WOOD-LOUSE. 



341 



greatly resemble those of the Labur- 

 Hum. The commonest kinds are 

 IF. sinensis and W. frutescens, but 

 some other species have been lately- 

 introduced by Dr. Sieboldt from 

 Japan. For some particulars re- 

 specting W. sinensis, see Gly'cine ; 

 and to these may be added that, in 

 the summer of 1840, the plant in 

 tbe London Horticultural Society's 

 Garden had more than nine thousand 

 racemes, containing in all about 

 675,000 separate flowers. W. fru- 

 tescens is a much, smaller plant, with 

 closer racemes of flowers, which are 

 small and of a dark-purple. It is 

 a native of North America. Both 

 plants require a rich, soil, and to be 

 frequently watered in dry weather. 



Witch Hazel. — See H amame'lis. 



Withy. — Those kinds of shrubby 

 Willows which have long flexible 

 shoots. 



WoAD. — See IsA^Tis. 



AVolf's Bane. — See Acoxi^tum. 



Woodbine. — See Caprifoliu3i. 



Wood-Louse. — Oniscus asellus. 

 — These creatures are exceedingly 

 destructive, particularly to succu- 

 lent plants and Dahlias. They be- 

 long to the Crustacea, and possess 

 the powex', when alarmed, of curling 

 themselves up like a hedgehog, so 

 as to resemble a little ball-like shell. 

 They are fond of creeping into any 

 dark places, and are frequently 

 caught by laying small flower-pots 

 sideways with hay in them, near the 

 plants which have been attacked. 

 The}'' will also creep into reeds, or 

 the hollow stalks of Rhubarb, and 

 all these traps are used to prevent 

 their ravages on Dahlias. Very 

 frequently small flower-pots may be 

 seen inverted on the stakes which 

 support Dahlias, solely to serve as a 

 trap for these creatures. Wood-lice 

 were formerly supj^osed to be useful 

 in medicine, but, like many reme- 

 dies that were formerly popular, 



they are now no longer esteemed. 

 When young they are white, and in 

 this state they are frequently found 

 in great numbers in the ant-hills, 

 living with the ants in perfect har- 

 mony ; they are then very small, 

 and if examined closely, they -n-ill 

 be found to have one segment of the 

 body and one pair of legs less than 

 when full grown. This circum- 

 stance, combined with the difference 

 of colour, has led many persons to 

 fancy the creatures found in the 

 ant-hills to be diff"erent from com- 

 mon wood-lice, though, in fact, they 

 are exactly the same. 



WooDKOOF. — See Aspe'rula. 



Wood Sage. — Teucrium Scoro- 

 cUnia. — One of the British kinds of 

 Germander. 



Woo'dsia. — FiUces. — A very 

 beautiful kind of British Fern, with 

 very delicate leaves. One species is 

 a native of Brazil. 



Wood Sorrel.— See O'xalis. 



W'ooDWARDiA. — iw//ces. -Exotic 

 Ferns, natives of North America and 

 JMadeira. 



Worms. — The common earth- 

 worm {Lumlricus terrestris) is a 

 most destructive creature in flower- 

 pots. It has been ascertained that 

 worms swallov eai'thy matter, and 

 that, after having deprived it of its 

 nourishing properties, they eject the 

 remainder in the form of what are 

 called worm-casts, and which in- 

 stinct teaches them to throw out of 

 their burrows, to the surface, that 

 they may not be in danger of swal- 

 lowing it again. To find fresh earth, 

 the worm is continually incited to 

 penetrate the ground in different 

 directions ; while, after each repast, 

 it is induced to return to the surface 

 to eject its cast ; and thus ground 

 inhabited by woi-ms is sure to be 

 thoroughly jDcrforated and pulve- 

 rised. In a field, this has a good 

 effect, as it lightens the soU, and 



