57 



ACERAS. 



ACONITUM. 



turner. It ia said to make excellent charcoal for gunpowder. The 

 nurserymen usually call this species the Cut-Leaved Scarlet Maple. 



24. Acer rubrum (Linnteus), the Red or Scarlet Maple. The deep-red 

 colour of the flowers in the spring, and of the keys and leaves in 

 autumn, have given rise to the name of this species, which is found, 

 from Canada to Florida, growing in swamps along with aiders. Its 

 wood is used by the Americans for articles of furniture, and is also in 

 request for the stocks of rifles for which, when it is what they call 

 'curled,' its toughness renders it well adapted. Two varieties of this 

 species are cultivated in this country, under the names of A. coccineum 

 and A. intermedium. 



25. Acer circinotum (Pursh), the Curled Maple, grows on the north- 

 west coast of North America, and is a small, scrubby, worthless tree. 



Cultivation. The hardy maples, which are the only kinds of any 

 importance in this country, are all increased either by seeds or layers. 

 The European species readily yield their keys, which should be gathered 

 when fully ripe, and immediately buried in heaps of river sand, where 

 they may remain till the following February ; they may then be sown 

 in beds, rather thinly, and, when one year old, should be transplanted, 

 and treated like other forest trees. They ought never to be headed 

 back, as oaks and Spanish chestnuts are. From layers they all make 

 excellent plants very rapidly. They are occasionally budded upon the 

 common sycamore, but this mode is little practised in England. 



ACERAS, a genus of Orchidaceous plants, of which one species, the 

 A. anthropvphora, is found growing in Great Britain. It is a small 

 plant, from 8 to 12 inches in height. It has a long lax spike of 

 greenish yellow flowers, the parts of which are so arranged as to give 

 them the appearance of the small figure of a man : hence this plant 

 has been called the Man-Orchis. 



ACERATHE'RIUM. Some Fossil Miinocerata have been thus 

 imini'd by Kaup. 



ACEKDESE, in mineralogy, a hydrous sesquioxide of Manganese, 

 called also MamjaniU. Varieties of it have been called Xewkirkile and 

 farouatt. 



ACERACE^E, an order of Polypetalous Dicotyledons. Their flowers 

 are unsymmetrical, their stamens hypogynous, their fruit is winged, and 

 their petals have no appendages upon them. The species are all trees or 

 shrubs, with opposite stalked exstipulate leaves, and are found exclusively 

 in the north of Europe, Asia, America, and India. A sweet mucilaginous 

 sap is common in these plants, from which sugar can be manufactured. 



1. Unisexual Flower. 2. Stamen on Disk. 3. Stamens separate. 

 4. Petal. 5. Bisexual Flower. 6. Pistil. 7. Fruit. 8. Seed. 

 9. Embryo. 



ACERVULA'RIA, a genus of Fossil MadrephyUiim. 



ACHILLEA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 ' ,*ita, consisting of 60 or 70 species, found exclusively in the 

 mldiT climates of the northern hemisphere. This genus is found in 

 the suborder Corymljiferir, and is distinguished by the florets of the 

 ilirtk being hermaphrodite and tubular, and the tube being plane, 

 r.-ssed, and two-winged. The fruit is compressed, and has no 

 pappus. There are five British species. A . Ptarmica is an abundant 

 plant, and on account of its strong odour is called Sneezewort. 

 A. mittffolium has got its specific name from the segmented character 

 of ita leaves. It is called in English Millefoil and Yarrow. This 

 plant has the tonic and stimulant properties of the sub-order to which 

 HITS in a slight degree, and on that account has been employed 

 as a remedy in some diseases, but its medical properties are very feeble. 



ACHILI.KVM, agenus of Fossil Sponyiiuhe, of which two species 

 occur in the cretaceous strata of England. (Goldfuss.) 



.V'HIMF/NKS (from a, prefix, and x'M, winter), agenus of plants 

 .'ing to the order UetmraceK. Thi species of this genus are very 

 numerous, and, although not useful, roey are many of them exten- 

 sively cultivated, on account of the beauty of their flowers. In con- 

 sequence of their general culture, a great many varieties of the species 

 are becoming known. After flowering, the stems die down ; and the 

 tuli.T.< (mould be dug up, and kept free from frost ami wet till January, 

 by planting them in succeH,ion, flowers may be obtained till 

 urnmer. They may be planted in a mixture of loam and leaf- 

 monld, with a little silver sand. They can be placed out in the 

 summer, but require shading on hot days. 



ACHI'KrS, a genus of flat-fish, belonging to the sub-branchiate 

 division of Ma'a< In external form these fishes resemble the 



common sole. Like the Plauronectes in general, they have the body and 

 tail very much compressed, and the eyes both on the same side of the 

 head ; but they are easily distinguished from all other genera of 

 flat-fish by the total want of pectoral fins. 



Achirus niartnoratus. 



The species of A chirus have no air-bladder, and consequentlyremain, 

 for the most part, at the bottom of the sea ; being, in fact, ungifted 

 with the faculty of increasing or diminishing their specific gravity, 

 which the possession of this important organ bestows upon ordinary 

 fishes. Their power of locomotion in other directions is however 

 considerable ; and, notwithstanding the disadvantages of their form, 

 and the oblique direction in which this necessarily compels them to 

 move, their motions are frequently very rapid. Their habits, as 

 far as &W present known, are similar to those of the Plmmnectes. 

 They are found in the warmer regions both of the East and West 

 Indies, but not in deep water, or in situations far removed from land ; 

 they abound alon!; the shores, and furnish a plentiful and wholesome 

 food to the inhabitants. 



Various species of A chirus have been enumerated by zoologists, the 

 most remarkable of which appears to be the Achirus marmoratus of 

 Lacepede. The flesh is of a delicate flavour, and highly esteemed : it 

 inhabits the coasts of the Isle of France. The Achirus pavoniciis is 

 distinguished by the beauty of the spots, which, like the eyes on the 

 peacock's tail, cover its body ; and the A. fascicitlaius and A. bdintdtus 

 are easily recognised by the characters from which they respectively 

 derive their names. The former is found on all the coasts of America 

 and the West Indies : the latter inhabits the shores of China, and 

 feeds upon small Crustacea and mollusca. 



ACHLYA, a genus of Cryptogamous plants, belonging to the order 

 Confervacece. It is composed of a single tubiform cell, which expands 

 at the end into a large cell, which is cut off from the lower portion 

 of the tube by the formation of a partition. In this enlarged cell a 

 circulation of granular particles has been observed. In the course of 

 time cells are formed in this enlarged cavity, and fill it up. The parent 

 cell eventually bursts at some spot, and allows of the escape of the 

 enclosed cells ; but before this takes place the cells in the interior move 

 about, and, after their escape, exhibit for a considerable time an active 

 movement. They are good examples of the Zoospore. They soon 

 attach themselves to some fitting object, and grow into little plants, 

 like their parent. A similar process goes on in most of the Algte, but 

 is not so easily observed as in this case. 



The only species of Achlya which has been described is the A. 

 prolifera, which is found parasitic upon fish and other aquatic animals. 

 This plant is more especially developed on fish and aquatic reptiles 

 kept in confinement. It was first observed on gold fish, but several 

 writers have described it as existing on other animals, as the Stickle- 

 back, Water Salamander, Frog, and Newt. 



(Reports on Botany, Ray Society, 1845; Lindley's Vegetable Kingdom.) 



ACHMITE. [Et'CHYSIDERITK.] 



ACHRAS, a genus of tropical plants belonging to the natural order 

 Sapntacete. It has a calyx divided into six parts ; a corolla monope- 

 talous, divided into six lobes ; stamens twelve, of which six are sterile 

 and six fertile ; and an ovarium, with from six to twelve cells. The 

 fruit resembles an apple, with from one to twelve needs, contained in 

 hard bony nuts, which have a shining coat, and a long hard scar over 

 the whole of their inner angle. 



The genus contains only one species, which yields a copious milky 

 fluid when wounded. Its leaves are entire, leathery, undivided, shining, 

 of a lanceolate form, without stipules. The flowers are large, white, 

 bell-.iinped, and grow singly from the axils of the leaves. This is 

 called, in the West Indies, the Sapodilla Plum. The fruit in size and 

 shape resembles a bergamot pear ; like the medlar, it is only eaten in 

 a state of decay ; before that period it is austere and uneatable, but in 

 the proper state it is so rich and sweet as by some to be considered 

 only inferior to the orange. 



AHYRA'NTHES, a genus of plants belonging to the order Ama- 

 rantacere, A. an/iem and A . fruticosa are used in India as remedies in 

 dropsy. A. globulifera is used in Madagascar as a remedy in syphilis. 



ACIDA'SPIS, a genus of fossil Crustacea, of the group of Trilobites ; 

 found in the Wenlock limestone. (Murchison.) 



ACONITE, WINTER. [ERANTHIS.] 



ACONI'TUM, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 Banunculacett. From very early times it has borne the same 



