NATURAL HISTORY 



751 



ancients, and which was supposed by them to be 

 a kind of goad to the animal when lashing him- 

 self with Tiis tail in rage. There are several 

 varieties of the lion, slightly differing from 

 each other in form and color, but particularly 

 in the development of the mane. The largest 

 lions of the south of Africa are remarkable for 

 the size of the head and the great black mane. 



Llama. The popular name of the genus 

 Auchenia, family Camelidce. The llama proper, 

 and the Alpaca or Peruvian sheep, which is 

 entirely confined to Peru, are, according to Cu- 

 vier, only domesticated forms of the Guanaco, 

 while Humboldt considers them as distinct 

 species. The Vicuna, which belongs to the 

 same genus, is a more beautiful animal than 

 any of its congeners. In size, it is intermediate 

 between the llama and the alpaca. Its neck 

 is longer and more slender than theirs; its wool 

 is also finer, short, and curled. It is of a rich 

 brown color, with patches of white across the 

 shoulders, and the inner side of the legs. The 

 Vicuna inhabits the most desolate parts of the 

 Cordillera, at great elevations; like the wild 

 goat and the antelope, it is a very active animal. 



Lobster. A familiar invertebrate animal. 

 belonging to the order Crustacea, and inhabiting 

 the sea. Lobsters are found in great numbers 

 about many European shores, and the greater 

 part of those taken to English markets are 

 supplied from Norway; they are also quite 

 numerous on the coasts of North America. 

 The body of the lobster is composed of two 

 principal divisions, popularly termed head and 

 tail; the former, however, which is technically 

 called the cephalo-thorax, is constituted (as the 

 name implies) by both head and thorax; the 

 tail is the abdomen. The body carries twenty 

 pairs of appendages, consisting of feelers, jaws, 

 claws, legs, etc. The nervous system consists 

 of a chain of ganglia placed along the under 

 surface. The stomach and the intestines form 

 a !<>n_r and straight canal. Lobsters are ex- 

 tremely combative, and fight furiously, the 

 vanquished party usually leaving one of its 

 liml.-> in its opponent's grasp. 



Macaw. A genus of beautiful birds of the 



parrot tribe. The macaws are magnificent 



distinguished l>y having their cheeks 



:.! thrir tail-feathers 



.cure their generic name). They are all 



1 regions of South America. 



The largest and most splendid in regard to color 

 is the great scarlet or re<l and bluo macaw. Tin- 

 great green macaw and the blue-and-yellow 

 macaw are somewhat smaller. 



Magnolia. A genus of trees and shrubs. 



i Pierre Magnnl. a French botanist 

 of the Seventeenth Century. The species which 

 chiefly inhal.it North Am- "hern India. 



Chian. Japan, and other parts of Asia, are trees 

 much admired on account of the elegance of 

 their flower* and foliage, and are in great re- 

 in th.-ir native countries 



some of them it height, and have 



ten inches across. The Lark of the root 

 of the e i- an important tonic. I 



umbrella -tree has also tonic prop- 



rone-; of K>mC -pecir* yield a spirituous liquor, 

 employed in Virginia in rheumatic affections. 



Big-laurel and the yulan or Chinese magnolia, 

 grow well in the south of England, and are 

 splendid ornamental trees. The yulan is re- 

 markable in that it flowers in spring before the 

 leaves expand. 



3Iagpie. A bird belonging to the crow 

 family. There are several species, two of which 

 belong to America. The common European 

 magpie is about eighteen inches in length; the 

 plumage is black and white, the black glossed 

 with g^reen and purple; the bill is stout, and 

 the tail is very long. The magpies continue in 

 pairs throughout the year, and prey on a variety 

 of food, chiefly animal. They are determined 

 robbers of other birds' nests, destroying the eggs 

 and young birds. In captivity they are cele- 

 brated for their crafty instincts, their power of 

 imitating words, and their propensity to purloin 

 and secrete glittering articles. 



Mahogany. This tree is a native of the 

 West Indies and of Tropical America. It is a 

 tree of considerable magnitude, with compound 

 leaves of several pairs of leaflets, and yellowish 

 white flowers. Mahogany is applied to many 

 uses. It is a fine wood, of close texture, of a 

 reddish color shaded with brown, and is capable 

 of taking a fine polish. It varies much in value 

 according to the color and markings. The 

 mahogany tree is found most commonly on the 

 coasts of Honduras and Campeachy, and also 

 in the islands of Cuba and Hayti. It was for- 

 merly plentiful in Jamaica. The wood obtained 

 from Honduras and Campeachy is often termed 

 bay-wood; that from Cuba and Hayti t which is 

 of finer quality) is known in the market as 

 Spanish mahogany. There are one or two other 

 varieties of mahogany, produced by trees belong- 

 ing to the same natural order, and natives of 

 the East Indies. 



Man. The only species composing the or- 

 der of Mammals Bimana. He possess 

 prehensile hands, with fingers protected by flat 

 nails; two feet with single soles, a single stom- 

 ach, and three kinds of teeth: incisive, canine, 

 and molar. His position is upright: his food 

 both vegetable and animal; his Dody without 

 natural covering. Blumenbaeh divides man- 

 kind into five varieties: (1) The first occupies 

 the central parts of the old continent, i 

 Western Asia, Eastern and Northern Africa. 

 Hindostan, and Europe. Its characters an-, the 

 color of the skin, more or less white or brown; 

 the cheeks tinged with red; long hair, either 

 brown or fair; the head almost >pherical; the 

 face oval and narrow; the features moderatelv 

 marked; tl ghtly arched; the mouth 



small; the front teeth placed ix'rj>cndicularly 

 in the jaws; the chin full ami round. i 

 called the Caucasian, from its nipposod origin 

 in the Caucasus. (2) The second 

 been termed the faisttrn. lor in this 



race is yellow ; the hair Mack, stiff, straight, and 

 rather 'thin; the head almost squar- 

 large, flat, and depressed; the features indis- 

 tinctly marked; the nose small and tl.v 

 checks round and prominent : the chin jointed ; 

 the eyes small. This omprinc afl the 



Asiatics to the east of the Ganges and of 



except the Malays; it also includes the 

 Turks, Egyptians, Persians, Hindoos, Tartan, 



