U7f 



ZEA. 



ZINC. 



U78 



England, Scotland, and Wales, but U not common ; and U occasionally 

 found in Ireland in tho lummer. 



Although the Spotted Crake it not common in tUee inlands, there 

 to no doubt that it breeds here, the eggs and young having been found 

 in the Norfolk marshes and in other localities. Mr. Selby, accom- 

 panied by shrewd dog that was up to their tricks, sometimes Bushed 

 as many as six in the large Northumbrian morass in his neighbour- 

 hood, just before their autumnal migration, and the majority were 

 young birds of the year. 



The fine flavour of this bird is well known and appreciated in 

 France. Few, if any, of the aquatic, or indeed of any tribe, can 

 match it in autumn as a rich morsel for the table, especially if it be 

 young. Colonel Hawker, speaking of the Common Water-Bail and 

 this species, truly says, " Notwithstanding those two are seldom 

 regarded by sportsmen, yet there is scarcely a greater delicacy than 

 either the one or the other." Both are indeed first-rate, but the 

 Spotted Crake for choice. 



RpotUd Crake (Zapornia pvrsana). 



There are two other European and British Zapornue, namely, the 

 Little Crake, or Olivaceous Qallinule (Zapornia purilla), and Baillon's 

 Crake (Z. Baillonii); of both these H. Temminck says that the 

 specimens found in Japan are the same with those killed in Europe. 



ZEA, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order Oraminacea. 

 The name is identical with the Greek Zf, but the Qreek plant 

 was a species of Triticum or Jlordeum, and not at all agreeing with 

 the present genus, which is entirely American. 



The plants belonging to this genus are monoacioun. The male 

 flowers are in distinct spikes ; the calyx consists of a 2-flowered blunt 

 glume ; the corolla of a blunt glume. In the female flowers the calyx 

 it a 2-valved glume ; also the corolla ; the style is single, filiform, 

 pendulous ; the seeds solitary, immersed in an oblong receptacle. 

 There an two species. 



Z. ttayt, Common Maize, or Indian Corn, which is known by its 

 entire leaves. It is a native of America, and is cultivated there, as 

 in most countries of Southern Europe. Like the species of Triticum, 

 those of this genus present almost innumerable varieties, from the 

 cultivation to which they have been submitted. As an article of food 

 the fruit is much inferior to that of the Triticum, nor will it ripen 

 its fruit fully in high northern latitudes. 



Z. Curayua, Chili Maize, or Valparaiso Corn, is distinguished by 

 its serrated leaves. It is a smaller plant in all its parts than the fore- 

 going, and is a native of Chili. A sort of religious reputation is 

 attached to this plant on account of the grains when roasted splitting 

 into the form of a cross. [M.vi/i:, in ARTS AND So. Div.] 



ZEAOONITE, a Mineral identical with PhMipritt. [PaiLUraiTB.] 



ZKBKA. [SQUID*] 



ZEBU. [ISoviD*.] 



ZEDOAB.Y. [C0BCD1U.] 



ZEMNl. [Muaiox.] 



ZKXAIDA. [COLUMBIDJL] 

 ZENIK. [VlVERBIDA.] 



ZEOLITES, a family of Minerals, so named because the species 



generally melt and intumesoe before the blow-pipe, tho term being 

 derived from the Qreek (', to boil. They consist essentially of silica, 

 alumina, and some alkali, with more or less water. The most of them 

 gelatinise iu acids, owing to tho separation of the silica in a gelatinous 

 state. 



They occur filling cavities in rocks, constituting narrow seams, or 

 implanted on the surface, and rarely in imbedded crystals ; and never 

 disseminated through the body of a rock, like crystals of garnet or 

 tourmaline. All occur in amygdaloid, and some of them occasionally 

 iu granite or gneiss. Heuiandite, Laumonite, Ai>op/iyUtit, and Stilbite 

 have a strong pearly cleavage, and do not occur in fine fibrous crystal- 

 lisations ; when columnar, the structure is thin lamellar. Excepting 

 Laumonite, these species dissolve in the strong acids, but do not 

 gelatinise. The species Natrolite, Scolecite, Stdlite, and Thomtunitt, are 

 often fibrous, and the crystallisations generally slender. The remaining 

 species, Jfarmotomc, Analcime, Sodalite, Uauyne, Lapii-LaziUi, and 

 Chabazite, occur iu short or stout glassy crystals, and ore seldom 

 fibrous. These minerals are described under their proper names. 



(Dana, Manual of Mineralogy.) 



ZERDA. [VuLrss.] 



ZEUGLODON. [CETACBA.] 



ZEUS, a genus of Fishes belonging to the family Scomberidtse. The 

 Boar-Fish of English writers is referred by Jenyns and others to this 

 genus, but Cuvier, Laee'pede, and Yarrell refer it to Caprot. [CAPROS.] 



ZEUXITE. [PBKIIIIITK.] 



ZEUZERA, a genus of nocturnal Lepidoptera. The male antenna 

 are furnished at the base with a double row of teeth, which are termi- 

 nated by a thread : those of the female are single at the base. 



Z. jKtctdi, the Wood-Leopard, is a rare species, of a white colour, 

 with numerous steel-bluo spots. The larva) are found in the interior 

 of decaying trees. 



ZIBETH, or ZIBET. [VIVERRID.E.] 



ZIMB, an Insect translated Hornet in Scripture (Exodus, chap. xxiiL, 

 ver. 28; Deut. vil 20; Joshua xxiv. 12). The Hebrew name is 

 tzirah,' and probably expresses its loud buzzing noise. The account 

 which Bruce has given of the ' zimb,' or Dog-Fly, of Abyssinia, offers 

 such striking analogies to the insect specifically termed ' tzirah,' and 

 included in the more general term ' zebub ' of the Hebrew Scriptures, 

 that very little doubt exists regarding the identity of the two. It is 

 difficult to conceive that Isaiah could have had in view any other 

 insect when he says " The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the 

 uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt" (Isaiah vii. 18). The original 

 word rendered 'fly' in our translation is 'zebub,' and, as Bruce 

 observes, "The Chaldee version is content with calling this animal 

 simply ' zebub,' which signifies the fly in general, as we express it in 

 English. The Arabs call it ' zimb ' in their translation, which has the 

 same general signification. The Ethiopia translation colls it ' tsaltsalya,' 

 which is the true name of the particular fly in Oeer, and was the same 

 in Hebrew." Bruce has given a graphic account of this fly, and there 

 can be little doubt that this insect is related to the family of Astrida:. 



The Latin Aiilu and the Qreek olorpoj were probably only different 

 pronunciations of the same term ' ha-tsirah,' as this fly is called both 

 by Moses and Joshua. Mr. Bracy Clark, iu the 9th volume of the 

 ' Liunaxin Transactions,' part it., 1843, refers the fly alluded to by 

 Moses (and said to "hiss and make a noise") to (Ettrut bovit, and 

 remarks on Bruce' s figure, that it has no resemblance to the genus of 

 flies the Cutercbra, but is rather, though with something fictitious 

 about it, allied to tho genus Stomoxyi, or perhaps Tabanm, both of 

 which genera are certainly silent flys in their attacks on cattle. 



There can be no doubt that the olatpos was a perfectly distinct 

 insect from any of the modern (Eitrliln: 



(Kirby and Spence, Introduction to Entomoloyy.) 



ZINC. This metal, in commerce frequently called Spelter, was first 

 mentioned by Paracelsus, in tho 16th century, under the name of 

 Zinetum. It does not occur in the native state, but is obtained from 

 its ores, which are chiefly the Sulphuret and Carbonate of Zinc. 



Sulphuret of Zinc ; Blende. It occurs crystallised and massive. Its 

 primary form is the cube. Cleavage parallel to the planes of the 

 rhombic dodecahedron. Fracture conchoidal. Hardness : scratches 

 carbonate of lime, and is scratched by phosphate of lime. Itather 

 brittle. Colour white, and various shades of yellow, green, red, brown, 

 and black. Streak varying with the colour from white to reddish- 

 brown. Lustre adamantine. Transparent, translucent, opaque. 

 .Specific gravity 4 - 07. Massive varieties amorphous ; structure crystal- 

 line, granular, compact, globular, botryoidal, reniform, stolactitic, 

 fibrous. Before the blow-pipe it does not melt per se ; but when heated 

 on charcoal, fumes of oxide of zinc form a white coating upon it. 

 When nearly or quite pure, it forms a colourless solution iu nitric acid 

 with the separation of sulphur. It is found in great abundance in 

 many countries, both in primary and secondary formations, and both 

 in veins and beds. It abounds in Cornwall and several of the northern 

 counties of England : the white variety occurs in New Jersey, North 

 America. Large quantities of the ores of zinc are met with and worked 

 in Germany ; they occur also in various other parts of the earth. It 

 contains 



Sulphur 33-66 



Zino 66-31 



100-0 



