HORNBILL 



2837 



HORNELL 



in 1616, and his name was given to the head- 

 land; in time the name was changed to Horn. 

 The climate is Antarctic, and the region is 

 stormy; "rounding the Horn" is an experience 

 dreaded by mariners for three hundred years. 

 In the days before steam vessels were known, 

 a passage around the Horn in a sailing vessel 

 conferred distinction on a sailor for having 

 dared the utmost danger that one can be called 

 upon to face on the seas. The Panama Canal 

 now diverts nearly all the boats which for- 

 merly sailed around the southern end of the 

 continent. 



HORN 'BILL, a family of large, ungainly 

 birds, native to Africa and East India. They 

 have immense horny bills, and above them 

 curious horny growths called casques, or hel- 

 mets, the shape of which varies in different 

 species. The bill, which frequently has saw- 

 tooth edges, is very large at the base, much 

 curved, and is pointed at the end. The largest 

 of these birds are five feet long from head to 

 tail. The characteristic colors of the plumage 

 are black and white ; the neck is without feath- 

 ers and the bill is yellow, often marked with 

 red and black. 



The hornbills are usually to be found in 

 pairs or groups of six or eight, and they live 

 in the treetops except for flights to the ground 

 for berries, fruits and insects. The larger birds 

 also devour snakes. They have a curious habit 

 of tossing the food particles in the air and 

 catching them in the bill as they fall. The 

 nest is made in a large hollow in a tree, and 

 after the female begins to sit on her eggs, this 

 hole is almost entirely closed in by a mud 

 plaster made by the birds. Through one small 

 opening the mother bird receives her food dur- 

 ing the nesting season from the bill of the male. 

 Two to four large, white eggs are laid. 



Hornbills have an extremely harsh note, 

 something between a bray and a hiss. Many 

 species are regarded superstitiously by the na- 

 tives of the countries they inhabit. 



HORNBLENDE, horn' blend, also called AM- 

 PHIBOLE, is a mineral which occurs in a num- 

 ber of different forms and a great variety of 

 colors. Common hornblende is usually black 

 or dark green. It is frequently found in crys- 

 tals resembling four-sided rocks. It also occurs 

 in small flakes resembling mica, but the flakes 

 cannot be separated as in mica, and can 

 scarcely be cut with a knife. In this form 

 hornblende replaces mica in granite (which 

 see). Some of the most beautiful cabinet 

 specimens are varieties of hornblende, since it 



frequently is cut in needlelike crystals which 

 are arranged in a great variety of patterns. 

 When iron is present these crystals are of a 

 beautiful green color. In some specimens they 

 are pure white and look like satin, then again 

 they may be of various shades of red. Asbes- 

 tos (which see) is closely related to hornblende, 

 as is another peculiar mineral called mountain 

 leather. Hornblende is composed chiefly of 

 magnesia, silica and alumina. 



HORNED TOAD, hornd tohd, known also as 

 HORNED LIZARD and CALIFORNIA TOAD, is a lizard 

 native to North America, found from North- 

 ern New Mexico to California and southward. 

 This animal is toadlike in appearance, about 

 five inches long, and the scales covering its 



THE HORNED TOAD 



body bear sharp, horny spines. It inhabits 

 sandy places, on the plains as well as in the 

 mountains, remains in hiding throughout the 

 day and comes forth at night in search of bee- 

 tles and other sand-haunting insects, upon 

 which it feeds. Horned toads are harmless; 

 they never bite, even when taken in the hand. 

 As a means of defense, they have a habit of 

 spurting little jets of blood alternately from 

 each eye when disturbed. There are about 

 ten species of this genus of lizards. 



HORNELL', N. Y., a center of silk manu- 

 facture, situated in Steuben County, in the 

 southwestern part of the state. It is ninety 

 three miles southeast of Buffalo, sixty miles 

 northwest of Elmira and seventy-two miles 

 south of Rochester, on the Canisteo River and 

 on the Erie & Pittsburgh and the Shawmut & 

 Northern railroads. The population, including 

 a number of Italians and French, was 13,617 

 in 1910, and 14,685 in 1916, by Federal esti- 

 mate. 



Hornell contains Saint Ann's Academy, Saint 

 James Mercy Hospital, the Steuben Sanita- 

 rium, a public library, county courthouse, and 

 a Federal building, the latter erected in 1916 

 at a cost of $85,000. The important industrial 

 enterprises include car shops and manufacto- 

 ries of silk goods (especially silk gloves), sash, 

 doors and blinds, leather, furniture, shoes, 



