B A N A N A B A R B E L. 



297 



BANCHUS ( Fabricius). A genus of hymenop- 

 tcrous insects, belonging to the pupivora and fa- 

 mily Icliiu'iiinoni/lic, or cuckoo-flies. The antennae 

 are lone; and thread-like, the abdomen is very much 

 compressed at the extremity, and the ovipositor is 

 not extended. Like the remainder of this great 

 family, these insects are parasitic in the larva state, 

 feeding upon the bodies of other insects. There are 

 five British species, of which the K.pictus of Fabri- 

 cius is the type. 



B A N K S'l A ( Robert Brown). A remarkable family 

 of thirty-two species of Botany Bay plants, named in 



Fruit am! leaf of Bankma. 



honour of the late sir Joseph Banks, president of the 

 Koyal Society. Liuiwtan class and order, Tetrandria 

 M"i^i"j/niu; natural order, Proteaccee. Generic charac- 

 ter : ilowers m spikes, three single braeteated flowers, 

 persisting ; calyx four parted ; stamens united to the 

 top of the concavity of the calyx ; squamae four below 

 the germen ; folliculus woody, two seeded ; seeds 

 upper corner of winged. The great numbers and 

 variety of this genus of plants, intermixed with thou- 

 sands of others, which struck the view of Mr. Banks, 

 Dr. Solander, and their companions, on their first 

 landing in New Holland, under the guidance of the 

 celebrated captain Cook, gave the name Botany Bay 

 to that portion of the coast. The banksias, like a great, 

 majority of the plants from the same quarter, are as 

 much unlike the plantsof previously known parts of the 

 world as are the distances between. Their physical 

 habit, texture, and regular forms are only similar to 

 a few found in southern Africa ; but wholly different 

 from the plants of the old world. Botany Bay is a 

 source whence numerous new plants have been 

 received, and a source which is not yet exhausted. 



BARBADOES CHERRY. The genus Maljaglria 

 of Linnaeus. There arc twelve species, all stove ever- 

 green shrubs. Class and order, Dccandria Trigynia; 

 natural order, Malpl^hiaceee.. Generic character : 

 calyx, hemispherical, five cleft, bearing ten stipitate 

 glands ; corolla, five roundish petals, clawed, spread- 

 ing ; stamens below the germen ; filaments cohering 

 at the base ; anthers roundish ; style simple ; stigmas 

 capitate or like a nail ; drupe tripyrciia. This order 

 of plants is generally handsome ; and is known by 

 their being furnished with stings up" 1 ' 



which causes a 'violent itching when applied to the 

 naked hand. 



BARBEL (Rarlms, " bearded"). A genus of 

 soft-firmed fishes, with abdominal fins, belonging to 

 the carp family, and having its name merely a con- 

 traction of " bearded carp." The generic characters 

 are : the dorsal and anal fins short, a strong spine in 

 the second or third ray of the dorsal, arid four filaments 

 of beard, one at each of the angles of the upper jaw, 

 and two at the point of the muzzle. Barbel is a fresh- 

 water fish, inhabiting the larger rivers of clear water, 

 especially in stony places. In Europe they are not 

 found in the very cold countries, as, for instance, in 

 those to the northward of the Baltic ; and in Britain 

 they are found only in England. They are grega- 

 rious, are found inhabiting the same places in shoals, 

 and are understood to be very voracious and indis- 

 criminate in their feeding. 



There is an ancient prejudice, that both the flesh 

 and the roe of barbel are unwholesome, which Bloch 

 found to be without foundation, by eating both 

 without any bad consequences. The flesh is nor, 

 however, of very good flavour, neither is it understood 

 to be very nutritious ; and there is little doubt that, 

 when out of season, that is, after spawning, it is not 

 wholesome, as few fish are wholesome when in that 

 condition. There are various species in the rivers of 

 different parts of the world ; and some of them, in 

 their characters, approach the carp on the one hand, 

 avid the gudgeons on the other. 



The common barbel (Cypnnutbsrbut of Linnaeus) 

 is the principal European species. It has the body 

 and head both elongated, and the muzzle advanced 

 considerably in front of the mouth, which gives that 

 the appearance of opening on the under side. The 

 upper jaw is strong, and tinged with red at the lip, 

 as is also the under one. The two filaments of beard, 

 which are dependent from the anterior part of the 

 snout, are much smaller than those at the. corners of 

 the mouth. Each jaw is armed with ten teeth, placed 

 in two rows, and recurved. The head is greyish 

 olive, with some streaks of a yellowish tinge, extending 

 from near the gape to the gill openings. The nostrils 

 are placed near the eyes, and the last have the irides 

 of a bright brown colour. The pectoral fins contain 

 each seventeen rays, the ventral nine, the anal eight, 

 the caudal nineteen, and the dorsal twelve, of which 

 the third is armed with a spinous point. The pectoral, 

 ventral, and anal fins are entirely of a reddish colour, 

 rather paler at. the base ; the dorsal is reddish, with 

 a portion at the base blue ; and the caudal, which is 

 forked, is bluish, with a portion at the base red. The 

 back, which is rounded, is of an olive colour, passing 

 into bluish toward the lateral line. Below that line 

 the colour is yellowish, with a tinge of green, and the 

 throat and belly are white. The lateral line is marked 

 by a row of regular blackish spots, and the sides are 

 bound obliquely with blackish brown, of greater or 

 less brightness, according to the age and condition of 

 the fish. 



The favourite parts of the rivers for barbel are the 

 currents of moderate rapidity which flow over gravelly 

 bottoms, and especially among large stones. The fishes 

 do not, unless when they are actively feeding, hold 

 themselves in the stream, but rather lurk among the 

 stones and under the banks. They are. however, 

 easily brought out upon most occasions ; but their 

 mosi, active time is, when moderate floods, which do 

 ' ' : ">'"' water loo much, bring abundance of LiO 



