NATURAL HISTORY 



733 



The parent shows a strong degree of attachment 

 for her offspring, and, when they are captured, 

 will follow them, and even submit to captivity 



i rather than forsake her charge. 

 Batrachia (from the Gr. batrachos, a frog). 



ler of amphibious animals, which includes 

 the frogs and toads; it is also designated by the 

 name of Anoura, or "tailless" amphibians. In 

 the batrachia. the adult is destitute of gills and 

 tail, and the two pairs of limbs are always 



' ; there are no ribs, and the skin is soft; 

 the mouth is sometimes without teeth, but the 

 upper jaw is usually provided with teeth, and, 

 more rarely, both jaws; the hind-limbs usually 



he toes webbed for swimming, and are 

 much larger than the fore-limbs. In the adult 



hia the breathing is carried on by means 

 of lungs; but, as there are no movable ribs, the 

 process of breathing is somewhat peculiar in 



is one of swallowing, and it is possible to 

 suffocate a frog simply by holding its mouth 

 open. The moist and delicate skin, however, 



rforms an important part in respiration. 

 Tho young, or larva;, of frogs and toads are 

 familiarly known as "tadpoles." The eggs are 



ed in masses in water, and the young, 

 when hatched, are fish-like in form, with a 

 rounded head and a compressed tail. 

 There are at first two sets of gills, one external 

 and the other internal; but the outer ones dis- 

 appear very shortly after birth, and the inner 



re subsequently replaced by lungs. The 

 hind-limbs first make their appearance, and are 

 followed by the fore-limbs; and as the limbs 

 become fully developed the tail gradually dis- 

 : s. In both the common frog and the toad 

 ague is fixed to the front of the mouth, 

 whil-t it is free behind, so that it can be pro- 

 truded for some distance from the mouth. The 



ogs have the toes of all the feet furnished 

 with terminal suckers, by the help of which 



rub with ease; they are mostly found in 

 America, but one species is European. The 



>n toads (found in Surinam and also in 



* rarely have teeth, and the mouth is 



te of a tongue. 



Bdellium (del'i-um). An aromatic gum 

 re-in brought chiefly from Africa and India, in 

 pieces of different sixes ;m ,i figures, externally 

 of a dark reddish brown, internally clear, and 



'like glue. To the taste it*is slightly 



M and pungent; its odor is agreeable. 

 * as a perfume and a medicine, being a 



Weak deobstruent. Indian bdellium is the pro- 

 duce of Balsamodendron RaxbiayhU; African <>f 



ian bdellium is obtained 



from tin- doijm palm; and Sicilian is produced 



nus to 



which the carrot belongs. The bdellium men- 

 ii. was apparently a precious 

 haps a pearl. 



Beaver. A quadruped of tho order Ro- 

 < r irnawei-v. the .mly species of its genus, 

 ery \\idely di-tributed, being found in the 

 northern parts of i;uro|w, Asia, an 



. in the northern and 



thinly |xn>pled parts of North America, dwelling 



and lakes. 



time immense numlx-rs of these animals 

 lied for their fur. which was largely used 





in making hats, but in more recent times they 

 have suffered less persecution on this account, 

 their fur now not being held in the same estima- 

 tion. The beaver is about two feet in length; 

 its body thick and heavy; the head compressed, 

 and somewhat arched at the front, the upper 

 part rather narrow; the snout much so. The 

 eyes are placed rather high on the head, and the 

 pupils are rounded; the ears are short, ellipti- 

 cal, and almost concealed by the fur. The skin 

 is covered by two sorts of hair, of which one is 

 long, rather stiff, elastic, and of a gray color for 

 two-thirds of its length next the base, and termi- 

 nated by shining, reddish-brown points; the 

 other is short, thick, tufted, and soft, being of 

 different shades of silver-gray or light lead color. 

 The hair is shortest on the head and feet. The 

 hind legs are longer than the fore, and are com- 

 pletely webbed. The tail is ten or eleven inches 

 long, and, except the part nearest the body, is 

 covered with hexagonal scales. 



Bean. A name given to several kinds of 

 leguminous seeds and the plants producing 

 them, probably originally belonging to Asia. 

 They belong to several genera, particularly to 

 Faba, garden and field bean; Phasedlus, French 

 or kidney bean; and Dolichos, tropical bean. 

 The common bean (F. vulgaris) is cultivated 

 both in fields and gardens as food for man and 

 beast. There are many varieties, as the maza- 

 gan, the Windsor, the long-pod, etc., in gardens, 

 and the horse or tick bean in fields. The soil 

 that best suits is a good, strong clay. The seed 

 of the Windsor is fully an inch in diameter; the 

 horse-bean is much less, often not much more 

 than half an inch in length and three-eighths of 

 an inch in diameter. Beans are very nutritious, 

 containing 36 per cent, of starch and 23 per cent, 

 of nitrogenous matter called legumin, analogous 

 to the caseine in cheese. The bean is an annual, 

 from two to four feet high. The flowers are 

 beautiful and fragrant. The kidney-bean, French 

 bean, or haricot, is the Phasedlus vulgaris, a well- 

 known culinary vegetable. There are two prin- 

 cipal varieties, annual dwarfs and runners. The 

 beans cultivated in America and largely used as 

 articles of food belong to the genus Phasedlus. 

 The scarlet-runner bean (Phasedlus coccin&us), a 

 native of Mexico, is cultivated on account of its 

 long, rough pods and its scarlet flowers. St. 

 Ignatius' bean is not really a bean, but the seed 

 of a large climbing shrub, of the order Logan ia- 

 cete, nearly allied to the species of Strychnos 

 which produces nux vomica. 



Bear. The name of several large planti- 

 grade carnivorous mammals of the genus Vrsus. 

 The teeth are forty-two in number, as in the 

 doe, but there is no carnassial or aectorial tooth, 

 and the molars have a more tubercular character 

 than in other carnivores. The eyes have a 

 nictitating membrane, tho nose IB prominent 

 and mobile, and the tail very short. The true 

 bears are about ten in numl>er. natives chiefly 

 of Kurope. \-ia, and North Am. 

 generally lie dormant in their den during the 

 winter months. The brown or black bear of 

 Europe is the Ur*u* arctos. It is a native of 

 almost all the northern parts of Europe and 

 Asia, and was at one time common in the British 

 islands. It feeds on fruits, roots, honey, ants, 



