HERON 



3967 



HERRESHOFF 



Heron (Ardea). Name given to 

 the birds of the various genera of 

 the familv Ardeidae, which in- 



Heron. Specimen 01 tne European 

 Ardea cinerea 



eludes the herons proper and the 

 bitterns. They are closely related 

 to the storks and ibises, and in- 

 clude some 70 species distributed 

 in all parts of the world, but 

 specially numerous in tropical 

 marshes and swamps. They are 

 all carnivorous, feeding mainly on 

 fish, frogs, and insects. All have 

 long legs for wading purposes, long 

 necks, and a long, straight, pointed 

 beak. Most are bluish-grey and 

 white in colour. 



The European or common heron 

 (A. cinerea) is a well-known inhabi- 

 tant of Great Britain, and was 

 formerly an object of the chase, 

 being preserved for hawking. It 

 still breeds in many parts of the 

 country, usually in parks, where it 

 is more or less protected. It is 

 easily recognized by its crane-like 

 form and the crest of long, blackish 

 feathers at the back of its head. 

 The plumage is grey on the upper 

 parts, with greyish white below ; 

 the forehead, sides of the face, and 

 front feathers of the breast being 

 white. It is about 3 ft. in length, 

 and the pointed beak is yellow. 



The common heron feeds upon 

 fish, frogs, snakes, and young 

 mammals and birds, visiting the 

 margins of streams and lakes at 

 nightfall and early in the morning. 

 It nests in colonies or heronries in 

 the tops of tall trees, the nest being 

 very large and flat, and constructed 

 of sticks with a lining of grass. 

 During the breeding season the 

 male bird may usually be seen in 

 the daytime standing on a branch 

 beside the nest, where his mate is 

 incubating the blue eggs. There 

 are several noted heronries in Eng- 

 land, one being at Parham, Sussex. 



Four otherspecies occur occasion- 

 ally in the British Islands. The 



night heron (Nycticorax) is found 

 occasionally in spring and autumn. 

 It is about 22 ins. in length, greenish 

 brown on the back, with slate wings 

 and tail and white underparts. The 

 buff -backed heron (A. equinoctialis) 

 is an extremely rare visitor from 

 S. Europe. Its colour is white, 

 with the exception of the rusty 

 buff head, neck, and breast. The 

 squacco heron (A. ralloides) is 

 another rarity, only 18 ins. long, 

 with reddish-buff neck and back, 

 the rest of the plumage being 

 mainly white. The purple heron 

 (A. purpurea), common in Holland, 

 is sometimes seen in spring and 

 autumn. Ranging in length from 

 30 ins. to 36 ins., the crown of the 

 head and the crest are purple, and 

 the rest of the plumage is mainly 

 grey and brown. 



Herpes Simplex (Gr. herpein, 

 to creep). Acute eruption of vesi- 

 cles or blebs on the skin. The 

 angles of the mouth, buttocks, 

 nipples, and genital organs are 

 most frequently affected. The 

 cause is unknown. Attacks may 

 occur apparently spontaneously or 

 in the course of pneumonia, influ- 

 enza, and other diseases. Exposure 

 to cold is sometimes a precipitating 

 cause. The appearance of the vesi- 

 cles may be preceded by a sensation 

 of heat or tingling. The vesicles 

 develop in a few hours and are 

 about thesize of a pin's head. They 

 dry up and disappear without leav- 

 ing a scar in about ten days. 

 Treatment consists 

 in bathing the F ^ 

 affected area with 

 boric acid lotion .' J^^Bi 

 and covering it ' |Pjl|?* 

 with a little starch ' 

 and zinc oxi<; |f -~*'~- 



powder. 



Herpes zoster 

 (Gr., girdle ), or 

 shingles, is an 

 acute eruption of 

 vesicles occupying 

 the area supplied 

 by a nerve. The 

 cause is unknown. 

 Cases have followed 

 the prolonged administration of 

 arsenic, and occur in the course 

 of locomotor ataxia and other dis- 

 eases. Sometimes the attack is 

 preceded by slight fever and pain 

 which may be severe. The blebs 

 appear in a few hours along the 

 course of a nerve and persist for 

 about ten days, usually disappear- 

 ing without leaving a scar. Protec- 

 tion of the affected part by cotton 

 wool, and dusting with starch and 

 zinc oxide powder, is usually the 

 only treatment necessary. 



Herrenhaus. German word 

 meaning House of Lords or House 

 of Magnates. It is applied to 



assemblies composed of persons of 

 rank who do not owe their seats to 

 popular election. An example is the 

 upper house of Austria before 1918. 



Herrenhaus en. Palace just 

 outside the town of Hanover, for- 

 merly the residence of the electors 

 and kings of Hanover. An avenue 

 of limes, 1 m. long and 120 yds. 

 wide, leads from the town to the 

 palace. Built just before 1700 by 

 the first elector, Ernest Augustus, 

 the father of George I and the hus- 

 band of the electress Sophia, who 

 died here, it was a favourite resi- 

 dence of George I, and remained a 

 royal palace until the fall of the dy- 

 nasty in 1866. Around it are gar- 

 dens laid out in the French style, 

 and in the grounds are an orangery, 

 a theatre, and some fine fountains. 

 See Hanover. 



Herrera, ANTONIO DE (1559- 

 1625). Spanish historian. After 

 studying in Spain and Italy, he 

 entered the service of Philip II, 

 who made him one of his historio- 

 graphers. His chief work is his 

 History of the Deeds of the Gas- 

 tilians in the Islands of the Pacific 

 ( 1 60 1-1 5 ). He also wrote a work on 

 the succession question in England 

 and Scotland in the time of Mary 

 Stuart, and a general history of the 

 world in the time of Philip II. 



Herrera, FRANCISCO DE (1576- 

 1656). Spanish painter. Born at 

 Seville, he studied under Luis 

 Fernandez. He was a pioneer of 

 the realistic movement in Spain, 



Herrenhausen, Germany. The palace, formerly the 

 residence of the kings of Hanover 



and had Velasquez among his 

 pupils. Of intractable disposition, 

 he once suffered imprisonment for 

 illegal coining, and neither his 

 children nor his pupils were able 

 to live with him. At 74 he went to 

 Madrid, where he worked for the 

 court, under Velasquez's protec- 

 tion, until his death in that city. 

 One may cite his four paintings of 

 the Life of S. Martin in the church 

 of that saint, and his Last Judge- 

 ment in S. Bernard's, Seville. 



Herreshoff , NATHANIEL GREENE 

 (b. 1848). American naval archi- 

 tect. Younger brother of John 

 B. Herreshoff, the blind yacht 



