HAN'STICKLE. 



i 



colony they occupy the most fertile tracts. Many species rc now 

 cultivated in the conservatories of Europe, where they an- much 

 Mtmtned for their handsome foliage and singular heads of flower*. 



Jlanktia*. 



The plant in the foreground is the Itrd Banktia at King Gcorgc'i Sound, and 

 the other the i'rlloK Bankiia of the Gulf of Carpentaria, from sketches made 

 on the rpou 



None of them appear to be of much value for timber, although they 

 make good fire-wood. Ji. cumpar and B. terrain (which last in said to 

 grow 30 feet high, with a stem measuring a foot and a half in 

 diameter) are the largest species which hare been mentioned by 

 travellers on the east coast On the west coast, in Swan River colony, 

 li. yrnndit reaches 50 feet in height, with a trunk 24 feet in diameter. 

 A considerable quantity of honey is secreted by their flowers, and 

 collected by the natives of King George's Sound, who are extremely 

 fond of it 



BAXSTK'KI.E. [GASTER08TEU8.] 



I. \N'XHIX<;, the Smuatran name of a small arboreal animal, 

 discovered by the late Sir Stamford Raffles, which is intermediate in 

 its nature and habiU between the Shrews and Squirrels. [TITAIA.] 



BAOBAB. [ADANSOXIA.] 



1'. AI'TA, a genus of Insects belonging to the order Ltpidoptcra and 

 family (ieomrtrubr. The species of this genus are among the thin- 

 bodied day-flying Moths. Mr. Stephens, in his 'Illustrations of 

 British Kntomology,' confines this genus to two species : Bapta lima.- 

 ctdata. White Pinion-Spotted Bapta, which is of a beautiful white 

 colour, and has two brown spots on the front edge of each of the 

 anterior wings; and Bapta jumctata, Clouded-Silver-Bapta. Thin 

 differs from the first principally in having the tips of the anterior 

 wing* clouded with brown. Both species are occasionally met with 

 in woods in the neighbourhood of London. 



BARB, the name of a noble breed of horses reared by the Moore 

 of Barbary and Marocco, and introduced into Spain during their 

 (1.. mini. .n in that country, where however it has been suffered to 

 degenerate greatly since their expulsion. The noble race of Barbary 

 hone* which we commonly call Barbs are of rare occurrence 

 their own country, where the tyranny of the governors holds out no 

 inducement to private individuals to rear an animal of which they 

 may be deprived without scruple or compensation by the first man in 

 )IWIT who happen* to fancy it It is only among the wild nomadic 

 tribes of the desert, whose roving habit* anil inhospitable country 

 place them beyond the control of the ordinary jwwcrs of the state, 

 that this breed exists in perfection. The common horse of Barbary 

 is a very inferior animal, which, if originally derived from the same 

 source a* the noble race of Barbs, has greatly degenerated. In '!. 

 beauty and symmetry of their forms however even the latter are far 

 from excelling : their valuable qualities and in these they are perhaps 

 unequalled by any other breed in existence are, unrivalled speed, 

 surprising bottom, abstinence, patience and endurance under fatigue, 

 and gentleness of temper. Their |M>ints woidd not please the critical 

 eye of a member of the Jockey Club : the head is large and clumsy ; 

 the neck short and thick ; the chest broad and |-. i-rfnl ; yet the body 

 and legs are so long and slender as to resemble those of a grcrh. .umi, 



nnd form a |x*rfi>ct contrast to the rest of the animal. I'.iit the Moors 

 do not regard the external appearance of Uieir hoix 

 t.-iii|K-r, speed, and capability to 



which possess these valuable qualities are i ih all the 



kindness and attention that are bestowed on childn n. Tin -n 

 of treatment is very different from that practised in Europe. 'II... 

 are very early accustomed to the saddle, are mounted at two years 

 old, and have their manes and tails cropped till the age of six, umlrr 

 the supposition that it adds to then* strength and bottom. After this 

 period they are never dressed, nor are their manes and tail- . ..;i,i.. .1 ; 

 if dirty they are washed in the next stream, and some are evr' 

 to be offended by Europeans pitting their horses with the palm 

 hand, from an apprehension of it* injuring their coat They are 

 castrated, nor have the Moors the bad taste to seek to improve upon 

 nature by cropping the ears and tails of their horses, as 

 by some nations ; a Mussulman will neither mutilate nor r.-ll tl. 

 of ' the beast of the prophet/ the noblest of animals. The horses 

 alone are used for the saddle, the mares bein-r kept : 

 except among some of the predatory tribes of the Desert. I 

 that the neighing of the horses is apt to betray their approach, and 

 give notice of their coming to the caravans which are ihc ..I... 

 their attack. Walking and galloping are the only paces which these 

 animals are allowed to practise; and it is even con-idem! vulgar to 

 trot or canter. Generally speaking, the Moors avoid gi\ing their 

 horses violent exercise, or overheating them, except upon extraor- 

 dinary occasions; and among the Desert tribes it is only in their 

 cavalry exercises, such as throwing the lance, Ac., that th- 

 at all put forth. On these occasions howcter they arc not 

 and it is surprising with what rapidity ami |in < i.-inii they perform 

 the different evolutions. These indeed are nut so oomph 

 tactics of more civilised nations, but they are inm-li more ttran upon 

 the cattle, and would soon break down the bent of our Em 

 breeds. The great exercise of the Moorish cavalry consists in 

 galloping their horses at the very height of their speed for tin- 

 distance of about a quarter of a mile, and then making ih. 

 suddenly short, while the rider delivers his spear or fires his musket; 

 and of this amusement the people are so excessively fond, that they 

 frequently continue it for hours together without a moment's inter- 

 mission to breathe or change their horses. Yet notwithstanding .-u. h 

 violent exercises, very little care is afterwards taken of the horses ; 

 still they are said to be long-lived and remarkably free from diseases. 

 Such disteui]>crs as farcy and glanders are unknown ; spavin and 

 iiiul lender are of very rare occurrence. 



The Moors never make hay, but feed their horses U|m eh-.pp. .1 

 straw and barley, which they eat out of a nose-bag put over their 

 heads, as is the custom in England; in spring tli \ fed 



upon grans. In the stables there are no mangers, but the horses are 

 fastened by means of two iron pins driven into the ground, one In-fore 

 and the other behind, to which the fore and hind legs are resjH-etively 

 fastened in such a manner as to prevent the animal from mo\ it... m..n- 

 than a foot either backwards or forward : their collar is also 

 fast to the front pin, which is provided with a ring for that ]" 

 and they eat their provender off the ground. Formerly it was tin- 

 practice for the Moors, in shoeing their horses, to cut oil the front 

 part of the hoof; a flat shoe of a triangular shape was then put on, 

 with one of the sides in front, and the other two nearly meeting in an 

 acute angle behind the frog: but this unnatural mode ..i 

 these noble animals was put an end to about the year ITou. 

 order of the Emperor Muley Ishmael, who commanded 

 forth all his subjects shotdd upon pain of death, shoe their horses 

 with round shoes. The Berbers ami Kahylcs, the aboriginal 

 tants of the country between the Sahara and the shores of the 

 Mediterranean, and who are now for the most part confined to th. 

 mountainous and most inaccessible districts of North .\fn. 

 shoe their horses at all; yet so hardy are these animals, ami so mm h 

 tougher are their hoofs than those of our own horses, that Windhns, 

 who in the beginning of the last century accompanied a I'.i-iti h 

 embassy to the court of the emperor of Marocco, ami \\l> 

 interesting account of his journey, assures us that he saw one of them 

 whieh had travelled 50 miles without renting, and that though he had 

 been twice during the journey obliged to cross a mountain full of 

 rocks, yet it was not perceived that he had the least crack in hi 

 nor any apparent injury of his feet. 



There is a particular breed of the noble I'.mb-. ealle.l W 

 Er'rtek (literally Wiiid-Sm-ker), or -the I >> . i-t II. . 

 found among the tribes of the Sahara, ami which, when Iran -|>..i t. .1 

 beyond the sands of the Desert, soon languishes and dies. Th. licet 

 ness, temperance, and endurance of this animal, if wo are t.. belic\,- 

 hidf the stories related by travel!, 

 credibility. "When thou shall meet ash' ruliali 



b, " and say to his rider, ' .s.-dam Alikum,' before he can :.i 

 ' Alikuin Salatn.' he will be far from the., for his speed is like the 

 whirlwind." l!y the assistance of this animal, or of tl. 

 Desert-Camel, the Arab can upon an emergency cross the Sahara in 

 a short time. The Sh'mbah Kr'reeb, however, is mill, 

 nor so economical an animal as the dexcrt-cauiel ; it i - true tl 

 speed is greater, but he is neither so abstemious nor so enduring. 

 The Heine will travel for 15 or 20 successive days, and iv.[iiii 



