SULA. 



SUN-FLOWER. 



38 



nowally U, a nuiiance in lift, and flavouring the fle*h, unless removed 

 immediately after death. D'Azara however seems to have revelled in 

 its scent at a perfume ; and Tyson and others appear to hare considered 

 it agreeable enough. Those which we have seen in captivity have 

 been positively offensive ; and the Peccaries seem to have affected the 

 olfactory organs of Buffon, Sonnini, and indeed all other modern 

 authors, in the same disagreeable way. This species is the Patira 

 of Sonnini, and the Tayte'tou of D'Azara, according to Mr. Bennett 



It is found in Mexico and nearly the whole of South America, where 

 they haunt the thickest and greatest forests, dwelling in hollows of 

 trees or earths made by other animals. Not common in the vicinity 

 of villages, to which they are bad neighbours, devastating the crops 

 of maize, potatoes, sugar-canes, and monihot 



D. labiattu, the White-Lipped Peccary. D'Azara appears to be the 

 first who distinguished the two species of Peccaries, which are both 

 confounded by Linnxus under the common name of Sat Tajacu. 

 Indeed the old writers above quoted seem to have fallen into the 

 same error; for it U very improbable that the Collared Peccary only 

 was known when they wrote. Cuvicr, who first gave the scientific 

 specific names now used, states that Dicotyla lalriatiu is the Tayte'tou, 

 Tajassou, Ac., as well as the Tagnicati of Azara. It is larger than the 

 Collared Prccary, which is seldom more than three feet long, and 

 rarely weighs more than 50 Ibs. ; whereas the White-Lipped Peccary 

 often measures three feet and a half in length, and sometimes weighs 

 100 Ibs. The last-named species is thicker and stouter, the legs 

 are shorter, and the snout, which is longer, baa its termination more 

 expanded. Its prevailing hue is brown, and the lips are white. 



The secretion from the gland in this species has been said to be 

 inodorous. This could not be said of the White-Lipped Peccaries 

 exhibited in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, though 

 they were perhaps somewhat less offensive than the Collared Peccaries. 



Mr. Bennett says, "unlike the former species, the White-Lipped 

 Peccaries congregate in numerous bands, sometimes amounting, it is 

 said, to more than a thousand individuals of all ages. Thus united 

 they frequently traverse extensive districts, the whole troop occupying 

 an extent of a league in length, and directed in their march, if the 

 accounts of the natives are to be credited, by a leader, who takes his 

 station at the head of the foremost rank. Should they be impeded in 

 their progress by a river, the chief stops for a moment, and then 

 plunges boldly into the stream, and is followed by all the rest of the 

 troop. The breadth of the river or the rapidity of the current appears 

 to be but trifling obstacles in their way, and to be overcome with the 

 greatest facility. On reaching the opposite bank, they proceed directly 

 on their course, and continue their march even through the planta- 

 tions which, unfortunately for the owners, may happen to lie in their 

 way ; and which they sometimes completely devastate by rooting in 

 the ground for their favourite food, or devouring such fruit as they 

 find there. If they meet with anything unusual on their way, they 

 make a terrific clattering with their teeth, and stop and examine the 

 object of their alarm. When they have ascertained that there is no 

 danger, they continue their route without further delay ; but if a 

 huntsman should venture to attack them when they are thus assembled 

 in large numbers, he is sure to be surrounded by multitudes, and torn 

 to pieces by their tusks, if he is so unwise an to neglect his only chance 

 of escape, which consists in climbing a tree, and thus getting fairly out 

 of their reach. The smaller bands are by no means equally courageous, 

 and always take to flight at the first attack." 



M. Lescon remarks that this species have been nowhere more parti- 

 cularly observed than in Paraguay. 



In Guyana, Sonnini was surrounded by a herd of Peccaries, exas- 

 perated at the havoc made among them by the fusils of himself and 

 his companions. Betaking himself to a tree, he beheld at his ease 

 bow they encouraged, by their grunte and rubbing snoute together, 

 those which were wounded from the shot* above, still maintaining 

 their ground with bristles erect and eyes fiery with rage. They some- 

 times stood an incessant fusillade of two or three hours before they 

 quitted the battle-field and. left their dead to the conquerors. After 

 such encounters comes the festival of the travellers. A great gridiron, 

 so to speak, of sticks fixed in the ground, and some three feet in 

 height, with numerous small branches laid on it in a transverse direc- 

 tion, is got ready. On this sylvan cooking-apparatus the pieces of 

 Peccary pork are broiled over a slow fire kept up during the night. 

 Sonnini dwells enthusiastically on these forest feasts, to which he 

 looks back with regret. 



Specimens of the Choiropotamut Africcuuu are now living (185S) in 

 the Gardens of the Zoological Society, Regent's Park. 



Fossil remains of this family have been found in the second division 

 (Miocene of Lyell) and the thin! and fourth divisions (Pliocene of 

 Lytll) of the tertiary deposits. In the first of these divisions are to 

 to be noticed the three species of .Sw found in the Epplesbeim sand. 

 Bone* of swine occur frequently in the bone-caverns and bone-breccia. 



HULA, a genus of Natatorial Birds belonging to the family 1'clc- 

 canidtt. [PELJCCiMD*.] It has the following characters : Bill strong, 

 long, forming an elongated cone very large at its base, compressed 

 towards the point, which is slightly curved ; edges of the mandibles 

 serrated ; the angle of the gape behind the line of the eyes. Face 

 and throat naked ; nostrils basal, linear, hidden. Leg* short, strong, 

 plsced rather backward; three toes in front, one behind articulated 



to the inner surface of the tarsus, all four toes united by membrane ; 

 claw of the middle toe pectinated. Wings long, first quill-feather the 

 longest. Tail cuneiform. 



N. alba, the Gaunet, or Solan Goose, Fou de Baatan of the French. 

 It is the S. Bourn of many authors. This bird is a constant resident 

 on the British coast It breeds in large numbers at Lundy Island, off 

 the coast of Devon, the west of Ireland, the Ile of AiUa, and the 

 Bass Rock in the Frith of Forth. 



They form their neats in a maas of weeds and grass. They lay one 

 egg. Oanneta feed exclusively on fish. 



The Qannet is found in the Baltic, on the west coast of Norway, at 

 the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. On the coasts of America they are 

 found from Labrador to Carolina. It is also included in the birds of 

 Madeira and South Africa. 



In the adult bird the bill U of a horny grayish-white ; the edge* 

 serrated, the naked skin of the face blue ; iris of a pale straw-colour; 

 the head and neck buff-colour; all the rest of the plumage white, 

 except the wing primaries, which are black ; the line of the bones of 

 the legs and toes in front green, the other portions of the bones and 

 the connecting membranes almost black. The whole length of the 

 bird is about 34 inches, from the breast to the end of the first quill- 

 feather, which is the longest, 19 inches. The young have the appear- 

 ance of the young of the Red-Throated Diver, but the structure of 

 the foot will prevent them from being token for each other. 



(Yarrell, Hittory of Britith. Birdt.) 



SULCULEOLARU. [ACALEPHJE.] 



SULPHUR, an elementary substance, occurring abundantly in an 

 uncombincd form on the surface of the earth. It occurs also in com- 

 bination with various metals, forming sulphurate and sulphates (iron, 

 copper, lead, mercury). 



Native Sulphur is found in acute octahedrons, and, secondary to 

 this form, with imperfect octahedral cleavage. It also occurs massive. 

 The colour and streak of sulphur is yellow, sometimes orange-yellow ; 

 lustre vitreous. Transparent to translucent. Hardness 1-5 to 2'5. 

 Specific gravity 2'07. It is easily distinguished by burning blue, and 

 emitting a sulphur odour. 



The great repositories of sulphur are either beds of gypsum and 

 the associated rocks, or the regions of active or extinct volcanoes. In 

 the valley of Note and Mazzaro in Sicily, at Conil near Cadiz in Spain, 

 Bex in Switzerland, and Cracow in Poland, it occurs in the former 

 situation. Sicily and the neighbouring volcanic islands, Vesuvius and 

 the Solfatnra in its vicinity, Iceland, Teneriffe, Java, Hawaii, New 

 Zealand, Deception Island, and most active volcanic regions, afford 

 more or less sulphur. The native sulphur of commerce is brought 

 mostly from Sicily, where it occurs in beds along the central part of 

 the south coast and to some distance inland. It is often associated 

 with fine crystals of sulphate of strontian. It undergoes rough purifi- 

 cation by fusion before exportation, which separates the earth and clay 

 with which it occurs. Sixteen or seventeen thousand tons are annually 

 imported from Sicily into England alone. Sulphur is also exported 

 from the crater of Vulcano, one of the Lipari Islands, and from the 

 Solfatara near Napier. 



It is also found in the United States of America, on the Potomac, 

 and in districts where sulphuretted hydrogen is evolved from mineral- 

 springs. 



Sulphuric Acid is said to occur in the waters of the Rio Vinagro in 

 South America, also in Java, and at Lake de Taal or Luzon in the 

 East Indies. Sulphuric acid has been detected in the fumes of 

 volcanoes. 



(Dana Manual of Mineralogy.) 



SULPHUR-WORT. [PEUCKDAKUJI.] 



SUMACH. [Runs.] 



SUN-BIRDS. [CiNHVRiD*.] 



SUN-DEW. [DROSKRA.] 



SUN-FISH. fOBTnAaoRiscoa.] 



SUN-FLOWER, the English name of a genus of Plants called Jfclian- 

 Uau, from *AIOJ, the sun, and oVfai, a flower. Two reasons havo been 

 assigned for giving the plants of this genus this name : first, the resem- 

 blance of the large disc and ray of their flowers to tlio sun ; and second, 

 the tendency of these flowers, iu a stronger degree than in other plants, 

 to present their face to the sun. From this circumstance, the French 

 Tourneaol, Italian Qiraaole, and English Tumsol have been given. 

 This is a genus consisting of very stately herbaceous plants, and con- 

 taining upwards of 40 species, all of which are indigenous to America. 

 It belongs to the natural order Comjxmlir, and lias the following 

 characters : Head composed of many flowers, the flowers of the ray 

 being ligulate and neuter, the flowers of the disc tubular and herma- 

 phrodite ; involucre irregularly imbricated, the outer scales foliaccoux, 

 the inner ones scaly ; receptacle plane or convex, covered with oblong 

 acute scales ; tube of the corolla of discoid flowers short, 5-toothed ; 

 style appendiculated. Fruit an achenium compressed laterally ; pap- 

 pus in the form of two lanceolate acute deciduous scales. The leaven 

 arc. opposite, sometimes superiorly alternate, and either entire or 

 toothed. The whole plant is scabrous or villous. The flowers are 

 solitary, and of a yellow or orange colour. 



II. annum, Annual Sun-Flower, is an herbaceous annual plant with 

 thick rough items from 6 to 20 feet hi height ; leaves alternate, 

 petiolate, nearly heart-shaped, crcuulatd or dentated, rough. The 



