the woods of New Guinea, New Britain, north Queensland and Ceram.
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Cast is the collective noun for a group of hawks.
Cast is the collective noun for a group of falcons.
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The castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) or castor bean is a highly poisonous variable herb, shrub or tree (depending upon climate) of the family Euphorbiaceae, native to India and tropical Africa. It has large, reddish coloured leaves which are long-stalked, alternate and palmate with coarsely toothed segments. Terminating the stems are panicle-like inflorescences of green monoecious flowers, the stalked female flowers above the male flowers below, both without petals. The fruit is a spiny, greenish capsule with large, oval, shiny, bean-like, highly poisonous seeds with variable brownish mottling on a whitish background.
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The Castoridae is a family of rodent animals comprising the single genus, Castor (the beaver).
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The Casuaridae are a family of the order Casuariformes. These are the cassowaries. They have strong legs and a bald head topped with a helmet.
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The Casuariformes is an order of birds.
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The Casuarina (Botany-Bay Oak), is the only genus of the family Casuarinaceae (cassowary trees). There are around 30 species mainly native to Australia. They are jointed, leafless trees similar to the Birches, having their male flowers in whorled catkins and their fruits in indurated cones. Some of them produce timber called Beefwood from its colour. Casuarina quadrivalvis is called the she-oak, Casuarina equisetifolia, the swamp-oak.
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The cat is a genus of highly sophisticated, intelligent and paradoxical carnivorous mammals (Felidae or Felis). The genus includes the most highly specialized of the carnivores. The mechanism by which the claws are retracted (in some species) is highly sophisticated, and the claws are extremely sharp and powerful weapons. The teeth number thirty, and are used to tear meat which is then swallowed without mastication. The tongue is rough and functions as a rasp.
Cats have been domesticated since the earliest of times, and were considered sacred to the goddess Bast by the ancient Egyptians. Generally people either like cats and dislike dogs, or dislike cats and like dogs, reflecting the two very different, opposing natures of the two animals. Where as dogs are loyal, trainable and generally giving, cats are highly independent. Coming and going as they see fit, and often giving the impression that the owner of a pet cat is actually the pet himself! It is this independence that makes cats so attractive as a pet to many people.
Cats are renowned for their intelligence, and sensitivity, but are also completely daft at times, behaving not unlike a small child playing with pieces of string or chasing their tail. At times affectionate, and at others aloof and arrogant, but always mysterious and amusing as was reflected in the very perceptive American 'Fat Freddy's Cat' comic books which were published during the 1970s and 1980s. Almost all species of cat purr, though not tigers, and the sound of purring has been found to trigger the healing process in the cats bones, and also strengthen human bones. It is thought that cats purr for a number of reasons, most obviously as an expression of contentment, and also as a method of self-healing, which may account for their remarkable resilience to injury, being able to fall great distances and survive.
Cats, particularly tigers and Siamese, do talk to each other, and to any human prepared to listen, communicating in numerous growls and meows, though as yet their language is not understood.
The male cat is called a Tom, but was formerly called a Gilbert or gib.
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The Cat-bird is a species of the American thrush. It is about nine inches long. The plumage is dark grey on the top and paler grey underneath.
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The Catalpa is a genus of plants of the family Bignoniaceae. They are trees with simple leaves and large, gay, trumpet shaped flowers. Catalpa springifolia, a North American species, is well adapted for large shrubberies, and has been introduced into England and other parts of Europe. Catalpa longissima contains much tannin in its bark, and is known in the West Indies by the name of French oak.
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Catamount is an old name for any wild cat, including the Lynx and the Puma.
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Catamountain is an old variation of Catamount.
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Catarrhina is a suborder of anthropoidea. The nostrils face downwards. The internasal septum is narrow. The tail is never prehensile.
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Catchfly is a popular name for several plants of the genus Silene.
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Catenipora are fossil corals found in Palaeozoic rocks. They are so named from the chainlike appearance of the cells or pores.
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A caterpillar is the larval stage of a butterfly or moth. Wormlike in form, the body is segmented, may be hairy, and often has scent glands. The head has strong biting mandibles, silk glands, and a spinneret. Many caterpillars resemble the plant on which they feed, dry twigs, or rolled leaves. Others are highly coloured and rely for their protection on their irritant hairs, disagreeable smell, or on their power to eject a corrosive fluid. Yet others take up a 'threat attitude' when attacked. Caterpillars emerge from eggs that have been laid by the female insect on the food plant and feed greedily, increasing greatly in size and casting their skins several times, until the pupal stage is reached. The abdominal segments bear a varying number of ' pro-legs' as well as the six true legs on the thoracic segments.
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The Catfish (Anarhichadidae) is various voracious fishes of the gobies family, natural order Siluriformes having several sensory barbels and scaleless bodies. They were also called the Wolf-fish or Sea-Wolf in the 19th century.
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Catha is a genus of plants of the family Celastraceae, mostly native to Africa. The leaves and twigs of one species are used to make khat, a drink similar to coffee.
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In botany, a catkin is a dense spike of small male or female flowers, usually long and tassel-like.
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Catmint or catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a perennial herb of the family Labiatae native to parts of Europe and Asia, growing on hedge banks and roadsides, usually on lime-rich soils. It grows to a height of around one metre and has pink tinged white flowers arranged in whorls in the upper leaf axils and stalked, downy, heart-shaped, opposite leaves. The fruit consists of four smooth nutlets. It is so named for the fascination cats have with it.
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Catopidae is a family or subfamily of the family Leiodidae, of tiny beetles between one six millimetres long. There are thirty-two species in Britain.
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Catops is a genus of beetles of the family Catopidae. Twelve species occur in Britain, and twenty in Europe. They range from 2.5 to 6.5 mm long and live on carrion, on decayed fungi, in mammals' burrows and in the entrances to caves.
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The cattalo is a cross breed of a male bison and a female domestic cow. The cattalo was first bred in Canada at the start of the 20th century to combine the size and meat of the wild bison with the obedience and domestic nature of domesticated cattle.
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The term cattle applies to all members of the ox genus.
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Cattleya is a genus of orchids native to Central and South America, growing on trees and rocks. They have handsome flowers and leathery or fleshy leaves. They vary in height from a few centimetres to one meter.
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In botany, caudex refers to the scaly trunk of palms and tree-ferns and the thickened persistent stem base of some herbaceous perennial plants.
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The cauliflower is a vegetable of the family Cruciferae, a garden variety of cabbage, cultivation has caused the inflorescence to assume when young the form of a compact fleshy whitish yellow head which is highly esteemed as a table vegetable.
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Causinae is the 'Night Adders' sub-family of reptiles of the family Viperidae, sub-order Serpentes (Snakes). The sub-family comprises a single genus.
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The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is an American breed of companion dog produced during the 1920s distinguished from the King Charles Spaniel by the flattened rather than domed appearance of its skull between the eyes and its longer, less compact nose. It is a highly affectionate and sometimes nervous breed of dog making a good companion.
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The Cavicornia (or Cavicorns) are a family of ruminates characterised by persistent horns, (thus differing from the deer) consisting of a bony core and a horny sheaf covering the bone. They comprise the antelopes, goat and ox.
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The cavy are small rodents found in south America.
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Cayman or Caiman is the name given to several species of tropical American alligators, differing from typical alligators in certain minor details of structure. They are most numerous on the banks of the Amazon where they are known as jacare or yacare.
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The Cayuga is a breed of duck.
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The Cebidae are a family of monkeys confined to South America. They include the vapuchin, howling monkey and spider monkey amongst others.
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Cecidomyia is the genus of insects to which the Hessian-fly belongs.
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Cecropia is a genus of soft-wooded evergreen trees, all natives of tropical regions. They are known as snakewood, and belong to the family Urticaceae.
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Cedar is a tree which forms fine woods on the mountains of Syria and Asia Minor, the Pinus Cedrus of Linnaeus, the Cedrus Libdni of some other botanists, while by others it is referred to the genus Larix, and by others again, along with the larch, to the genus Abies. It is an evergreen, grows to a great size, and is remarkable for its durability. Of the famous cedars of Lebanon comparatively few now remain, and the tree does not grow in any other part of Palestine. Cedar timber was formerly much prized, but in modern times is not regarded as of much value, perhaps from the trees not being of sufficient age.
Some fine cedars are met with in England. The name is given also to the deodar (Cedar Deoddra), which is indeed regarded by many botanists as a mere variety of the cedar of Lebanon, and which produces excellent timber. It is a native of India, and is a large and handsome tree, growing in the Himalayas to the height of 45 meters, with a circumference of nine metres. It has wide-spreading branches, which droop a little at the extremities. The leaves are tufted or solitary, larger than those of the cedar of Lebanon and very numerous, of a dark-bluish green, and covered with a glaucous bloom. The cones are rather larger than those of the Lebanon cedar, and very resinous. The wood is well adapted for building purposes, being compact and very enduring.
The cedar was introduced into Great Britain in 1822, and is now common in lawns and parks. The Mount Atlas cedar (Cedar Atlantica}, as its name implies, is a native of the mountains of North Africa. This cedar, though differing in habit and minor features, is regarded by some botanists as specifically identical with the other two. The name is also applied to many trees which have no relation to the true cedar, as the Bermuda cedar (Juniperus bermudiana), used for making pencils, the red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), the Honduras, or bastard Barbadoes cedar (Cedrela odordta) and the red cedar of Australia (Cedrela australis).
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Cedar-bird or Cedar Waxwing is a name given to the American wax-wing (Bombycilla cedorum) on account of its fondness for the berries of the red cedar. It is a songless bird of the order Passeriformes, common to North America. It is gregarious in habit, swift in flight, and has a voracious appetite, feeding on berries, fruit, and insects. It is related to the common waxwing.
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Cedrela is a genus of large timber trees, natives of the tropics of both hemispheres, order Cedrelacese. Cedrela odorata of Honduras and the West Indies yields bastard cedar; (Cedrela. Australis) is a valuable Australian timber tree; one or two East Indian species have febrifugal properties.
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Cedrelaceae is the mahogany family, a natural order of dicotyledonous plants, nearly allied to, if really separate from, the Meliaceae. They are trees with alternate pinnate leaves and a woody capsular fruit. Different species yield mahogany, satin-wood, yellow-wood, etc.
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Celandine is the name of two British flowers. Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus) belongs to the poppy family (Papaveraceae). It is an erect branched herb from thirty to fifty centimetres tall with much-divided leaves and yellow flowers succeeded by narrow, thin pods. Greater celandine grows on wasteland and in hedgerows.
Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus Ficaria) also known as swallowwort, pilewort etc is a small low-growing perennial herb of the Buttercup family with club-shaped tubers, branched ascending stems, smooth, heart-shaped leaves which are sheathed at the base and bright yellow flowers, each with three sepals and between eight and twelve petals, borne on a stout stalk from the leaf axils. It was thought to be a cure for piles.
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Celastraceae is a family of polypetalous dicotyledons, consisting of shrubs and small trees, natives of southern Europe, Asia, America and Australia.
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Celery (Apium graveolens) is a biennial vegetable of the family Umbelliferae indigenous to the ditches and marshy places near the sea-coast in England and Ireland, and elsewhere in Europe, and long cultivated in gardens as a salad and culinary vegetable. There are two varieties in cultivation: red and white stalked, and of these many sub-varieties. Celery is commonly blanched by heaping up the soil about the plants.
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The celery fly (Tephritis Onopordinis), is a two-winged fly, the larvae of which are destructive to celery and parsnip.
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The Cellar Beetle or Churchyard Beetle (Blaps mortisaga) is a beetle of the darkling beetles family (Tenebrionidae) found living in dark places such as old cellars, sheds and barns.
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Cellulose is the cellular tissue of plants. It is a member of the carbohydrate family and is allied to starch. In plants, cellulose is normally combined with woody, fatty, or gummy substances. With some exceptions among insects, true cellulose is not found in animal tissues. Microorganisms in the digestive tracts of herbivorous animals break down the cellulose into products that can then be absorbed.
Cellulose is insoluble in all ordinary solvents and may be readily separated from the other constituents of plants. Depending on its concentration, sulphuric acid acts on cellulose to produce glucose, soluble starch, or amyloid; the last is a form of starch used for the coating of parchment paper. When cellulose is treated with an alkali and then exposed to the fumes of carbon disulphide, the solution yields films and threads. Rayon and cellophane are cellulose regenerated from such solutions.
Cellulose acetates are spun into fine filaments for the manufacture of some fabrics and are also used for photographic safety film, as a substitute for glass, for the manufacture of safety glass, and as a moulding material. Cellulose ethers are used in paper sizings, adhesives, soaps, and synthetic resins. With mixtures of nitric and sulphuric acids, cellulose forms a series of flammable and explosive compounds known as cellulose nitrates, or nitrocelluloses. Pyroxylin, also called collodion cotton, is a nitrate used in various lacquers and plastics; another, collodion, is used in medicine, photography, and the manufacture of artificial leather and some lacquers. A third nitrate, guncotton, is a high explosive.
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The Cembra Pine (Swiss stone pine, Siberian pine, Arolla pine) is a conifer found in Central Europe. It has edible seeds and yields a turpentine called Carpathian balsam.
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Centaurea is a genus of some 500 species of composite plants. They are all annual or perennial herbs with alternate leaves and single heads, the florets of which are tubular, and are found in Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The genus includes the cornflower, purple sultan, white sultan and knapweed.
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Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) is an annual or biennial herb of the Gentian family (Gentianaceae). It has a basal rosette of prominently veined oval leaves and an erect stem which branches at the top. The stem leaves are shorter, narrower, opposite and sessile. The pretty red, funnel-shaped flowers are arranged in flat-topped cymes. The corolla tube is much longer than the calyx. The anthers twist after shedding the pollen. The fruit is a capsule with a persistent corolla.
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Centipede is a term applied to various insect-like creatures having many feet, and a body consisting of numerous similar rings or segments (somites), all belonging to the order Cheilopoda, class Myriapoda. The most common British centipede, Lithobius forficatus, is quite harmless, but those of tropical countries belonging to the genus Scolopendra inflict severe and often dangerous bites. They sometimes grow to thirty centimetres in length.
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The Central Plains Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum gentilis) is an attractive species of Milk snake patterned with about thirty black and reddish-orange bands on a pale brown background coloured dorsum. The Central Plains Milk Snake is a popular choice for captivity, having a mild temperament and adapting easily to eating mice.
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In botany, centrifugal is a term applied to a kind of inflorescence, being that in which the terminal or central flower is the first to expand, as in a true cyme (examples being the elder and valerian).
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A centriole is either of two rod-like bodies found in most animal cells that form the poles of the spindle during mitosis.
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In botany, centripetal is a term applied to a kinds of inflorescence being that kind in which the lower or outer flower is the first to expand, as in spikes, racemes, umbels, and corymbs. The laburnum, hemlock, and daisy are examples.
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Centrosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. Centrosaurus was about six metres long and is thought to have weighed about 2.6 tons, walking on all-fours. Centrosaurus was a herbivore with a large, heavy head, strong shoulders, stout legs and a short tail. It had a long nose armed with a horn, similar to a modern rhinoceros, and a defensive neck frill. Remains of Centrosaurus have been found in Alberta, Canada.
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The centrosome (also known as the centrosphere or astrosphere) is a small protoplasmic body that surrounds the centriole.
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Cephalcia is a genus of Web-spinning sawfly of the family Pamphillidae. Cephalcia abietis is widespread over most of the temperate part of Eurasia, living in older strands of spruce in the foothills and mountains. The larvae live communally in brownish silken sacs which they spin on branches of the host tree, falling to the ground and burrowing at the end of summer, resting in its underground chamber for up to three years before pupating. The adults fly from the middle of April to the end of June.
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In biology, cephalization is a term proposed to denote a tendency in the development of animals towards a localization of important parts in the neighbourhood of the head, as by the transfer of locomotive members or limbs to the head (in the Cephalopoda, for example). The term is also used to indicate the degree in which the brain dominates over the other parts of the animal structure.
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The cephalochordata is a class of sub-Phylum acrania. They are the lancets. Small fish-like animals. The notochord extends the whole length of the body, even to the tip of the snout.
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Cephalopoda is a class of Phylum mollusca. They are the squids and octopuses. They are the highest in organization in that division of the animal kingdom, characterized by having the organs of prehension and locomotion, called tentacles or arms, attached to the head. The arms are furnished with numerous suckers, and enable them to cling to and entangle their prey;
and they have a pair of well-developed jaws and eyes. They are divided into two sections, Tetrabranchiata (four-gilled) and Dibranchiata (two-gilled). The nautilus and the fossil genera Orthoceras, Ammonites, Goniatites, etc, belong to the Tetrabranchiata, in which the animal has an external shell. The dibranchiate group includes the argonaut, the octopus or eight-armed cuttlefishes, and the ten-armed forms, as the squids, the fossil belenmites, etc. The shell is in all these internal (being known as the 'pen' and the 'cuttle-bone'), in some rudimentary. The fossil Cephalopoda are multitudinous.
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Cephaloptera are a genus of cartilaginous fishes of the ray family. They have a pair of small fins which stand out from the head like horns, hence they are called the fin-headed rays or horned rays.
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The cephalothorax is the anterior segment in spiders, scorpions, crustaceans, etc, consisting of the head and thorax combined.
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Cephennium is a genus of beetles of the family Scydmaenidae with degenerated membranous wings and often fused elytra. One species, Cephennium gallicum, occurs in Britain.
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Cephoidea is a super-family of insects of the sub-order Symphyta, order Hymenoptera. They are tiny, slim insects with a sometimes laterally compressed abdomen. The larvae have poorly developed legs and live on various plants.
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Cerambyx is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae). One species -
Cerambyx cerdo - was formerly found in Britain, but is now extinct.
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Ceramiaceae is a family of cellular sea-weeds (Algae) consisting of thread-like jointed plants of a red or brown-red colour. The spores are in masses in transparent membranous sacs, and the tetraspores are external. The Chondrus crispus, or carrageen moss; the Rhodomenia palmata, or dulse; and the Plocaria tenax, extensively used by the Chinese as a glue and varnish belong to this family.
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Cerastes is a genus of deadly African vipers. They have two small horns formed by the scales above the eyes, hence they are called Horned Vipers.
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Cerasus is the cherry genus of trees.
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Ceratodus (barramunda) is a genus of fishes belonging to the Dipnoi order (lung-fishes). They are between one and two metres long and are found in Australian rivers.
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Ceratosaurus was a carnivorous dinosaur of the Jurassic period. Remains of
Ceratosaurus were first found in the same quarry where remains of Allosaurus were discovered, in the USA in 1884. Ceratosaurus was about 6 metres long, walked on its hind legs, had massive sharp fangs and a horn on its nose. Smaller than Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus had a relatively larger jaws and four fingers to each hand.
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Cercopithecus is a genus of African monkeys, including the Guenons, one being the Diana Monkey and another the Green Guenon.
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Cercyon is a genus of water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae. There are 21 species in Britain, and have a round or oval, convex body and live in dung, compost and waterside debris.
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Cereal is a term applied to Gramineae cultivated for food (wheat, barley, rye, oats &c.). The name comes from Ceres, the goddess associated with corn.
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Cereus is a genus of cactuses, natives of tropical America, with large funnel-shaped flowers. Many are night-flowering plants, like Cereus grandiflora of the West Indies, well known in hothouses.
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Cerithium are a genus of gastropod molluscs. The shell is turreted and many- whorled with a small aperture, and anterior and posterior canals, the latter being the less distinctive of the two. The numerous species are widely distributed, but the most typical are tropical.
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Cerocoma is a genus of beetle of the family Meloidae, about twelve millimetres in length.
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Cerophytidae is a family of beetles.
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Cerophytum is a very rare European beetle of the family Cerophytidae.
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Ceroxylon (the wax palm) is a genus of South American palms.
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Certhia is a genus of perching birds of the Certhiidae family.
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Certhidea is the Creepers family of birds of the order Scansores. They are cauterised by feet with pointing toes, one forwards and three backwards, the hind toe very long. The bill is mostly slender and acute. The wings are broad and much rounded, the flight weak.
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Ceruchus is a genus of small stag beetles (Lucanidae).
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Cervus is a genus of deer, including the British red deer (Cervus elaphus).
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Cerylon is a genus of tiny beetle of the family Colydiidae that feed chiefly on bark beetles.
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Cestoda (the Cestodes) is a class of Phylum platyhelminthes commonly known as the tapeworms. They are internal parasites lacking an alimentary canal. They have no definite sense organs, and the nervous system is poorly developed. The cuticle is thick and many-layered. Hooks and/or suckers are limited to one end. They have great reproductive powers, both sexual and asexual.
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Cestracion is a genus of cartilaginous fish allied to the sharks. They possess several rows of blunt hind teeth, adapted for crushing the shells of molluscs.
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Cetacea is an order of marine animals, surpassing in size all others in existence. They are true mammals, since they suckle their young, have warm blood, and respire by means of lungs, for which purpose they come to the surface of the water to take in fresh supplies of air.
The body is fish-like in form, but ends in a bilobate tail, which is placed horizontally, not, as in the fishes, vertically. The posterior limbs are wanting - though not unfrequently stumps are present in individuals - and the anterior are converted into broad paddles or flippers, consisting of a continuous sheath of the thick integument, within which are present representatives of all the bones usually found in the fore-limb of mammals. The fish-like aspect is further increased by the presence of a dorsal fin, but this is a simple fold of integument, and does not contain bony spines.
The right whale and its allies have no teeth in the adult state, their place being taken by the triangular plates of baleen or whalebone which are developed on transverse ridges of the palate, but the foetal whales possess minute teeth, which are very soon lost. The nostrils open directly upwards on the top of the head, and are closed by valvular folds of integument which are under the control of the animal. When it comes to the surface to breathe it expels the air violently (popularly known as 'blowing' or 'spouting'), and the vapour it contains becomes condensed into a cloud, which resembles a column of water and spray. The blood-vessels in these animals break up into extensive plexuses or net-works, in which a large amount of oxygenated blood is delayed, and they are thus enabled to remain a considerable time under water. Injury to these dilated vessels leads to profuse hemorrhage, and hence the whale is killed by the comparatively trifling wound of the harpoon.
The Cetacea (which are grouped broadly as Mysticeti or toothless whales; and Odontoceti, Denticeti, or toothed whales) are commonly divided into five families: (1) Balaenidce, or whalebone whales, divided into two sections: smooth whales, with smooth skin and no dorsal fin, and furrowed whales, with furrowed skin and a dorsal fin; (2) Physeteridae, Catodontidae, sperm-whales or cachalots, the palates of which have no baleen-plates, and which are furnished with teeth, developed in the lower jaw only; (3) Delphinidae, a family possessing teeth in both jaws, and including the dolphins, porpoises, and narwhal; (4) Rhynchoceti, a family allied to the sperm-whales, but having only a pair or two pairs of teeth in the lower jaw, a pointed snout or beak, a single blow-hole, etc; (5) Zeuglodontidae, an extinct family, distinguished from all the tooth-bearing whales by the possession of molar teeth implanted by two distinct fangs, etc. The last family is exclusively confined to the Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene periods. The Sirenia, or manatees and dugongs, have sometimes been classified among the Cetacea, but they must be regarded as forming a separate order.
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Cete is the collective noun for a group of badgers.
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Ceterach is a genus of ferns of the sub-family Polypodiaceae, chiefly known by the reticulated veins, the simple sort, with scarcely any indusium, and the abundance of chaffy scales which clothe the under surface of the leaf. One species, Ceterach officinarum (the scale-fern or miltwaste), is indigenous to Britain, and common on rocks and walls.
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Cetiosaurus was a dinosaur of the Jurassic period. The first remains of Cetiosaurus were discovered in 1870 near Oxford, England. An early and relatively primitive dinosaur, Cetiosaurus was a herbivore, had a large, heavy body and walked on four legs. It had a long neck and tail and was about 18 metres long. A thigh bone of Cetiosaurus found in Morocco in 1979 was two metres long.
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Cetonia is the Rose Chafer genus of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.
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Cetoniinae is the rose chafers subfamily of beetles of the family Scarabaeidae, characterised by keeping their elytra closed during flight.
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Ceutorhynchus is a genus of tiny Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) that live on cruciferous plants.
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Chaertarthria is a genus of water scavenger beetles of the family Hydrophilidae.
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Chaetocnema is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) represented by nine British species of varying size and colour many of which live on grasses, rushes and sedges.
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The chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is a lively and handsome bird of the finch family, very common in Britain, where its haunts are chiefly gardens and shrubberies, hedgerows, plantations, etc. The male is about 15 cm in length, and is very agreeably coloured, having a chestnut back, reddish-pink breast and throat, and a yellowish-white bar on the wings. The food consists of seeds and of insects and their larvae. The nest, which is generally placed in the fork of a tree, is an elegant structure usually covered with moss and lichens.
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Chalcidoidea is a super-family of insects of the sub order Apocrita, order Hymenoptera. They are tiny, a few millimetres long and the larvae are parasitic in various insects including aphids, making them an important source of natural pest control.
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Chalcionellus is a genus of small beetles of the family Histeridae.
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Chalcophora is a genus of jewel beetle (Buprestidae). One species,
Chalcophora mariana (the Pine borer) is noted for its size (roughly 30 mm long) and its minute scutellum.
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The Chalk-hill Blue (Lysandra coridon) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in dry, sunny parts of Europe flying from July to September.
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Chama is a genus of marine bivalves including the giant clam.
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Chamaerops is a genus of palms belonging to the northern hemisphere and consisting of dwarf trees with fan-shaped leaves borne on prickly petioles and a small berry-like fruit with one seed. The Chamaerops humilis is the only native European palm. It does not extend further north than Nice. The fibres of its leaves form an article of commerce under the name of crin vegetal (vegetable hair). Brazilian grass is a fibre obtained from the Chamaerops argentea. A Chinese species, Chamaerops Fortunei, is quite hardy in the south of England.
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A chameleon is a very slow lizard with a long and deadly fast tongue used for catching its prey. It has split toes specially adapted for grasping and swivel eyes. The chameleon can change colour in a green to yellowish grey range to suit its surroundings, and also changes colour depending upon its mood and state of agitation.
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The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is a ruminating mammal of the family Bovidea, order Artiodactyla found in inhabiting high inaccessible mountains in south Europe and west Asia. They are a goat-like antelope similar in appearance to the Alpine Ibex, but are small, more slender and easily recognised by the bold black and white head markings. Its horns, which are about 16 cm long, are round, almost smooth, perpendicular and straight until near the tip, where they suddenly terminate in a hook directed backwards and downwards. Its hair is brown in winter, brown fawn colour in summer, and grayish in spring. The tail is black.
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Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is a perennial herb of the family Compositae with a short, much branched creeping rhizome, low-growing, creeping or ascending hairy stems and alternate, finely divided (two or three times pinnate) leaves with inrolled margins. The flowerheads are terminal and solitary and have conical, solid receptacles and either white, ligulate ray-florets and yellow tubular disc-florets or in some cultivated species only ligulate florets. The receptacle bears chaffy scales between the florets.
Chamomile is a mild sedative, and is used as a herbal tea for insomnia and mild pain relief.
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The Chamomile Shark (Cucullia charmomillae) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 40 and 42 mm found in the warmer parts of Europe and Asia Minor flying from April to June.
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The Champak (Michelia Champaca)is an Indian tree of the family Magnoliaceae held in high esteem by Hindus and Buddhists. The wood is used for various purposes, and the fine golden flowers are much celebrated in Hindu poetry for their perfume.
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Champignon is a name given to the common mushroom of Britain (Agaricus campestris) and also to the edible fairy-ring fungus Marasmius oreades.
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The Chandelier Plant (Kalanchoe tubiflora) is a succulent, evergreen shrub from southern Africa popular as a houseplant on account of its showy peach, red or pink coloured flowers. The leaves are long and tubular, spotted violet-brown and frilled with plantlets, raying out from an upright central stem.
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The Changthangi (Kashmiri or Pashmina goat) is an Indian breed of goat found around Ladakh in Kashmir, India. They are raised for meat and cashmere production and are also used as pack animals. They are usually white in colour, but may also be black, grey or brown. They have large twisting horns.
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The chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius) is an edible British mushroom of a bright orange colour.
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The Characeae are a family of cryptogamous plants, nearly related to the Algae, composed of an axis consisting of parallel tubes which are either transparent or incrusted with lime carbonate.
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Characese is an order of cryptogamous plants, nearly related to the Algae, composed of an axis consisting of parallel tubes, which are either transparent or encrusted with carbonate of lime, inhabiting stagnant water, both fresh and salt, beneath which they are always submersed. They are most common in the temperate zone, and emit an unhealthy fetid odour.
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Charadridae is the Plovers family of birds of the order Grallae. The bill is always moderate, the third and fourth toes are connected by a web at the base, and the nostrils are placed in a groove which extends considerably in advance of the basal fourth of the beak.
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Charadrius is a genus of birds which includes the lapwing, pratincole and oyster-catcher.
The genus is characterised by a long, slender, straight, or slightly recurvate bill, which is higher than broad at the base, and extremely compressed toward the end; an upper mandible with the dorsal line straight and slightly sloping at the base, somewhat convex beyond the nostrils, then straight and sloping to the point, the ridge broad and flattened as far as the prominence, afterwards extremely narrow, the sides sloping at the base, perpendicular towards the end, the edges rather sharp, the tip abrupt and wedge-shaped; the nasal groove is long and bare; a lower mandible with the angle of moderate length, the dorsal line ascending and slightly convex, the sides erect, the edges thin, the tip abrupt and wedged.
The nostrils are sub-basal, linear and near the margin. The head is of a moderate size, ovate with a rounded forehead; the neck is of moderate length; the body compact. The feet are of moderate length, rather stout; the tibia are bare for about a quarter of their length; the tarsus is slightly compressed and covered all round with hexagonal scales; the toes are of moderate length, stout, marginate, flat beneath, webbed at the base, the outer considerably longer than the inner, the first wanting. The claws rather small, arched, moderately compressed and obtuse. The plumage is generally blended and compact on the back. The wings are long and pointed, the first quill being the longest. The tail is short, nearly even, and comprised of twelve feathers. The tongue is short, triangular and fleshy; The Oesophagus is dilated into a fairly large crop; the stomach rectangular, muscular, with the epithelium dense and longitudinally rugous; the intestine is long and rather slender; the coeca is long and nearly cylindrical; the cloaca globular.
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The charbray is a large, horned, white breed of domestic beef cattle developed at Texas during the 1940s.
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The Charles Ross is a dual purpose apple raised by Charles Ross and a cross between Peasgood Nonsuch and Cox's Orange Pippin. Lightly aromatic, sweet and juicy; delicious to eat raw and keeps its shape when cooked.
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Charlock (Sinapis arvensis) is a common British yellow weed, also known as wild mustard and in Scotland and the north of England as runch. It is an erect annual with hairy, lobed lower leaves which are toothed at the margins. It bears yellow flowers.
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Charm is the collective noun for a group of goldfinches.
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The charolais is an unusually large and white French breed of domestic beef cattle.
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Charopus is a genus of small beetle of the family Malachiidae.
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The Chartreux is a French breed of shorthaired cat, not recognised in Britain where it is considered to be a blue British Shorthaired. The breed originated in the 1920s, and were first shown in 1931.
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Chasmosaurus was a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period. A herbivore, Chasmosaurus was about 5 metres long and had a long frill behind the head, small horns over the eyes and one on the nose. Remains of Chasmosaurus have been found in the north-west USA and Canada.
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Chat is the popular name of birds of the genus Saxicola, family Sylviadae or warblers. They are small, lively birds, moving incessantly and rapidly about in pursuit of the insects on which they chiefly live. There are three species found in Britain, the stone-chat, whin-chat, and wheatear. The yellow-breasted chat of the United States is a larger bird, belonging to the genus Icteria, family Turdidae or thrushes.
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The Chati a species of small leopard found in South America, very destructive to small quadrupeds and birds, and especially to poultry-yards, but so gentle, when domesticated, as to have gained for itself the name of Felis mitis, or gentle leopard.
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Chatter is the collective noun for a group of budgerigars.
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Chattering is the collective noun for a group of choughs.
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Chaulmugra is a tree found in South Asia. The oil was used in India and China as a remedy in skin diseases and blood impurities. The medicinal use of the oil in skin and chest infections was introduced to Europe and America around 1900.
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The Chaumontelle is a highly esteemed species of dessert pear which was formerly much grown in Jersey, Guernsey, and the south of England.
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The Chaus is a genus of Asiatic and African lynxes including the Libyan
Chaus and the Caffre-cat. They are fond of water and are excellent swimmers.
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Chavica is a genus of plants of the family Piperaceae which includes the long pepper, Java long pepper and the betel-pepper.
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The Checkered Garter Snake (Thamnophis marcianus) is an American species of Garter snake usually drab green, yellow or brown in colour with a series of regular black coloured, squarish markings. The mid-dorsal stripe is yellowish in colour, lightening towards the head.
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The cheese-fly (Piophila casei) is a small black fly, akin to the house-fly, blow-fly, etc. It lays its eggs in the cracks of cheese. The maggot, knowns as the cheese-hopper, is furnished with two horny claw-shaped mandibles, which it uses both for digging into the cheese and for moving itself, having no feet. Its leaps are performed by a jerk, first bringing itself into a circular attitude, when it can project itself twenty to thirty times its own length.
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The Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) or hunting leopard (Acinonyx jubatus) is a carnivorous animal resembling a cat, but not a true member of the cat family as the claws cannot be sheathed, and so placed in its own genus Acinonyx which contains just one species.
The Cheetah is yellow-brown in colour with dark spots, weighs about 40 kg and while formerly found from Africa through the Middle East to southern Asia is now endangered surviving just in parts of Africa. The Cheetah is famous for its speed, having been timed running at a speed of 112 kmh but a more usual speed of running being about 80 kmh, though these speeds can only be maintained over short distances. The Cheetah can reach a speed of 64 kmh from being stationery in two seconds, fast enough to catch any gazelle.
Unusually, female Cheetahs have the larger territory, living solitary lives except for breeding, the males living in groups of between two and five individuals, and exhibiting aggression towards females and their cubs when they meet. Cheetahs were formerly trained and used for hunting, first by the Ancient Egyptians then by the Persians, the Indians and later proving very popular with the French monarchy.
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Cheilopoda is one of the two orders of Myriapoda, represented by the centipeds, in which a pair of mandibles, two pairs of maxillipeds or foot-jaws, and a lower lip are developed.
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Cheiranthus is the wallflower genus of plants.
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Cheironectes are a genus of acanthopterygious fishes, having the pectoral fins supported like short feet upon peduncles. They use these fins to crawl over mud and sand when they get left dry by a receding tide. They may also take short leaps like a frog, and from this they are often called frog-fish. They are found in North-East Australia.
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Chelicerata is the sub-phyla of animals of the Phyllum Arthropoda. The members include the horseshoe crabs, scorpions, spiders and mites.
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The Chelonia (Testudinata) are an order of about 75 genera of Anapsida (reptiles) which includes the tortoise and turtle. The trunk is short and broad and protected by a carapace and a plastron. The head, neck, tail and limbs can be withdrawn under the shields for protection. The jaws are strong, but lack teeth.
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Chemotaxonomy is the classification of plants and micro organisms based on similarities and differences in their natural products and the biochemical pathways involved in their manufacture.
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The Chenopodiaceae are a family of monochlamydeous plants which have more or less succulent leaves, flowers that possess a superior syncarpous pistil, with two, three or four styles and an undivided stigma.
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Chenopodium (Goosefoot) is a genus of plants of the family Chenopodiaceae. They are weedy plants common on wastelands and bear small greenish flowers which are sessile in small clusters collected in spiked panicles.
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The Chequered Blue (Scolitantides orion) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in parts of Europe and Asia flying from July to August.
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The Chequered Fruit-Tree Tortrix (Pandemis corylana) is a moth of the family Tortricidae with a wing span of between 16 and 25 mm found in Europe and Asia flying from July to September.
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The cherry is a fruit tree of of the prune or plum tribe, the family Rosaceae. Cherry is very ornamental and therefore much cultivated in shrubberies. It is a native of most temperate countries of the northern hemisphere, and in Britain is quite common in the wild state, besides being cultivated for its fruit.
The cultivated varieties probably belong to two species, Cerasus avium and Cerasus vulgaris, the genus Cerasus being considered a sub-genus of Prunus. They are numerous, as the red or garden cherry, the red heart, the white heart, the black cherry, etc. The fruit of the wild cherry, or gean, is often as well flavoured, if not quite so large, as that of the cultivated varieties. It is said that this fruit was brought from Cerasus, in Pontus, to Italy, by Lucullus, about 70 BC, and introduced into England by the Romans about 46 AD.
The cherry is used in making the liqueurs Kirschwasser and Maraschino. The wood of the cherry-tree is hard and tough, and is very serviceable to turners and cabinet-makers. An ornamental but not edible species is the bird-cherry. The American wild cherry (Cerasus virginiana) is a fine large tree, the timber of which is much used by cabinet-makers and others, though the fruit is rather astringent.
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The Cherry Fruit Moth (Argyresthia pruniella) is a moth of the family Argyresthiidae with a wing span of between 10 and 12 mm found in Europe and Asia Minor flying from May to September. The caterpillar is a pest of cherry, plum, apricot and peach trees and is also found on rowan, hawthorn and hazel.
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The cherry gall wasp (Cynips quercusfolii) is a hymenopterous insect of the family Cynipidae widespread throughout Europe and Asia Minor, that produces spherical leaf galls on various species of oak. The galls are mostly to be seen between July and October and are attached to either the main leaf vein or one of the stronger side veins by a very short stem. The gall is at first green-yellow in colour later turning yellow and then red on the side facing the sun before becoming brown and wrinkled. The larvae develops within the gall, feeding upon the gall tissue and pupates within the gall. Two generations appear within a year, the first all female that reproduce parthenogenetically the second male and female.
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The Cherry-Bark Moth (Enarmonia formosana) is a moth of the family Tortricidae with a wing span of between 14 and 16 mm found in northern Africa and warmer parts of Europe, Asia Minor and western Asia flying from May to August.
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Cherry-laurel is the English name of Cerasus Lauro-cerasus, an evergreen shrub of the natural order Rosaceae, native to Asia Minor, but now naturalized in southern Europe and common in British shrubberies. It is commonly called laurel, but must not be confounded with the sweet-bay or other true species of laurel. The leaves yield an oil nearly identical with that got from bitter almonds. The distilled water (called 'laurel water') from the leaves is used in medicine in the same way as diluted hydrocyanic or prussic acid. It is poisonous in large doses. The Portugal laurel is another species.
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Chervil is the name of any of several plants of the carrot family (family Umbelliferae). The garden chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) has leaves with a sweetish odour, resembling parsley. It is used as a garnish and in soups. Chervil originated on the borders of Europe and Asia and was introduced to Western Europe by the Romans.
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The chestnut (popularly known as the sweet chestnut) is a genus of plants, of the order Cupuliferae, allied to the beech. The common or Spanish chestnut (Castanea vesca) is a stately tree, with large, handsome, serrated, dark-green leaves. The fruit consists of two or more seeds enveloped in a prickly husk. Probably a native of Asia Minor, it has long been naturalized in Europe, and was perhaps introduced into Britain by the Romans - some sources suggest it may be indigenous. The tree grows freely in Britain, and may reach the age of many centuries. The timber of the tree was formerly more in use than it is now; it is inferior to that of the oak, though very similar to it in appearance, especially when old. Two American species of chestnuts, Chestnut americana and Chestnut pumila (the latter a shrub), have edible fruits. The former is often regarded as identical with the European tree. The name of Cape Chestnut is given to a beautiful tree of the rue family, a native of South Africa. The Moreton Bay Chestnut is a leguminous tree of Australia, Castanospe-mum australe, with fruits resembling those of the chestnut. The water-chestnut is the water-caltrop, Trapa natans. The horse chestnut is quite a different tree from the common or sweet chestnut.
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The Chestnut Heath (Coenonympha glycerion) is a butterfly of the family Satyridae frond across Europe and Asia to Siberia, but absent from the British Isles, most of Scandinavia and the Mediterranean. It can be seen flying from June to July.
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The Chestnut Moth (Conistra vaccinii) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 28 and 35 mm found in the deciduous forests and forest-steppes from western Europe to Japan. The moth flies from September until the first frosts.
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Chetah is the old 19th century spelling of Cheetah.
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The chettik (Strychnos Tieute), is a tree of Java, yielding a very virulent poison called by the same name, more powerful than that obtained from the upas-tree, and owing its virulence to the strychnine it contains.
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The Cheviot is a variety of sheep, taking their name from the well-known Border mountain range, noted for their large carcass and valuable wool, which qualities, combined with a hardiness second only to that of the black-faced breed, constitute them one of the most valuable race of mountain sheep in the kingdom.
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The Chevron moth (Eulithis testata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 25 and 35 mm found in Europe, Asia and North America flying from July to September in damp meadows, peat-bogs and forests on peaty soil.
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The chevrotain (Tragulus pygmaeus) is a species of small musk-deer found in India and South-eastern Asia and the islands.
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The Chianina is a breed of cattle.
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The chick pea (Cicer arietinum) is an annual herb of the family Leguminosae. It grows wild along the shores of the Mediterranean and in many parts of the East, producing a short puffy pod with one or generally two small wrinkled seeds. It is an important article in French and Spanish cookery, and the plant is cultivated in Europe, Egypt, Syria, India, Mexico, etc. When roasted it is the common parched pulse of the East. The herbage serves as fodder for cattle.
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Chickadee (or chicadee) is a popular American name for various species of titmice, particularly the black-capped titmouse.
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Chicken is a popular term for domestic fowl.
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Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a plant of the natural order Caryophyllaceae, one of the most common weeds in cultivated and waste ground everywhere in Britain, flowering throughout the year. It has a procumbent more or less hairy stem, with ovate pointed leaves, and many small white flowers. It is much used for feeding cage-birds, which are very fond both of its leaves and seeds.
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Chicory (Cichorium intybus) or wild succory as it is also known, is a perennial herb of the family Compositae native to Europe and West Asia where it grows on chalky soils, it has a long tap root and a stiffly erect, branched, angled and furrowed stem and large, usually blue, flowers. The leaves in the basal rosette are stalked, deeply pinnately toothed and hairy beneath. The stem leaves are sessile and lanceolate. Its long tap root is used dried and roasted as a coffee substitute. As a garden vegetable, grown under cover, its blanched leaves are used in salads. It is related to endive.
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The chiffchaff is a small song bird. It visits England in the summer.
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The Chihuahua is a breed of very small dog, named after the state in Mexico where they were first obtained. The breed probably originated from the ancient Techichi breed kept by the Toltec Indians in the 9th century. The Chihuahua breed was first recognised by the American Kennel Club in 1904, and was a short-haired breed. Further breeding has resulted in long-haired varieties. They dislike cold weather, and are very social but have a short-temper which makes them unsuitable as family pets where there are children. They have an unfused skull which leaves the brain exposed and makes them vulnerable to a blow on the head.
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The Chihuahua Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana knoblochi) is a rare subspecies of the Utah Mountain Kingsnake, found in northern Mexico where it grows to an average length of about 91 cm, sometimes reaching 102 cm in length and feeds on lizards and small rodents, such as mice.
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The Chile pine (Araucaria imbricata) or monkey puzzle is a conifer native to Chile which grows in England and was used for the masts of ships. In Chile the seeds are eaten.
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Chillingham Cattle are a breed of cattle reputed to be the last remnants of the former wild oxen of Britain. At the start of the 20th century there was a herd of Chillingham Cattle living in the park of the Earl of Tankerville.
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Chilocorus is a genus of ladybird (Coccinellidae). They feed on aphids and scale insects.
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The chilopoda are the centipede order of myriapoda. The genital aperture is posterior.
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Chiloporata is a genus of rove beetles, Staphylinidae, represented by two British species with narrow bodies and long legs found under leaves and in the debris beside fresh water.
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Chimaera is a genus of cartilaginous fishes. Almost the only known species is the Chimaera monstrosa, which inhabits the northern seas, and is sometimes called King of the herrings, and, from its two pairs of large teeth, rabbit-fish. There is but one gill-opening, and the tail terminates in a point, the fish having on the whole a singular appearance. It seldom exceeds one metre in length.
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The Chimney Sweeper (Odezia atrata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 23 and 27 mm found in central and northern Europe and Asia flying from May to July.
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The chimpanzee is a large anthropoid ape found in the forests of west and Central Africa.
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China Grass (Boehmeria nivea) is a plant of the nettle family, a native of Southern and Eastern Asia and the Asiatic islands, and now more or less cultivated in many other countries, such as Southern France, Algeria, Natal, Mauritius, Australia, the United States, Mexico, Jamaica, etc. It yields a fibre which possesses most valuable properties, and has long been made in China into a beautiful cloth. It is very strong, presents unusual resistance to the effects of moisture, and is fine and silky in appearance. During the Victorian era in England such articles as ladies' scarves, handkerchiefs, umbrella-covers, etc, were made of it.
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The chinchilla is a small squirrel-like herbivorous rodent found in the Andes of Chile and Bolivia. They are very closely allied to the rabbit, which they resemble in the general shape of the body, in the limbs being longer behind than before, in the conformation of the rootless molars, and by the nature of the fur, which is more woolly than silky; but differing from the rabbit in the number of their incisors and molars, in a greater length of tail, and also in having broader and more rounded ears. Chinchilla lanigera a species about 15 inches long, is covered with a beautiful pearly-gray fur, which is highly esteemed as stuff for muffs, pelisses, linings, fur coats etc. The chinchilla lives gregariously in the mountains of most parts of South America, and makes numerous and very deep burrows. It is of a gentle nature, very sportive, losing none of its gaiety in captivity, and living very cleanly.
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The Chincoteague is an American breed of feral pony found on the island of
Chincoteague off the coast of Virginia. They occur in many colours, but often pinto, and stand 12 hands high.
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Chine is the collective noun for a group of polecats.
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The Chinese is a breed of goose.
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The Chinese Character is a moth of the family Drepanidae with a wing span of between 18 and 22 mm found in central and southern Europe and in Asia and occasionally in North America. Two generations are produced flying from April to August, the caterpillars living from May to September and then spending winter in the pupal stage.
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The Chinese copperhead (Agkistrodon acutus) is a venomous snake of the pit viper family (Crotalidae). The Chinese copperhead grows to a length of about 120 cm and feeds on small mammals and amphibians.
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Chinese rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) is a perennial herb of the family Polyconaceae native to north-east Asia, with a thick rhizome and a basal rosette of coarsely toothed palmately divided leaves. The stem is tall, robust, hollow, finely furrowed and branched towards the top. Flowers of a reddish to greenish-white colour are borne on the stem in terminal panicles. The fruit is a triangular achene.
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The Chinese tallow tree (Excoearia sebifera) is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae. The wood was used in China for engraving blocks, and a kind of tallow was obtained from the seeds.
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Chiococca is a genus of tropical plants, of the natural order Rubiaceae, consisting of small, often climbing, shrubs, with funnel-shaped, yellowish flowers and bearing a fruit consisting of a white berry with two seeds. The bark of the root of Chiococca anguifuga is a violent emetic and purgative.
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The Chios is a breed of sheep of uncertain origin. The Chios is typically white with black, occasionally brown, spots around the eyes, and on the ears, nose, belly and legs. The entire head is often black. The mature size of the ewes is typically 48-70 kg and rams from 65-90 kg indicating regional differences. Female conformation is typically dairy. The breed is classified as semi-fat-tailed.
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A chipmunk is a species of ground squirrel of the genus Tamias common in Siberia and North America. The possess internal cheek pouches and are characterized by their colouration, the back being marked by alternate light and dark bands.
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The chiroptera is an order of Eutheria. They are small mammals with strong powers of flight. The limb bones are strong and slender. The wings are formed of skin. The teeth bear pointed cusps.
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The chiru or Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops Hodgsoni) is an antelope nearly allied to the saiga, found in Tibet. It is very shy and difficult to approach and is chiefly remarkable for the swollen nostrils and greatly elongated horns of the male; the horns are absent in the female.
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Chitin is a hard, cellulose-like compound that constitutes much of the exoskeleton of various arthropods such as crustaceans and insects. Strong and firm, the substance serves to support the body tissues of such organisms.
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The Chitons or Chitonidae are a family of gasteropods, affording the only instance known of a molluscan shell formed of many successive portions, often in contact and overlapping each other, but never truly articulated. The shell in the typical genus Chiton is composed of eight pieces, the animal adhering to rooks or stones after the fashion of the limpet. The species are numerous, and there are few rocky shores without some of them.
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Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) also known as Chive and Cive is a small, perennial liliaceous plant, allied to the garlic, leek and onion, occurring as a rare native plant in Britain. It bears bright purple heads of flowers in June; but it is for its long, narrow, rush-like leaves, whose flavour is milder and subtler than the flavour of onions, that it is chiefly grown.
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Chlaenius is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, represented by three species in Britain. Most of the species are green or black in colour and are more or less distinctly hairy. They live in wet localities where they rang from 8 to 11 mm in length.
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Chlamydophorus is a genus of small quadrupeds of the order Edentata. The only species, Chlamydophorus truncdtus, or pichiciago, resembles the mole in its habits; it is about five inches long, and its back is covered over with a coat of mail, consisting of twenty-four rows of tough leathery plates. Its internal skeleton in several respects resembles that of birds. It is a native of South America, and nearly allied to the armadillo.
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Chloranthaceae is a natural order of apetalous exogens, allied to the peppers, and, like them, having an aromatic fragrant odour. They are natives of the warm regions of India and America. Chloranthus officinalis is reckoned a stimulant and tonic of the highest order.
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Chlorella is a genus of plants common in ponds, ditches and other stagnant water and also on the surface of wet soil. They often form a green powdery growth on tree trunks and damp walls, being comprised of millions of the plants.
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Chlorophanus is a genus of Snout Beetles (Curculionidae) that live on trees, particularly alders and willows.
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Chlorophorus is a genus of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
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Chlorophyll is the green colouring matter of plant leaves and absorbs the light necessary for photosynthesis.
Chlorophyll absorbs mainly red, violet, and blue light and reflects green light. The great abundance of chlorophyll in leaves and its occasional presence in other plant tissues, such as stems, causes these plant parts to appear green. In some leaves, chlorophyll is masked by other pigments.
Chlorophyll is a large molecule composed mostly of carbon and hydrogen. At the centre of the molecule is a single atom of magnesium surrounded by a nitrogen-containing group of atoms called a porphyrin ring. The structure somewhat resembles that of the active constituent of haemoglobin in the blood. A long chain of carbon and hydrogen atoms proceeds from this central core and attaches the chlorophyll molecule to the inner membrane of the chloroplast, the cell organelle in which photosynthesis takes place. As a molecule of chlorophyll absorbs a photon of light, its electrons become excited and move to higher energy levels. This initiates a complex series of chemical reactions in the chloroplast that enables the energy to be stored in chemical bonds.
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Chlorospermeae is a name given to one of the divisions of the algae, having grass-green fronds, very rarely purple, olive, or red. They grow cither in the sea, in fresh water, or in damp situations, and are of very simple organization.
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The Chocolate-tip (Clostera curtula) is a moth of the family Notodontidae with a wing span of between 27 and 35 mm found in the deciduous forests of the Palaearctic, particularly in damp riverside localities. Two generations are produced flying from April to August.
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Chokecherry is a common name for small trees or shrubs of the genus Prunus, of the family Rosaceae, that bear cherries with an astringent taste. The common chokecherry, Prunus virginiana, and the wild black cherry, Prunus serotina, are found throughout the USA east of the Rocky Mountains. They may become pests by harbouring the tent caterpillar, which breeds on chokecherry and then attacks more valuable fruit trees.
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Choleva is a genus of beetles of the family Catopidae. They are fairly large, slender beetles with long legs and antennae living chiefly in the burrows of mice or moles or in caves.
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Chondrichthyes is a subclass of fish including the sharks, dogfishes, skates and rays. They are fishes with a cartilage endoskeleton. The jaws are well formed.
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Chondropterygii is one of the two great sections into which Cuvier divided the class Pisces or fishes, distinguished from the fishes with true bone by the cartilaginous or gristly substance of which the bones are composed, and by the cartilaginous spines of the fins. The families include the sturgeon, shark, ray, and lamprey.
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The chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) is a bird of the crow family with red feet and bill. It is found on sea cliffs. In English folk lore the spirit of King Arthur migrated into a Chough, and as a result Choughs were protected in Cornwall.
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The chow-chow is a variety of dog introduced to England from China where they were bred for food. They are cobby in build with a flat, wide skull and a substantial muzzle under the eyes and nose. The tongue and lips are black. the ears are small, pointed and carried erect and forward. They average 22 kg in weight.
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Chromoderus is a genus of rare Snout Beetles (Curculionidae).
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A chrysalis is a form which butterflies, moths, and most other insects assume when they change from the state of larva or caterpillar and before they arrive at their winged or perfect state. In the chrysalis form the animal is in a state of rest or insensibility, and exists without nutriment, the length of time varying with the species and season. During this period an elaboration is going on in the interior of the chrysalis, giving to the organs of the future animal their proper development.
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The chrysanthemum is a genus of hardy annual herbs and shrubs of the family Compositae, consisting of plants with single, large-stalked yellow flowers or with many small flowers; the rays are sometimes white. Two species are common weeds in Britain, Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum (the ox-eye daisy), a meadow plant with white ray-flowers, and Chrysanthemum segetum (the corn-marigold), a corn-field weed with golden-yellow ray-flowers. The chrysanthemum of gardens is a Chinese half-shrubby plant (Chrysanthemum. sinense), whose numerous varieties constitute one of the chief ornaments of gardens in the months of October, November, and December.
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Chrysanthia is a genus of beetle of the family Oedemeridae, ranging from five to eight millimetres in length.
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Chrysidoidea is a super-family of insects of the sub-order Apocrita, order Hymenoptera. The members are small to medium sized, wholly or partly metallic in colour and have a thirteen segmented antennae. The larvae are parasitic.
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Chrysobothris is a genus of jewel beetle (Buprestidae). The larvae develop in trees, beneath the bark and in the wood.
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Chrysochloridae is the golden moles family of mammals belonging to the order Insectivora.
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Chrysomela is a genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) which live on trees, mainly willows, birches, alders and poplars.
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Chrysomelidae is the leaf beetles family of insects of the order Coleoptera. They are one of the largest families of beetles, with over 250 British species. The Chrysomelidae are related to the longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) and like them are vegetarian, feeding on plants. Leaf beetles vary in form, but most are convex, oval or more or less round in shape.
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Chrysoplenium is a genus of annual or perennial rather succulent herbs with alternate or opposite crenate leaves and inconspicuous greenish axillary and terminal flowers.
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The chub (Leuciscus cephalus) is a European fresh water river fish of the carp family. It has a plump, thick, rectangular body and heavy head. The back is a greenish blue colour and the sides silvery. It frequents deep holes in rivers shaded by trees, but in warm weather floats near the surface, and furnishes sport for anglers. It is indifferent as a food, and rarely attains a weight of 5 Ibs. Allied American species receive the same name.
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