



pectoral (those of the breast) ; and these he regards M analogou* to 

 th fore and bind member* of quadrupeds, and to the wing* and feet 

 of t.ir.U. Linniriu includes, in his order AbJianiiuila, all those specie* 

 which have the ventral An* placed behind the pectoral, or upon the 

 abdomen, the ouliUginou* fishes alone exoeptod ; which, after the 

 example of Ray, Willoughby, and Artedi, he very properly ooniider* 

 a* forming an order apart This arrangement i not now generally 

 adopted, but the term AUominaia denotes a family, or ul*l 

 of malaoopterygious (or oft-ftnned) fishes, only ; and, in this restricted 

 ease, includes the greater number of the fresh-water species, as well 

 as those which, like the sal: lically migrate from the ocean 



to deposit their spawn in fresh-water lakes and riven. M. Cmicr 

 subdivides this family into five subordinate groups, all of which he 

 has defined by appropriate and unequivocal characters. He denomi- 

 nates these sub-families, Cyprinoldet, Silurolda, Saimonoida, dopeolda, 

 and I.*t\oid<t respectively, from the carps, silurea, salmons, herring*, 

 and pikes, the typical genera from which their characters are severally 



AI1KI.K TRKK, in Botany, the English name of the PoptUut alba. 



ABKI.Mi 'Si 'H rs, in Botany, a genus of the Mallow tribe, usually 

 



ABEUDKVINK (I'ardvtlu tpintu, Cuvier ; Frinffilla liyurina, 

 Ranxani), sometimes called the Siskin, a well-known song-bird, 

 which has some resemblance to the green variety of the canary- 

 bird, but there is considerable difference in individual birds with 

 respect to the brightness of colouring. The colours of the male 

 in full plumage are as follows : top of the head, black ; ear covert*, 



Aberdevine, or SUkln (CarJuelU *ji!ntu). 



dusky ; a line above the eyes ; sides of neck, throat, and chest, lemon 

 yellow ; back and shoulders, dark olive green, with obscure dusky 

 dashes; quill*, hruwn, with an oblique yellow liar and another 

 above, produced by the yellow edging of the greater coverts ; flunks, 

 dinky, with a few brown dashes; rump, yelluw, slightly washed 

 with green ; two middle tail ink IUMVMI, the rest yellow, 



tipped with brown; bill an. 1 n colour. Length, 4] in.-hiM. 



Tail, short and forked. The plumage of the female U less bright and 

 decidedly marked. 



Sepp has delineated the nest of the aberdevine in the cleft of an 

 oak, built with dry Kent mixed with leaves, and pr..l'u- U lined with 

 feathers ; the base neatly rounded, and the feathers projecting :il*>ve 

 the rim, and concealing the eggs, which are bluish-white, xpeckled 

 with purplish red, like those of the goldfinch. Temmiuck, again, 

 says it builds in the highest branches of the pine. 



It breeds in the north of Europe, and only visits Britain, Germany, 

 and France in the autumn and winter. It is represented in some 

 books as very irregular in iU migration, particularly to thin country ; 

 but we suspect that thin opinion has arisen from irregular obser- 

 vation, for, sines our attention him been directed to the subject, we 

 have remarked its arrival about I.. .-. in Kent, to be almost as regular 

 as the departure of the swallows, which takes place about the same 

 During its winter stay with us, the aberdevine feeds chiefly on 

 the seeds of the birch and alder. 



As a cage-bird it is frequently paired with the canary, to produce 

 what are termed mule-birds ; but it is, besides, a lively and persevering 

 songster. 



A 111 KS, in Botany (the fir), a genus of trees of the Coniferous tribe, 

 well-known for the valuable timber which is produced by many of the 

 species. H was formerly considered a part of the genus J'inui ; but 

 modem botanists have made H a distinct genus. The English appel- 

 lation is the Saxon /urA-irurfu, fir-wood. 



drnrric Character. 



Flowers monoecious. 



Mala i '.it kins simple, solitary, terminal, or axillary. Stamens 

 obtuse, and often callous at the apex, terminated by a jagged 

 membrane. 



Frmaln. Catkins somewhat cylindrical ; their scales two-flowered, 

 imbricated, and having frequently t their base externally a bractea, 

 which is either very short or lengthened beyond the scales themselves, 

 and terminated by a taper point 



Cones more or less cylindrical ; the scales imbricated and v. 

 but not thickened at the extremity; seeds ending in a membra- 

 nous wing. 



Kmliryo about the length of the seed, with several closely-packed 

 Ions. 



Trees of various sizes, usually with a straight, conical, un.i 

 trunk, from which proceed spreading, horizontal, or drooping branches, 

 arranged in a pyramidal manner. Leaves either solitary, or collected 

 in little fascicles, deciduous or evergreen. 



From Pinut (the Pine-Tree) Abie* (the Fir-Tree) i 

 distinguished by its more pyramidal form, and by its leaves : 

 singly from around the .-tem. not hy twos or threes, or a greater 

 number, from out of a membranous shrivelling sheath, as well as by 

 the characters in the fructification above described. Its species form 

 four very natural tribes, of the first of which ay be 



taken as the representative ; of the second, tin 

 third, the Larch; and of the fourth, the L'ftlar </ /. 

 of these are interesting, either for the excellence of their wood or as 

 objects of ornament, wo shall briefly not ,.- v t are at present 



beet known. Those who wish tor 1'urihcr information should . 

 Mr. Lambert' 8 'Monograph of the ti.nus 1'min.' 1.. ( '. Ificlmrd'H 

 ' Memoir* surlesConifcres,' Michaux's ' Histoire dee Arbres Forestiers 

 de rAinfriqiie Septentriouale,' London's ' Arlioretum et Fnit: 

 liritannicum.' 



SECT. I. SILVER FIRS. 



Leavct groining . 'net, and ail turned tor 



one fide. 



Abie* Picea,the Silver Fir (M.irt peclinata, De Candolle : 



l.inn.i-us). Leaves arranged like the teeth of a . 

 what emaiginate, of a whitish colour underneath. Cones erect, 

 with very blunt closely-pressed scales, which are nuieh shorter than 

 i he taper-pointed indexed bract*. It is a native of the niountjiiiix of 



Silver Fir (.Itin ficta). 



the middle and south of KUITJM-, fn stony, dry, exposed situations. 

 It* favourite district seems to be on the I'ollino IM in the forest of 

 Itubi.'i, in the kingdom of NaplcH, win-re it is found in all its Knindeur, 



often growing from i:iu to l.MP feet in height, anil richly mini; the 



name pulckerrima (most beautiful), npplic.1 to it l.y Virgil. This tree 

 is readily known by its leaves having their point* all turned 

 the sky, and being mealy underneath, as wall as I 

 stalkleea cones, of a greenish purple colour, bristling with r. 

 taper points of the bracts that subtend the scales. It is the 



