A N A L C I M E A N A R R H I C A S. 



101 



those who have incautiously put the nut in their 

 mouths to break the shell. This oil has been used with 

 great success in eating off ring- worms, cancerous ulcers, 

 and corns ; but it ought to be applied with caution. 



Anacardium Occidentale. 



The kernel, when fresh, has a most delicate taste, 

 ami abounds with a sweet milky juice. It is an in- 

 gredient in puddings, &c. When older it is generally 

 roasted, and in this state is not so proper for costive 

 habits. Ground with cocoa, it makes an excellent 

 chocolate. When kept too long it becomes shrivelled, 

 and loses its flavour and best qualities. The thick oil 

 of the shell tinges linen of a rusty iron-colour, which 

 can hardly be got out ; and if any wood be coated 

 with the oil, it prevents it from decaying. From the 

 body of the tree is procured, by incision, a milky juice 

 which will stain linen a deep black, that cannot 

 be washed out again. This tree also annually 

 transudes from five to twelve pounds' weight of a fine 

 semi-transparent gum, similar to gum arabic, and not 

 inferior to it in virtue or quality, except that it has 

 a slight astringency, which perhaps renders it in 

 some respects more valuable." 



ANALCIME. This mineral is generally found 

 in granite, gneiss, trap-rocks and lavas. It occurs 

 in the Calton Hill, Edinburgh, at Talisker in Skye, in 

 Dumbartonshire ; in the Hartz, Bohemia, and in the 

 Faroe Islands. Analeime is feebly electrical by fric- 

 tion, but not by heat. The specific character of this 

 mineral is taken from its form, which is that of a cube. 

 Its specific gravity is rather less than 2'4. 



This mineral might be confounded with borate of 

 magnesia and muriate of soda, both of which take the 

 cube for their primitive form, were they not strongly 

 distinguished by their physical and chemical qualities ; 

 its specific gravity being smaller than in either of those 

 substances. When broken it is found to be slightly 

 undulated in the transparent portions, and compact, 

 with a fine grain, in those which are opaque. This 

 mineral only exhibits three marked varieties. 



ANANCIIYTES. One of the divisions of the 

 Ei'hinodennes, formed by Lamarck, and by him cha- 

 racterised as " irregularly helmet-formed, ovate, or co- 

 noidal. The ambulacra radiating from the vertex to 

 the margin, and even to the mouth, which is labiated 

 at one end, near the margin, the vent at the opposite 

 end." Twelve species are described, the whole of 

 which occur only in the fossil state. They have 

 hitherto been principally found in France. 



ANARRHICAS (the climber). A genus- of 

 spinous-finned fishes belonging to the family of Gobi- 

 odes. They obtained that name from a supposed 

 power of climbing the rocks by means of their fins 

 and tails ; but if they have such a power at all they 

 have it only to a small extent. They live much 

 among the rocks, however, feeding upon Crustacea 

 and shelled animals, which they easily break by means 

 of their powerful teeth. 



Anarrhicas lupus, 



The best known species is the "sea wolf" or "wolf 

 fish " (A. Inpux}, called the " cat fish," on the shores 

 of Scotland, where it is perhaps more common than 

 on those of England, although it is not rare there, and 

 is indeed one of the most common inhabitants of the 

 sea, being found from the extreme north to nearly the 

 most southerly latitude which has been reached, and 

 in nearly equal numbers in the colder and the warmer 

 climates". Its flesh tastes very like that of the larger 

 sea eels ; and it forms a staple article of food with 

 people of many different climates and having many 

 different manners. The people of Iceland and other 

 places of the extreme north salt and dry it for winter 

 store ; but the negroes of Mauritius relish it in quite 

 another style. They hang it up in the sun till it is 

 so putrid that a European can with difficulty approach 

 it on account of the smell, in which state it is called 

 " ourite," and is esteemed the most delicious food 

 that they can procure. In Britain, in Scotland espe- 

 cially, it is not relished, and there appears to be a 

 considerable degree of prejudice against ir, owing to 

 its appearance. 



It is indeed by no means a handsome fish ; and it 

 has a ferocious appearance, the mouth being armed 

 with powerful weapons. Its body is lengthened, some- 

 times as much as six or seven feet, but it is compact ; 

 and the head rounded, something resembling that of 

 a cat. The gape of the mouth is considerable, and 

 the teeth, which in front are very large, strong, and 

 of a conical shape, are displayed. The dorsal fin, 

 composed exclusively of simple rays, extends from the 

 nape along the whole upper part of the body ; and it 

 and the anal fin meet and form a rounded fin on the 

 tail ; the pectoral fins are also rounded. They con- 

 tain sixteen rays each, the anal contains forty-six, the 

 caudal sixteen, and the dorsal seventy-three. The 

 general colour is brownish above and yellowish be- 

 low, with darker wavy transverse branches ; and the 

 skin, though tough and firm, is without scales. Tha 

 whole of the palate is covered with osseus tubercles, 

 rather large and pointed, and the teeth in the jaws 

 are, as already mentioned, very large and strong. 



