tLASOODM. 



and i* a astir* of Ceylon and CaromandeL The tree has beo intro- 

 duoad into Orsat Britain from Ceylon under the name of Ceylon-Tea, 

 It hat lean* like those of the tea-plaut, but it doe* not appear to be 

 used ai a Mibctitute for that plant. 



. jtarowyAu ha* oblong arrato-crenate.oppotite and alternate, hard, 

 smooth. chilling leaves, about 4 inches long and 2 inches broad, with 

 the petiole* three-quartan of an inch long ; the cyme* globular, and 

 three time* the length of the petiole*. It i a native of the moun- 

 tainous parU of India. It pomace* powerful astringent properties, 

 but i* not used a* an internal medicine. 



The fruit of all the tpecie* resembles that of the olive, and hence 

 the generic name. S. oritnlaU i* a native of the Mauritius and 

 Madagascar, where it is called by the French Boil d'Olive. E. Argam 

 contains in it* fruit a 6 red oil like the common olive, which ia used 

 by the Moor* for the tame purpose a* olive-oil U used in Europe. 



The specie* of Elirodndrv* will grow freely in a mixture of loam 

 - A peat, and ripened cuttings will root in sand under a hand-glass. 



(Lindley, Flora Medico; Loudon, Encyclopedia of Plantt; Don, 

 KMamydnu Plantt.) 



HI.. KG LITE (Fetttlein), a Mineral, consisting of a silicate of 

 alumina, sods, iron, Ac. It occurs in amorphous masses, with 

 cleavage* parallel to the lateral planes, and both diagonals of a 

 rhombic prism. It* fracture i* conchoidal. Colour dark green, 

 bluish-gny, or grayish or brownish-red. The hardness is 5'5 to 6'0. 

 The lustre resinous, frequently opalescent when cut Translucent. 

 The specific gravity is 2'54 to 2'62. It U found at Laurvig, Stavern, 

 and Frederickswarn in Norway. The following U an analysis by 

 Vauquelin : 



Silica ........ 44-00 



Alumina ....... 34.00 



Soda ........ 16-50 



Peroxide of Iron ...... 4-00 



Lime ........ 0'12 



Qmelin found al*o 4733 per cent, of potash, and only 0-651 per cent. 

 of peroxide of iron. 



ELAND. [AxriLorr*.] 



KLAXKT, a form of Hawk (Faleo mdanopterut, Daudin) inhabiting 

 Africa, and also India and America. [FALCONID.E.] 



ELAPHAS. rCs-HviDJt.] 



ELAPHRIUMl [CAIAJPHTLLUM.] 



ELAPS. [VirtRwx.] 



ELA'SMODUS, a genus of Fossil Placoid Fishes from the London 

 Clay. (Egerton.) 



ELA'dMOTHERIUM. [PACHroERMATA.] 



ELASTIC TISSUE. The element* of Elastic Tissue are cylin- 

 drical or band-like fibre* with dark contours, very minute, and when 

 present in large numbers they exhibit a yellowish colour. Hence it 

 has been called Yellow Tissue. The fibres acquire sometimes little 

 cavities in particular spots, which give these fibres a striated appear- 

 ance, a* seen in the giraffe. The elastic tissue is rarely found in large 

 mmrn, but it is very frequently mixed with areolar tissue, either in 

 single fibres or in networks of various kinds. [AREOLAR TISSUE.] 

 The organ* into which this tissue enters, and constitute their special 

 feature, are : 



1. The elastic ligaments, in which the tissue with only a slight 

 admixture of connective tissue and hardly any vessels and nerves 

 exists, so to speak, in a pure form. Of these we have examples in 

 the ligamentum subflava of the vertebrae, the ligamentum nuchjc, the 

 ligament of the larynx, and stylo-hyoid ligament. 



2. The elastic membranes which appear either in the form of fibrous 

 networks or of fenestrated membranes, and are found in the wall* of 

 the vessel*, especially in those of the arteries, in the trachea and 

 bronchia, and in the fsscia superficial!*. 



iikcr, Manual of I/otology, translated by Busk and Huxley for 

 the Sydenham Society.) 



KLATK'KID.E, a family of Coleopterous Insects belonging to the 

 section Asmoxi (Latreille), and, according to Ldnnaus, constituting 

 theganu* Blattr. 



The insects of this family are of a lengthened form ; the head is, in 

 nearly all ess**, deeply inserted into the thorax ; the thorax is usually 

 of the same width as the elytra, or nearly so, longer than broad, and 

 the posterior angle* are acute, and most frequently produced into a 

 pointed spine-like process : the elytra are long and narrow, cover the 

 abdomen, and their external margin* are often nearly parallel. Tin- 

 antenna! are of moderate length, either filiform, serrated, or pecti 

 nated, and whan the insect is at rest they are deposited in two grooves 

 on the under aid* of the thorax ; at least such i* the case in very 

 many of the species. The legs are abort and rather (lender, and the 

 femora and tibue are generally compressed. 



These beetles are found upon flowers and upon the leave* of tree* 

 and plants ; some species however are most frequently met with upon 

 the ground. 



approached, they apply the 

 allow themselves to fall to 

 back they regain their natural 



position by a leap, which is always accompanied by a snapping noise 

 similar to that which may be made by the finger-nails. When about 



te groun. 



Whan upon any elevated situation, if 

 lags and antenna) dose to the body, and 

 the ground ; if they fall upon their back 



to leap they bend the thorax backwards, so that the body is arched, 

 or rather forms an angle, the insect then resting upon the apex of the 

 abdomen and the fore part of the thorax. The leap appear* to be 

 effected by the sudden relaxation of the muscular effort which kept 

 the thorax bent backwards, there being a peculiarity iu it* structure 

 which causes it to spring forwards. 



Even in a dried specimen, upon attempting to bend the thorax 

 back, we found considerable resistance ; but when allowed, it sud- 

 denly assumed its natural position, which U a slight inclination 

 forward*. 



There is a strong pine, it must be observed, on the under part of the 

 thorax, at its base, which, when the thorax U in its usual position, U 

 deposited in a groove ; and it is said that the leap is performed prin- 

 cipally by means of this spine, which is at the time forcibly pressed 

 against the margin of the hollow, into which it sinks suddenly, as if 

 by a spring. From this opinion we are inclined to differ ; for upon 

 removing the spine we found not the slightest alteration in that natu- 

 ral spring in the thorax which we before mentioned. Not however 

 having at this moment the means of investigating the subject, it would 

 be premature to venture any further remarks.. 



The larva; of the Elaterid<c feed most generally upon vegetable 

 substances : rotten wood affords food to many ; others live in the 

 ground, and feed upon the roots of plants ; one of them (the larva of 

 Slater ttriatut of Fabricius) is said to attack the roots of the wheat 

 and when in great numbers to do much injury. 



These lame are long, rather slender, generally cylindrical, and 

 covered with a tough skin : the head and terminal joint of the body 

 are of a corneous texture ; the latter is very variable in form, and U 

 often depressed and produced into two bluntly-pointed processes : the 

 former is furnished with the usual parts, such as jaws or mandibles, 

 maxilla;, palpi, labrum, labium, and antennae. The three segments 

 which constitute the thorax are each furuUhed with a pair of short 

 legs. 



Of the insects included by Linnicus under the generic name of 

 Slater, and other* of similar general characters which have been dis- 

 covered since that naturalist's time, there are upwards of five hundred 

 species enumerated, and as theee species (which are now regarded a* 

 constituting a family) are divided into about sixty genera, it will be 

 impossible, consistent with the plan of this Cyclopedia, to enter into 

 the detail of their characters. We will therefore confine ourselves to 

 some of the more important, in fact, to those which are given by 

 Latreille in the ' Regne Animal : ' these are as follows : Oalba, 

 Eucnemii, Adclocera, Liuomiu, Chelonarium, Tkroicui, Cerophytum, 

 Cryptotloma, Nematoda, Hemeriput, Slenicera, Elater (proper), and 

 Camphyliu. These genera are divided by Latreille into two sections, 

 in the first of which the antenna} are lodged (when the insect is at 

 rest) within two grooves situated on the under side of the thorax. 



This section includes the first six genera, 



The genus Galba (Latreille) has the antenna; filiform, and received 

 into two grooves situated directly under the lateral margin of the 

 thorax; the joints of the tarsi are simple ; the thorax is convex ; the 

 mandibles are terminated by a simple point ; the maxilla; are furnished 

 with a single small lobe ; the terminal joint of the palpi is globular, 

 and the body is nearly cylindrical. The species are all from Bru/il. 



The genus Eucaemii (Ahrens) differs from Galba chiefly in having 

 the mandibles bifid at the apex, the maxilla; terminated by two 

 lobes, the terminal joint of the palpi securiform, and the body 

 nearly elliptical Species of this genus are found in Europe and North 

 America, 



Atlrlocrra (Latreille). Here the antenna) are filiform ; the joints of 

 the tarsi are simple, and the anterior legs, when contracted, are received 

 into lateral cavities in the under part of the thorax. 



Littumui (Oilman). The species of this genus have little cushion- 

 like lobe* on the under side of each joint of the tarsi. 



In the genus Chrlonarium (Fabricius) the form approaches to an 

 oval, the second and third joint* of the antennae are larger than the 

 following, and of a flattened form, and these alone are received into 

 the sternal grooves. The head is almost hidden by the thorax, which 

 i* semicircular, and the anterior leg* are larger than the rest. All the 

 species are from South America. 



Throtcut (Latreille). This genus is readily distinguished by the 

 antenna; being terminated by a three-jointed knob ; the penultimate 

 joint of each tarsus is bifid ; the mandibles are simple. 



The species of Throtcut are very minute. T. dermentoida, an insect 

 not uncommon in this country, is about one-eighth of an inch in 

 length, of a brown colour, and obscurely covered with an ashy pubes- 

 cence. 



The second section of the Elaterida comprises those species in which 

 the antenna are free, or not lodged within grooves on the under part 

 "f the thorax. 



Cerophytum (Latreille). The principal characters of this genus are : 

 Terminal joint of the palpi larger than the following, and almost securi- 

 form ; tarsi with the four basal joints short and triangular, the penul- 

 timate joint bilobed ; antenna; serrated in the female, and in the male 

 branched internally. 



The C. Elateroidet (Latreille), an European species, affords an exam- 

 ple of this genus. 



Crypltatoma (Dejean). Tarsi simple, small, and slender ; anterior 



