63 



ACARUS. 



be syringed. Other species, as A. horten-sis, A. holoscnceus, A. genicu- 

 lattu, attack various plants, and the best 

 way of treating them is the same as the 

 above. 



The Sparrow Mite (Acanis passerinus, 

 Fabricius) is distinguished by the remark- 

 able size of its third pair of legs. jf^^^ff tt fc j "*' :k >. 

 Geoffroy called it the Bat Tick, and ^ ^JJ^PJ^ \ 

 Latreille formerly placed it in his genus 

 Sarcoptes. 



A very interesting form of these crea- - \ 



tures is that first described by Dr. Simon, 

 of Berlin, as inhabiting the sebaceous 

 sacs and hair-follicles of the human skin. 

 He called it an Acarus, but Professor Sparrow Mite. 



Owen regards it as a lower form of one of the higher divisions of 

 A rachnida. He names it Demodex Follimlorum. It has also been 

 described in this country by Mr. Erasmus Wilson, under the name of 

 I'.iitTjivn, folllcidurum. It has an elongated body, with eight short 

 legs, and is found very commonly in the sebaceous follicles of the 

 nose. In its parasitical habit it resembles some of the lower forms of 

 the Crustacea, as the Cymothne and Bopyrus ; and, perhaps, through 

 the Tardigrada, it has a relation with the Rotifera. 



The Ticks (Kirinitei, Latreille) are, some of them free, some para- 

 fiitic. The latter have no eyes. They embrace the genus Ixodes, which 

 are well known from attacking cows, horses, dogs, and even torti uses. 

 They bury their suckers so deeply in the skin, that they frequently 

 cannot be taken away without tearing the flesh. They deposit a 

 prodigious quantity of eggs, n'hich are discharged from the mouth. 

 The genus Argag is found on pigeons and other birds. The A. Ar.v "* 

 is the venomous bug of Miami. 



The Water Mites (Hyflrarhnettce) live only in the water. They are 

 often parasitic or aquatic insects. Duges has recently made some 

 important observations on the development of these mites, in which 

 he shows that in their earlier stages of growth they have but six legs. 

 If this be correct, it will probably lead to the rejection of Latreille's 

 fourth division, the .I//' -i-'^'hihira, which are characterised by possessing 

 six legs, as they are probably only earlier stages of some of the higher 

 forms. 



ACART-S. [AGARIC.] 



ACCll'KNSKI!. [STURIOXID.E.] 



ACEI'H A I.i )( 'YST, one of the simplest forms of Eniozoa, also called 

 I/.,, /,:!. [BHTOZOA.J 



At 'KR, a name given by the Romans to a tree called Mapk by the 

 English. It ia now applied to a genus of arborescent or shrubby 

 plants, many of which are extremely valuable for the sake either of 

 their timber or of their ornamental appearance. It is the type of the 

 natural order A ceraceat. It has the following characters : Flowers 

 green and inconspicuous, either containing stamens only, or pistils 

 only, or both united, upon the same individual. Calyx divided into 

 five; lobes, of uncertain length. Stamens occasionally five ; more fre- 

 quently varying from seven to nine. Leaves in all cases simple. 

 Fruit double ; each division containing one single-seeded cavity, and 

 extended at the back into a kind of wing, called Key in English, or 

 a by botanists. . 



1. Acer oblonyum, Oval-Leafed Maple, an evergreen tree, of rapid 

 growth, native of the northern parts of India, both in Nepaul 

 .iinl Kumaon. It is probably confined to the hot valleys of than 

 regions, for it has been found incapable of supporting the climate of 



aid. 



2. A,-- 1- In ' -iii'tiiim (AVallich), the Polished Maple. Leaves oblong, 

 taper-pointed, slightly serrated, shining, green beneath. Flowers white, 

 in branched erect thyrses. Keys broad, short, smooth. It is found 

 in the woods of the higher mountains of Nepaul, and also in the Alps 

 < >f Sirmoor, where it acquires a trunk thirty or forty feet high, and 

 I'n mi three to four feet thick. Its growth is slow ; its timber is said 

 by Dr. Wallich to be used by the inhabitants of Nepaul for rafters, 

 beams, and similar building purposes. 



3. Acer T"f"''>''"u> ' Linu;r. v us), the Tartarian Maple. Leaves heart- 

 shaped, oblong, unequally serrated, usually undivided. It forms an 

 ornamental tree or rather large bush, from fifteen to twenty feet high, 



met with in gardens and plantations. Its native countries are 

 the southern provinces of Russia in Asia, whence it extends as far 

 ta Hungary, there finding its most western limit. From its keys, 

 deprived of their wings, the Calmucs form, by the aid of boiling water, 

 an astringent beverage, which, mixed with an abundance of milk and 

 butter, forms a favourite article of their diet. The wood is hard and 

 white, mixed with brownish veins. 



4. Acer ttriatum, the Striped-Bark Maple (A. Penmytranicum, 

 LmnaniH). Leaven roundish, finely serrated, divided at the upper end 

 into three nearly equal tapering lobes ; when young, covered with a 

 mealiness, which is gradually thrown off as they increase in size. It 

 is a native of North America, from Canada to the high lands in Georgia. 

 In those countries it forms a considerable part of the undergrowth of 

 the woods, among sugar-maples, beeches, birches, and hemlock-spruce 

 firs. It rarely exceeds eight or ten feet in height, except in a very few 

 favourable situations, when itwill occasionallygrow double that height. 

 Its wood is very white, mid is used by the North Amvriennx for inlay- 



ACER. 



ing cabiuet-wor , 



to the moose-deer, in^tescts afford food to variou 



of Moose-Wood. Tn>Ld spring when l ammajs > especially 

 where it is remarkable f^%^- * ''* haa ""pwd the 



occasionally seen m planta- 

 ^y tint of its young leaves 

 thrice its native 

 Maple. 



name ,. ^ 



tions, where it is remarkable fo. 



in spring. When cultivated, it ^^ 



size, in consequence of being grafted upo 



Ha 



8 a 



Forms of the leaves of Species of Maple. 



3. A, Tataricum. 11 a and b. A. Cretimm. 



10. A. monspessitltiinrni. 1 a. A. opullts. 8 or. A. ubtusatum. 



4. A. striatitin. 5. A. barbattim. 



5. Acer larbatum (Michaux), the Bearded Maple. Leaves heart- 

 shaped, three-lobed, nearly equally serrated ; the lobes of nearly equal 

 size, or the lateral ones much the smallest ; nearly smooth beneath. 

 It is a native of deep pine and cedar swamps in Jersey and Carolina, 

 where it forms a small tree. 



6. Acer spicatum, the Spike-Flowered Maple (A. montannm, Aiton). 

 Leaves heart-shaped, smooth above, downy and glaucous beneath, of 

 an oblong figure, with about five unequal, tapering, coarsely and 

 unequally serrated divisions. It is a native of the United States and 

 Canada. The red colour of its keys in the autumn forms its principal 

 beauty. 



7. Acer opulus (Aiton), the Gueldres-Rose-Leaved Maple. Leaves 

 more or less heart-shaped, roundish, five-lobed, smooth beneath. It 

 is a small tree, ten or twelve feet high, found in France, especially in 

 Dauphiny. 



8. Acer obtwatum (Willdenow), the Neapolitan Maple. Leaves 

 heart-shaped, roundish, five-lobed, woolly beneath ; the lobes either 

 obtuse or pointed, and coarsely serrated. Flowers in drooping corymbs. 

 Hungary, Croatia, and many parts of Italy, produce this beautiful 

 species. On all the hills and lower mountains of the kingdom of 

 Naples, in Camaldoni, Castellamare, and the Abruzzi, it is found 

 abundantly, growing usually to the height of forty feet ; it is extremely 

 striking, with its reddish-purple branches, in the wood of Lucania, 

 between Rotonda and Rubia ; and in the Basilicata and Calabria it is 

 said, by Tenore, to acquire colossal dimensions. It is certainly very 

 singular that so fine a tree as this, occupying so large a tract of 

 country, frequently visited by English tourists, should be almost 

 unknown in this country ; and yet, although it is perfectly hardy, and 

 very easily multiplied, it is scarcely ever met with in any but botanical 

 collections. There are two forms of the leaf one with blunt, and the 

 other with pointed lobes. 



9. Acer campettre (Limucus), the Common Maple. Leaves heart- 

 shaped, with three or five deep segments which are not serrated, but 

 generally two-lobed or three-lobed, and narrow at their base* ; downy 

 beneath at least, when young. Branches covered, when old, with a 

 corky bark. Flowers in erect, branched, downy corymbs. Keys short, 

 smooth, with nearly parallel edges, diverging at right angles. Found 

 in every hedge-row in England, and spread over the greater part of 

 Europe. It is said not to be indigenous in Scotland, and on the conti- 

 nent it docs not approach the north nearer than the southern provinces 

 of Sweden. It advances as far to the eastward as the range of the 

 Caucasus, where it disappears. In England this is either a bush or 

 a small tree, of inelegant appearance, and its wood is of little value, 

 except for the use of the turner, who makes it into cups, bowls, &c. 

 The Common Maple is sometimes planted by farmers upon bad land, 

 for the purpose of fencing ; for which, however, it is ill adapted. 



10. Acer Monspessulaniint (Linnaeus), the Moutpellier Maple. Leaves 

 deciduous, very slightly cordate, and downy at the base, with three 

 perfectly entire, nu.irly equal, diverging lobes, slightly hairy beneath. 



