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THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



Wistaria. A genus of plants having pinnate 

 leaves and flowers, in terminal recemes, the pod 

 leathery. The species were formerly included in 

 the genus Glycine. Some of them are among 

 the most magnificent ornamental climbers. 

 Wistaria frutescens, a native of Virginia, Illinois, 

 and other parts of North America of similar cli- 

 mate, found chiefly in marshy grounds, attains 

 the length of thirty feet, and has beautiful 

 recemes of fragrant bluish-purple flowers. 



Wolf. The name applied to several species 

 of carnivorous animals, belonging to the Dog 

 family. The common wolf is about five feet in 

 length including the tail, which is twenty inches, 

 and about thirty-two inches in height at the 

 shoulders. The muzzle much resembles that of 

 a sheep-dog; the ears are upright and pointed, 

 and the eyes are set obliquelv. The coat is 

 subject to variation in tint, depending much 

 upon the country the animal inhabits. Per- 

 haps the most usual tint is a yellowish-grey; 

 but it is sometimes almost black. In Europe 

 the animal is still found in Lapland, Norway, 

 Sweden, Russia, Poland, Hungary, some dis- 

 tricts of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and 

 Greece. In Britain, the last wolf was slain in 

 1680, but in Ireland the species lingered until 

 1710. The wolf of India is considered a dis- 

 tinct species, and has a dingy reddish-white fur. 

 The North American wolf "has a wide range, 

 extending from Greenland to Mexico, and is 

 closely similar to the European race. 



Woodcock. A famous game bird belong- 

 ing to the snipe family, and found in northern 

 parts of both the Old and New Worlds. The 

 American woodcock is about eleven inches long, 

 variegated in black, brown, gray, and rusty 

 colors. The bill is very long and flexible at. the 

 end. It is thrust into the soft ground, in search 

 of earthworms, and the presence of woodcocks 

 can often be detected by a cluster of these holes. 

 The European bird is larger. It is a winter 

 resident in England, breeding in summer in 

 North Scotland. 



Woodpecker is the popular name of the 

 old Linnaean genus Picus, now greatly divided. 

 Woodpeckers have a slender body, powerful 

 beak, and protrusile tongue, which is sharp, 

 barbed, and pointed, and covered with a glu- 

 tinous secretion derived from glands in the 

 throat, this coating being renewed every time 

 the tongue is drawn within the bill. The tail 

 is stiff and serves as a support when the birds 

 are clinging to the branches or stems of trees. 

 W T oodpeckers are very widely distributed, but 

 abound chiefly in warm climates. They are 

 solitary in habit, and live in the depths of 

 forests. Fruits, seeds, and insects constitute 

 their food, and in pursuit of the latter they 



exhibit wonderful dexterity, climbing with 

 tonishing quickness on the trunks and branches 

 of trees, and when, by tapping with their hills. 

 a rotten place has been discovered, they dig 

 vigorously in search of the grubs or larva? be- 

 neath the bark. 



Wren. A genus of birds having a slender, 

 slightly curved, and pointed bill; the wings 

 very short and rounded; the tail short, and 

 carried erect; the legs slender, and rather long. 

 Their plumage is generallv dull. They live on 

 or near the ground, seeking for insects and 

 worms among low brushes, and in other similar 

 situations. The common or European wren is 

 found in all parts of Europe, and in Morocco 

 and Algeria, and in Asia Minor and Northern 

 Persia. The common wren is more abundant 

 in the north than in the central and southern 

 parts of Europe. It frequents gardens, hedges, 

 and thickets. Its flight is not long sustained; 

 it merely flits from bush to bush, or from one 

 stone to another, with very rapid motion of 

 the wings. It sometimes, ascends trees, nearly 

 in the manner of creepers. The North American 

 species of wren are numerous; but many of 

 them are ranked under different genera. The 

 house wren is larger than the European wren, 

 being about five inches long. It is abundant in 

 the eastern parts of the United States. It is 

 less shy than the European wren, and often 

 builds its nest near houses, and in boxes pre- 

 pared for it. The nests are made to fill the 

 boxes; and to effect this a large mass of heter- 

 ogeneous materials is sometimes collected. The 

 song of the house wren is very sweet. The 

 male is a very bold, pugnacious bird, readily 

 attacking birds far larger than itself, as the 

 bluebird and swallows, and taking possession 

 of the boxes which they have appropriated for 



j their nests. It even attacks cats when they 

 approach its nest. 



Zebra. A name sometimes given to all the 

 striped Equidce, all of which are natives of 

 South Africa; but also, in a more restricted 

 use, designating a single species, Equus or 

 Asinus Zebra, a native of the mountainous dis- 

 tricts of South Africa. In the whole group 

 the characters more resemble those of the ass 

 than the horse. The zebra is about twelve 



j hands high at the shoulder. It is of a light, 

 graceful form, with slender limbs and narrow 



j hoofs; the head light, the ears rather long and 

 open; the ground color white or slightly tinged 

 with yellow; the head, neck, body, and legs 

 striped with black; the neck and body trans- 



I versely, but not regularly; the head with bands 

 in various directions, the legs with irregular 



j cross stripes. The zebra lives in small herds, 

 inhabiting the most secluded spots. 



