1085 



NATROLITE. 



NAUTILID.E. 



1066 



after being killed at Milecross, was brought by some country-peopl 6 

 in great consternation to my friend Dr. J. L. Drummond, I though'' 

 this might be one of those alluded to ; and recently made inquiry of 

 James Clealand, Esq. of Ruth Gael House (county Down), 25 miles 

 distant in a direct line from Dowupatrick, respecting snakes said 

 to have been turned out by him. I was favoured by that gentleman 

 with the following satisfactory reply: "The report of my having 

 introduced snakes into this country is correct. Being curious to ascer- 

 tain whether the climate of Ireland was destructive to that class of 

 reptiles, about six years ago I purchased half a dozen of them in Covent 

 Garden market in London ; they had beeu taken some time, and were 

 quite tame and familiar. I turned them out in my garden ; they 

 immediately rambled away ; one of them was killed at Milecross," 

 that alluded to as having been brought to Mr. Drummond, three 

 miles distant, in about a week after its liberation ; and three others 

 were shortly afterwards killed within that distance of the place where 

 they were turned out ; and it is highly probable that the remaining 

 two met with a similar fate, falling victims to a reward which it 

 appears was offered for their destruction.' " 



To this Mr. Bell adds, that it certainly does not appear that the 

 failure of these attempts to introduce snakes into Ireland is to be 

 attributed to anything connected with the climate, or other local 

 circumstances, but rather to the prejudices of the inhabitants ; nor is 

 there r*ason to. believe that their absence from Ireland is other than 

 purely accidental. ('British Reptiles.') [OPHIDIA.] 



NATROLITE, a Mineral belonging to the family of Zeolites. It occurs 

 in right rhombic prisms, usually slender, and terminated by a short 

 pyramid. The cleavage is perfect. It also occurs in globular, stellated, 

 and divergent groups, consisting of delicate acicular fibres, which often 

 terminate in acicular prismatic crystals. The colour is white, or inclining 

 to yellow, gray, or red. The lustre is vitreous. It is transparent to 

 transluscent. Its hardness is 4'5 to 5'5 ; its specific gravity is 2'14 to 

 2'23. It has the following composition : 



Silica 48-0 



Alumina < . . 26-5 



Soda 16-2 



Water 9'3 



100 



It becomes opaque before the blow-pipe, and fuses to a glassy globule. 

 It is found in aznygdaloidal trap, basalt, and volcanic rocks. 



Scolecitt resembles Natrolite, and differs in containing lime in place 

 of soda. 



Poohnalile is a related species, from Poohna, Hindustan. 



Alaole is another related species, occurring usually in impregnated 

 globules, having a flat columnar or radiated structure, with a pearly or 

 ailky lustre. 



Uarrinytmite, from the north of Ireland, and Hrevieite, from Brevig, 

 Norway, appear to be identical with Mesole. 



tfaotype is an old species of Mineral, embracing the various forms 

 here enumerated. 



(Dana, Mineralogy.) 



NATRON. [SODIUM.] 



NATTER-JACK, or NATTER-JACK TOAD, the English name 

 for the Bufa Calamita of Laurenti. Its colour is light-yellowish, 

 inclining to brown, and clouded with dull olive ; but its most distin- 

 guishing mark is the bright-yellow line running along the middle of 

 the back. The warts or glands on the body and the large glands 

 behind the head are reddish ; the under parts yellowish spotted with 

 black, and the legs banded. with black. [BuFO.] 



Mr. Bell gives the following dimensions : 



Inches. Lines. 



Total length 2 



Length of fore leg . . . . . 1 

 Length of hinder leg . . . '2 



Nattcr-Jntk Toad (Jlu/o Calnmita). 



NATURAL ORDERS OF PLANTS. [BOTANY; EXOGENS; ENDO- 



, ACROOENS; TlUI.LOUKNH.] 



NAU'CLEA, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order 

 Rubiaceae. It has a calyx with an oblong tube and a short truncate 

 or 5-toothed limb ; the corolla ia funnel-shaped, with a slender tube, a 

 naked throat, and 5 spreading oval oblong lobes; the anthers are 

 inclosed, and always shorter than the lobes of the corolla ; the cap- 

 sules are 2-celled, sessile upon the receptacle, but gradually attenuuted 

 to the base. The seeds numerous, imbricate, winged, fixed to oblong 

 placenta;, which are adnate to the dissepiment; the embryo is invested 

 iu a fleshy albumen. The leaves are opposite, or 3-4 in a whorl, 

 petiolate, or sessile. The bracts wanting at the base of the head of 

 flowers, but with linear paleae among the flowers, which are crowded 

 and sessile. The species are unarmed trees, rarely shrubs, and natives 

 of India and Africa. 



N. Cadamba has brachiate branches; petiolate coriaceous ovate 

 leaves ; triangular stipules ; terminal solitary peduncles, usually 

 shorter than the heads, which are globose. The flowers are orange - 

 coloured, collected into heads about the size of a small apple ; the 

 style is white and exserted. The seeds not winged ; the leaves from 

 5 to 10 inches long. Kudumba is the native name of this tree; it 

 flourishes about Calcutta aqd Malabar, where it grows to be a very 

 large tree, and is ornamental and very useful from the extensive shade 

 it affords. 



N. panifolia has petiolate obovate-obtuse leaves, oval stipules, and 

 terminal solitary peduncles ; sometimes the peduncles are in triplets, 

 when the middle one is the shortest. It is a native of the East Indies 

 and all the coast of Coromandel, but chiefly in the mountains of the 

 Philippines. The flowers are light yellow and globular, about the size 

 of a plum. The wood is of a pale chestnut-colour, firm, and close- 

 grained ; it is useful for purposes where it can be kept dry, but when 

 exposed to wet it soon decays. 



2V. cordifolia is prized on account of its wood, which is light and 

 durable where it can be kept dry. It answers well for furniture. 



There are 37 species of this genus enumerated, all of which are 

 natives of the East, but do not possess any peculiar qualities which 

 entitle them to particular notice. 



The Nauclea Gambia of Hunter (' Liuuwan Transactions,' vol. ix.) is 

 now Uncaria Gambia. [UNCARIA.] 



(Lindley, Flora Medico.) 



NAUCLERUS. [FALCOKIDJS.] 



NAU'CRATES, a genus of Fishes of the Mackerel Tribe, having 

 fusiform bodies, tails heeled at the side, and two free spines before the 

 anal fin. The 2V. ductor is popularly known as the Pilot-Fish, and ia 

 remarkable for its habit of following vessels often for many hundred 

 miles. Mr. Crouch, in the 14th volume of the ' Linnsean Transactions, ' 

 has recorded an instance of two individuals of this species which 

 accompanied a ship from the Mediterranean to Falmouth, where they 

 were taken by a net. The N. ductor ia about a foot in length, and is 

 remarkable for the beauty of its colour, being of a silvery pale blue 

 banded by broad and deep transverse dark blue belts. 



NAU'TILID^l, or NAUTILA'CEA, a family of Cephalopodous 

 Mollusca. According to Lamarck, they constitute the sixth family of 

 his Polythalamous Cephalopoda, consisting of the genera Discorlites, 

 SiderOlitei, Polystomella, Vorticialis, Nummulites, and Nautilus. To 

 these Mr. G. B. Sowerby, Juu., adds Simplegat and Endosiphonites. In 

 the system of M. De Blainville it is the fifth family of hia Polythala- 

 macea, and comprises the genera Orbulites, Nautilus, Polystomella, and 

 Lenticulina. The genus Nautilus is the type of this family. [CEPHA- 

 LOPODA.] 



Linnaeus gave the following as the generic character of Nautilus : 



"Animal (Rumphius, 'Mus.,' t. 17, f. D) testa univalvis, isthmia per- 

 foratis concamerata, polythalamia ; " and he divided the genus as 

 follows : 



I. Spiral, rounded. 



In this section he placed the species 2V. Pompilius, N. Calcar, 

 N. criipus, N. Beccarii, N. rugosui, 2V. umbilicatus, 2V. Spirula, and 

 2V. semilituus. Of these, all, except 2V. Pompilius and 2V. Spirula, the 

 latter of which is separated as a cephalopodous genus under the name 

 of Spirula, are minute chambered shells, for the most part from the 

 Adriatic Sea. 



II. Elongated, sub-erect (erectiusculi). 



In this section the species are 2V. obliquus, 2V. RapTianistrum, 

 N. Rap/tanus, 2V. Granum, 2V. lladicula, N. Fascia, 2V. Sipunculus, 

 2V. Legumen, and 2V. Oi-thocera. Of these, all but 2V. Orthocera are 

 minute, and from the Adriatic and Mediterranean. 2V. Orthocera, now 

 established as a fossil genus of Cephalopods under the name of 

 Orthoceras, though described by Linnseus as fossil, seems to have beeu 



considered by him as not without a living analogue, for he writes 



"Habitat in alto pelago; Fossilis;" and he has the following observa- 

 tion : " Testa frequentissima petrificata in montibus nostiis calcareis, 

 inter omnia fossilia no bis nota sajpe longissima, non dum visa 

 immutata." 



M. De Blainville thus describes the genus : 



Animal having the body rounded, and terminated behind by a 

 tendinous or muscular filament, which attaches itself in the siphon 

 with which the chambers of the shell are pierced; mantle open 

 obliquely, and prolonging itself into a sort of hood above ; the head 



