AHUWICK LIMKSTi'Ni:. 



.\I:I:MCPI.A. 



of America their study, as an inhnbiUnt of the New World. Dr. 

 Von Siebold mention* thin our European specie* among the birds 

 which ha observed in Japan. 



i'lilily fo Man. In days of old, when the Heron was a principal 

 feature in the noble (port of hawking, and when the destruction of its 

 egg* was risited with a penalty of twenty shillings, it seems to have 

 held a* high a place at the tables of the great as H did in the field. 

 Thus, at the ' intronazation ' of George Nevill, archbishop of York, in 

 the reign of Edward IV., we find in the bill of fare 400 Heronshawe* 

 and 800 Feasaunte* (pheasant*) ; and it seenui, at one period, to have 

 been valued a* a dish at the same price as the latter bird, for from 

 the prices in the household-book of the fifth carl of Northumberland, 

 we find Hearonsewys (herons) marked at twelve pence, and pheasant* 

 at the same rate to a penny. At a marriage-feast in Henry VIII- 

 time, we find Heronsews noted at the same price, and at another 

 marriage-feast in the same year two dozen Heronsues marked at 

 twenty-four shillings. In the first of these record* no mention in 

 made of pheasants, but in the second they appear at that earlier time 

 to have been rather more highly valued than herons, for eighteen 

 pheasants are priced at twenty-four shillings, the amount placed 

 against the two dozen herons. And in the charge* of Sir John 

 Nevile of Chete (the knight in whose family the marriage* above 

 alluded to took place), at Lammas assizes, in the 20th year of the 

 reign of king Henry VIII., the pheasants appear to have coat some- 

 what more than the Heronsews, thirty of which are priced at thirty 

 (hillings, while twelve pheasants cost twenty shillings. The heron- 

 plume, made up of the fine large depending feathers, especially those 

 above the wings, was highly valued. 



In the present day the bird seems to have sunk into comparative 

 insignificance. Mr. Selby however considers that " the low estimation 

 in which the flesh of the Heron is now held would seem to be in a 

 great degree the effect of prejudice, or the fashion of taste, as under 

 proper treatment and good cookery the Heron, when fat and in fine 

 condition, a but little inferior to some of our most approved wild-fowl." 



The well-known adage expressive of ignorance, " He does not know 

 a hawk from a hand-saw," is a corruption of " He does not know a 

 hawk from a heronshaw." 



Temminck's second section of Herons consist* of the Bitterns, 

 including the Night Herons. [BITTERN ; NTCTICORAX.] 



ARDWICK LIMESTONE, a Calcareous Bed, or series of beds, 

 containing shells and fish-remains, in the upper part of the Coal 

 Formations of Manchester and Lebetwood. There is a coal-bed above 

 it at Manchester. 



AKE'C'A, a genus of Palms containing two species, both remarkable 

 for the purposes to which they are applied. Areca is distinguished 

 by a double membranous sheath in which ita bunches of flowers are 



Betel-Nut Palm (A- eta Catediu). 



contained, by it* female corolla* containing the rudiment* of stamenx, 

 it* calyx being divided into three part* or leaves, and its fruit being 

 berry or drupe, with a fibrous rind inclosing one seed only. The 



leave* of all the specie* are pinnated, with their stalk* rull 

 cylindrically at the MM. 



Areca Catechu, Betel-Nut Palm, i* described by Dr. Roxburgh a* 

 being the most beautiful palm in India, with a remarkably straight 

 trunk, often from 40 to 50 feet high, and in general about 20 inches 

 in circumference, equally thick in every part, and smooth. The 

 leaflets are from 3 to 34 feet long, and widest at the point, where 

 they also are ragged. It is cultivated all over India for the sake of 

 its nuts, which are about the size of a hen's egg, of a reddish-yellow 

 when ripe, and with a firm fibrous rind about half an inch thick. It 

 ia this nut which, under the name of Pinang or Betel-Nut, is so 

 universally chewed in the East Indies. It has an auitere and astringent 

 flavour, dependent upon the tannin it contains, and is nut eatable 

 alone ; but mixed with litiu>, which no doubt destroys its acidity, and 

 with the leaf of the Betel-Pepper it becomes milder and pleasant 

 The mixture i* however still so hot and acrid as to be untit t'.-i the 

 use of any but persons accustomed to it. It i* said to be aromatic and 

 stomachic, and also to produce intoxication in beginners ; but it i* 

 doubtful whether all these qualities are not to be ascribed rather to 

 the Betel-Pepper leaf than to the nut of the Palm. It, or rather the 

 mixture of the three substances, stains the saliva and teeth of a deep 

 red colour. It i* to the stems of Areca Catechu that the common 

 black pepper vine is usually trained on the coast of Malabar. ( I . 



Artca oltracea, the Cabbage Palm, is the only other species that it 

 is necessary for us to notice. The name of this plant is familiar to 

 most jjersons from the often repeated fact that a tree of the growth 

 of half a century i* sometimes cut down for the sake of the single 

 l>uil which terminate!* it, and which is called the cabbage. 



The specie* i* found in great abundance in the mountainous part* 

 of Jamaica and other West India inlands, growing to the height of 

 from 100 to 200 feet, with a trunk not more than 6 or 7 inches in 

 diameter. This gives it an extremely graceful appearance, especially 

 as the leaves grow from the top only, in a kind of tuft or plume, to the 

 length of 15 feet ; these leaves are divided in a pinnated manner, anil 

 their divisions are deep green, and several feet long. The unexpanded 

 leave* are arranged so closely one over the other as to obstruct all 

 access of light, which causes them to be of a very tender and delicate 

 nature. It ia this which forma the cabbage, which is considered a 

 great delicacy, either raw or boiled. The nuts, which are about the 

 size of a filbert and covered with a yellowish skin, are produced in 

 great abundance upon a very long and branched spadix ; the kernel 

 is white and sweet. 



.\KKNO, a genus of Palms, the only species of which produce* 

 Sago and Palm-Wine. Areng taccharifera, is described as a plant of 

 an ugly appearance, having a trunk 20 or 30 feet high, covered almost 

 entirely with coarse black fibres resembling horse-hair. The leaves 

 are from 15 to 25 feet long, and pinnated ; their leaflets, which are 

 from 8 to 5 feet long, widen gradually to the .point., wli 

 ragged and prickly, in consequence of the projection of their hard 

 veins beyond the margin ; above they are of a deep shining green, but 

 on their under surface they ore firmly coated with ash-coloured mealy 

 matter. The stalks of these leaves have intermixed with their coarse 

 hair stiff bristles as thick as porcupine's quills. Each bunch of r 

 is from 6 to 10 feet long, and when covered with fruit is as much as a 

 man can carry. The berries are of a yellowish-brown colour, about 

 the size of a medlar, and extremely acrid ; each contains three seeds. 



This palm ia found in all the islands of the Indian Archipelago, in 

 moist and shady ravines through which rivulets find a course ; it is 

 much used for the sake of its sap, which flows in great abundance 

 from the wounded branches of the inflorescence about the time \\\>i-n 

 the fruit is funning. A bamboo bottle is tied to the extremity of an 

 amputated branch, and removed twice a day, morning and evening. 

 A single tree will yield a large quantity of this fluid, which when 

 firet drawn from the tree ia transparent, with the taste and ool 

 new wine; after a short time it becomes turbid and milk\. 

 acquires a slight degree of acidity. When fit for drinking it > 

 yellowish colour, with a powerful odour and a good deal of 

 gency. Strangers do not for some time become accustomed to it. It 

 is exceedingly intoxicating ; but, if drunk in moderation, is said to be 

 stomachic and wholesome. 



Besides yielding wine, the coarse fibre* of the stem and leaf-stalks 

 are manufactured into powerful cables, and the trunk contains a great 

 quantity of nutritious meal-like sago. Dr. Roxburgh mentions that 

 ISOlbs. of that substance were obtained from one tree felled in the 

 botanic garden at Calcutta. 



,,-a /lulirii, vol. iii. p. 27; Kum|.liius' //. ,-liarium 

 Amboin, ,,.. vol. i. The former calk this Palm Saguertu Jtni,i],hii.) 



A I; I.N K 'OLA, a genus of Annelidous Animals, referred by ' 

 to the Dorsibrauchiate group on account of their external Kills. The 

 general structure and habits of the genus determine most naturalists 

 in placing it with the Terricolous Annelids. [ ' I The gills 



are branched, and placed upon the rings of the middle part of tin- 

 body only. The mouth is fleshy, more or less dil 

 are no discernible teeth, tentacles, or eyes. The posterior extremity 

 of the body haa not only no gills, but ia devoid uf the silky 1- 

 which are found on every other p:. 



A. I'itcatvrum, the Lob or Lug- Worm, is the most common ; 

 It is found very abundantly in the sand of the sea-shore, where its 



