461 



LINOTA. 



LINUM. 



463 



I provincially termed Greater Redpole, Rose Linnet, Gray 

 vhite and Lintie. Belon is of opinion that this species is 



The bird is 

 Linnet, Lintw 



the bird named Salm by the Latins, and Aiyiflui by Aristotle, 

 in the 15th chapter of his 19th book ('Hist. Anim.'). The 

 French and German names have been given above. It is the Fanello 

 of the Italians, and Llinos and Llinos Bengoch of the Welsh. 



The Common Linnet is prized for its sweet song, and has been 

 taught to imitate the human voice. The Hon. Daines Barrington 

 mentions the celebrated talking linnet at Kensington. He heard it 

 repeat the words ' pretty boy.' 



L. canescens, the Mealy Redpole, is the L. canecens of Gould and 

 Eyton, L. borealit of Macgillivray, Frinyilla borealis of Temminck. 

 This bird is not so common as the last ; it has however a wide geo- 

 graphical range. It is found as far north as Greenland, and is very 

 general in the northern regions of Europe, Asia, and America. The 

 beak is larger than the Common Redpole, but it is not so large a bird 

 as the Linnet. It measures about 5 j inches. From the carpel joint 

 to the end of the wing 2j inches. The first, second, and third quill- 

 featbera nearly equal in length, but the first and second rather longer 

 than the third ; the fourth feather two-twelfths of an inch shorter 

 than the third. The irides are dusky brown ; in winter the feathers 

 of the forehead dark red ; back of the head, neck, upper part of the 

 back, and the smaller wing-coverts, a mixture of dark and light brown, 

 the middle of each feather being the darkest part; the smaller wing- 

 coverts tipped with dull white, forming a short bar; the greater 

 wing-coverta uniform dark brown, with broader ends of dull white ; 

 lower part of the back, the rump, and upper tail-coverts mealy or 

 grayish-white, with a few dark-brown streaks ; tail-feathers grayish- 

 brown, with light-brown edges, the two in the middle short ; the form 

 of the tail deeply forked ; the chin almost black ; the cheek, ear- 

 coverts, neck, breast, belly, and under tail-coverts pale brownish 

 white, streaked with darker brown, except on the middle of the breast 

 and belly, which are plain ; the dark streaks are largest on the flanks ; 

 the legs, toes, and clawa dark brown. 



L. linaria, the Lesser Redpole, or Common Redpole, is the smallest 

 of the British Linnets, and is even a trifle smaller than our diminu- 

 tive Siskin. This is more especially a winter visitor to the southern 

 counties of England, appearing in amall flocks from Michaelmas till 

 April ; but it is not often seen in the south of England in summer. 

 It is at once distinguished from the Mealy Redpole, last described, by 

 its smaller size ; and though not attractive from its notes, which are 

 little more than a lively twitter, its sprightly habits and engaging 

 confidence render it a general favourite, since it is of all the small 

 birds one of those that are most easily tamed. In some of the 

 northern counties of England, and in Scotland particularly, this little 

 bird is resident all the year ; during the summer it retires to the 

 underwood that covers the basea of our mountains and hills, and that 

 often fringes the banks of our precipitous streams, in which sequestered 

 situation it breeds. The eggs are four or five in number; their colour 

 pale bluish-green, spotted with orange-brown principally towards the 

 larger end. The young are produced late in the season, and are seldom 

 able to fly before the end of June or the beginning of July. This 

 little bird is common in Ireland and Scotland. It inhabits Denmark 

 and Scandinavia generally ; and ao hardy is it, that it is a permanent 

 resident in the Fur Countries of North America, where it may be seen 

 on the banks of lakes and rivers in the coldest weather. The beak is 

 brown, the upper mandible pale-brown ; the irides dusky-brown ; 

 forehead deep red ; the head, neck, back, wing-coverts, rump, and 

 upper tail-coverts, a mixture of dark and light brown, the centre of 

 each feather being darkest ; the outer feather only of the small wing- 

 coverts tipped with wood-brown ; all the feathers of the greater coverts 

 tipped with pale-brown, forming one conspicuous bar. Quill-feathers 

 brownish-black, the primaries with a very narrow edge and the laterals 

 with broader edges of pale wood-brown; tail feathers not so deeply 

 forked or near so long as those of the Mealy Redpole, but similar iu 

 colour. Chin with a patch of black ; cheeks, sides of the neck, Hides 

 of the breast and flanks, with dark-brown streaks on pale-brown ; the 

 breast strongly marked with vermilion-red; belly and under tail- 

 coverts dull brownish-white ; legs, toes, and claws, brown. The whole 

 length of the bird is 4 j inches. From the carpal joint to the end of 

 the wing, 2J inches. The first three quill-feathers nearly equal iu 

 length, but the second is the longest ; the fourth one-twelfth shorter 

 than the third. The females are without the red ou the breast, aud 

 the dark-coloured parts about the head are rather brown than black. 



//. Sfontium, the Mountain Linnet, or Twite. It is distinguished 

 from the Common Linnet, and from both the Redpole Linnets, by the 

 greater length of its tail, which gives this bird a more elongated and 

 slender appearance; and it is further distinguished by having a 

 reddish tawny throat, but does not exhibit any red colour either on 

 the head or breast at any season of the year. There is however a 

 tinge of red on the rump of the male iu summer, and in the general 

 character of the plumage of both sexes there ia considerable similarity 

 to that of the other species of the genus. The Mountain Linnet, a< 

 ita name would imply, prefers high bills and mountains, or at least an 

 interchange of moor and fell. It is not uncommon in certain localities 

 iu Ireland. It 'n plentiful in the Hebrides; and the Rev. Mr. Low 

 state* that it remains in the Orkneys all the year. The egga are 

 bluiah-white, marked towards the larger cud with light brown and 



purplish-red, sometimes with a few blackish spots. The Mountain 

 Linuet inhabits Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but is said to be rare 

 in Russia, particularly in the eastern portions. It is observed periodi- 

 cally on its passage in Germany and France, and some are said to 

 remain and breed in the mountains of Switzerland. It ia found in 

 Proveuce, at Genoa, and even as far south as Rome in winter ; but 

 retires to the northern mountains to breed in summer. The beak is 

 yellow, aud hence the term ' flavirostris ' has by some authors been 

 attached to this species ; the irides hazel ; the forehead, crown of the 

 head, ear-coverts, neck behind, back, aud wings, are of two shades of 

 brown, the darker colour pervading the middle of the feather, the 

 lighter wood-brown colour on the edges ; the greater wing-coverts 

 only tipped with pale wood-brown, forming one bar across the wing. 

 Quill-feathers brownish-black, the primaries with narrow edges, the 

 tertials with broader margins of pale brown. The rump red ; upper 

 tail-coverts like the back in colour ; tail-feathers brownish-black with 

 narrow white external edges, and broader light-brown inner margins ; 

 tail deeply forked ; chin and throat uniform reddish yellow-brown, 

 without streaks, but streaked ou the sides of the lower part of the 

 breast and flanks with dark-brown ; lower part of the breast, belly, 

 aud under tail-coverts dull browuish-white ; legs, toes, and claws very 

 dark brown. The red colour on the rump is a sexual as well as a 

 seasonal assumption, peculiar to the male only in summer. The whole 

 length of the bird is 5$ inches ; but the body being slender, and the 

 tail-feathers lengthy, this bird has a more elongated appearance than 

 the Common Linnet, or the Mealy Redpole. The female is without 

 colour on the rump, and is also lighter iu colour on the back ; her 

 beak, less decidedly yellow at the base, is dusky-brown at the tip. 

 Young birds like the females are lighter in colour generally, and are 

 thus distinguished from old males. 



(Yarrell, Uritith Birdt.) 



LINSENERZ, a Mineral consisting of Arsenate of Copper. Its 

 primary form is a right rhombic prism. It occurs in octohedral crystals. 

 Cleavage parallel to the primary planes. Colour light-blue and occa- 

 sionally dull-green. Streak pale-blue or green. Hardness 2'0 to 2'5. 

 Lustre vitreous. Transparent, translucent. Specific gravity 2'926. 

 It is found near Redruth, Cornwall, and in Hungary. Its analysis by 

 Dr. Thomson gives 



Arsenic Acid . . . ... . 43'39 



Oxide of Copper . . . ... 30-10 



Water 26'69 



100-18 



LINU'CHIA. Eschscholtz gave this generic name to certain forms 

 of the l.inn;" m genus Medusa. (' Actinologie,' p. 289.) 



LINUM, a genus of Plants which gives its name to the small 

 family of Linaccce, and is characterised by having 5 distiuct sepals, 

 5 petals, 5 stamens, and from 3 to 5 styles, which are either distinct 

 from the base, or united as far as the middle, or even the apex. Cap- 

 sule globular, divided into 10 cells, each containing a single seed. 

 Herbs or small shrubs; leaves entire, without stipules; flowers 

 having the petals falling off shortly after flowering. The species are 

 chiefly found in Europe and the north of Africa, but a few likewise in 

 other parts of the world. 



Few of the species of Linum are of any importance, except that 

 which has been an object of culture from the earliest times of which 

 we have any record, that is L. usilaluiimum, the Flax Plant, which is 

 valuable as well for its seed, as for the ligneous fibre of its cortical 

 layer, which forms the tow spun into yarn and woven into linen cloth. 

 It is distinguished by its glabrous capsules within the sepals ; ovato 

 pointed ciliated lanceolate leaves, and solitary stem. The flower is 

 blue ; stem from one to one and a half feet high ; sepals 3-nerved. It 

 is a native of Great Britain. 



It has been sometimes said that cotton is the substance from which 

 cloth was made in Egypt in ancient times. Cotton was no doubt 

 known to the Hindoos at very early periods, and may have formed 

 an article of commerce to Egypt from India, but that it was not much 

 used is proved by none of the mummy cloth, which has been examined 

 by the best microscopes, being found to be composed of cotton. The 

 seed is valuable for the condensed mucilage contained in its seed-coats, 

 while the almond contains a fixed oil, valuable for burning, and in the 

 arts as a drying oil ; the oil-cake is used for fattening cattle. Linseed 

 is extensively imported from Russia, Italy, aud Egypt, for crushing, 

 but of late years it has been imported in large quantities from India 

 for the same purpose ; this is found to yield a larger proportion of 

 oil than Ruasiau linseed, and the commerce will no doubt continue to 

 increase. Seed ia also imported from Holland, America, and other 

 placea for the purpose of sowing, as it is found to yield a finer and 

 more abundant crop than the British seed. It is curious that the 

 Hindoos make no use of the ligneous fibre ; but the plants, though 

 they there produce fine seed rich iu oil, are very dwarfish, and mtfy not 

 therefore be found profitable culture for a people who have cotton in 

 such abundance, and who wove it into cloth in ages when even linen 

 was unknown in Europe. 



L. angustifolium is found in sandy and chalky places. It has 

 downy capsules within the sepals, elliptical, pointed, ciliated ; leaves 

 linear-lanceolate ; stems numerous. Flowers of a pale blue ; stem one 

 or two feet high. 



L. perenne has obovate-obtuso sepals obscurely 4-nerved, glabrous, 



