Natural History: Or, Second Division of "The English Encyclopedia", 3. köideCharles Knight Bradbury, Evans & Company, 1867 |
Common terms and phrases
according America animal appears arranged base becomes belonging birds blood body bones branches British brown called cavity cells characters close colour common composed considerable consists contains continues covered Cuvier described developed distinct distinguished divided entire equal Europe exist external extremity eyes feet female fish flowers foot fossil four fruit furnished genera genus given gives hairs head inches inhabit insects internal joint known lateral leaves legs length less living male membrane mouth native natural nearly observes occurs organs pair pass placed plants portion posterior present probably produced pupa remains remarks resemble rounded says scales seeds seen segments separated shell short side simple sometimes species stem structure surface tail teeth terminal third trees upper usually whole wings young
Popular passages
Page 17 - Bring oil to fire, snow to their colder moods; Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks With every gale and vary of their masters, Knowing nought, like dogs, but following.
Page 319 - Wratse. (Labrus maculatus.) parts of our coast ; it is about eighteen inches long, of a red colour above, pale orange beneath, and adorned with bluish green oval spots ; the fins and tail are green, with a few red spots, the dorsal fin is spotted at the base. The length of the head compared to the whole length of the fish is as one to four, and the depth of the body is equal to the length of the head. The fin-rays are, dorsal, 20 + 1 1 ; pectoral, 15 ; ventral, 1 + 5 ; anal, 3 + 9 ; caudal, 13.
Page 557 - The face, throat, and breast were of a yellowish white, or very light brown colour, which, in many of the skins, extended the whole length of the belly. It had six cutting teeth in each jaw; two of those of the lower jaw being very minute, and placed without, at the base of the two middle ones. In these circumstances, it seems to disagree with those found by the Russians; and also in not having the outer toes of the hind feet skirted with a membrane.
Page 135 - On the keeper putting a spar of wood two inches in diameter into his den, he cracked it in pieces as if it had been touchwood, and in a minute the whole was reduced to a mass of splinters. The power of his jaws far exceeded any animal force of the kind I ever saw exerted, and reminded me of nothing so much as a miner's crushing mill, or the scissors with which they cut off bars of iron and copper in the metal foundries.
Page 225 - America in 1785 that its properties and nature were mode known in Europe by a memoir upon it by M. de la Condamine. This notice excited little attention ; and subsequently notices of this substance were sent to the French Academy in 1751 by M. Fresnau, and in 1768 by M. Macquer. At the latter end of the last century and the beginning of the present it was brought into this country in small quantities, where, on account of its being used for rubbing out black-lead pencil marks, it acquired the name...
Page 273 - The bark of the roots is the part employed by the natives, as it contains all the active properties, which they use fresh, rubbed up with milk. About six inches in length of a root as thick as the little finger they reckon a common dose. (Roxb.) It is reckoned an excellent substitute for Jalap, and is free from the nauseous taste and smell of that drug. The plant is a native of all parts of Continental and probably of Insular India also, as it is said to be found in the Society and Friendly Isles...
Page 43 - On the other hand, in the capillaries. of the lungs, the opposite affinities prevail. The venous blood and the air in the pulmonary cells have a mutual attraction, which is satisfied by the exchange of oxygen and carbonic acid that takes place through the walls of the capillaries ; and when the blood has become arterialized, it no longer has any attraction for the air. Upon the very same principle, therefore, the venous blood will drive the arterial before it in the pulmonary capillaries, whilst...
Page 17 - King Lear' (act ii. scene 1), alluding to another curious superstition connected with this bird, makes the Earl of Kent say : — , " turn their halcyon beaks With every gale and vary of their masters.
Page 15 - That the eggs may by accident be laid upon portions of these fish-bones is highly probable, as the floor is so thickly strewed with them that no vacant spot might be found, but they assuredly are not by design built up into a nest. The hole is from two to four feet long, sloping upwards...
Page 29 - ... is not impossible that some of them may be drowned. My hounds were a cross of both these kinds, in which it was .my endeavour to get as much bone and strength in as small a compass as possible. It was a difficult undertaking. I bred many years, and an infinity of hounds, before I could get what I wanted. I at last had the pleasure to see them very handsome; small, yet very bony; they ran remarkably well together ; went fast enough ; had all the alacrity that could be desired, and would hunt the...