BOPYRUS (Latreille). A curious genus of crus- 

 taceous animals, which is parasitic upon prawns, 

 causing a large swelling upon the sides of the bodies 

 of those animals. The body is oval, flat and soft, 

 having an elevated line beneath, with various trans- 

 verse impressions ; the abdomen is narrower than the 

 body, flattened, and with similar impressions ; there 

 are seven pairs of legs placed at the side of the body, 

 but very short and bent. The body is also furnished 

 beneath with four pairs of longitudinal plates, serving 

 as a sort of oviferous pouch. The type is the 



BOPYRUS BORAGINE^E. 551 



In North America they are less abundant than iu 

 Europe. The boragineue are in general mucilaginous 

 and emollient. Sometimes they possess astringent and 

 narcotic qualities. Some of them are weeds which 

 are never cultivated, while others, such as some spe- 

 cies of Echittm and Symphytum, are valued on account 

 of their beauty. They are propagated by cuttings, 

 divisions, or seeds. The chief genera of the order 

 are Borago, whence the name of the order is derived, 

 Anchusa,Lithospei-mum, Echium, Pulmonaria, Symphy- 

 tum, Myosotis, Cynogl-ossum, Lycopsis, and Asperugo. 



squUluntm of Latreille (Moiwcnliis Crangorum, Fa- 

 bricius). It is one-third of an inch long, and must 

 be very obnoxious to the prawns, which it infests ; 

 one, however, only attaches itself to each prawn, but 

 it is found in this" situation at all times of the year. 

 It is a vulgar opinion among fishermen, that these 

 parasites are young soles, which notion was even 

 recorded by Deslandes in the Memoirs of the Royal 

 Academy of Sciences of Paris, in 17'2'2, and remained 

 unrelated for half a century, when in 1772 it was 

 satisfactorily disproved by Fougeroux de Bondaroy. 

 The supposed male is exceedingly minute, and of a 

 very narrow form. This parasite belongs to the 

 order Isopoda, in which it forms a distinct section, 

 named Epicaridcs by Latreille. 



BORAGE is the Borago qfficinalis of Linnaeus. 

 It belongs to Pcntandria Mouo^i/nia, and to the 

 natural order of which it is the type, viz. Boraginece. 

 Generic character : calyx five-cleft ; corolla rotate, 

 limb cut into five lobes, throat with a vaulted margin, 

 on which lanceolate filaments are seated ; anthers 

 incumbent, oblong or lanceolate, and posited toge- 

 ther ; fruit turbinate, plain at the bottom. There 

 are six species of borage, two of them are British 

 annuals, the others are from the Levant. The offi- 

 cinal borage is a common kitchen garden herb, being 

 used for various purposes, as well by the cook and 

 butler as by the apothecary. The juice yields nitre ; 

 and on this account, perhaps, its medicinal virtues are 

 considered salutary. It is cultivated by sowing seed 

 on a small bed of fresh digged ground ; thinning out 

 the seedlings to six or eight inch distances, and 

 keeping them free from weeds. The young leaves 

 are an ingredient in dressed salads ; and the young 

 flowering shoots are thrown into the drink called 

 " cool tankard." The seeds, which are shed in the 

 autumn, rise on the same spot in the following year. 



BORAGINE^E. Borage family. A natural order 

 of dicotyledonous plants, containing about thirty ge- 

 nera, and nearly three hundred species. This order 

 from the rough leaves of most of its species, sometimes 

 receives the name of Asperifolia. It is nearly alliec 

 to the LabiatcB, from which it is distinguished by 

 having regular flowers, five fertile stamens and 

 round stem. Its essential characters are : calyx 

 monosepalous, regular, with five divisions, persistent 

 corolla hypogynous, monopetalous, regular, five-lobed 

 stamens five, inserted on the corolla ; ovary four- 

 celled ; ovules pendulous ; style simple, terminate* 

 by a two-lobed stigma ; nuts four, distinct ; seeds 

 without albumen. 



The plants included in this order are herbs o 

 shrubs with varied stems, flowers in spikes, raceme: 

 or panicles, and alternate leaves, which are general!) 

 rough. They are found abundantly in the temperate 

 latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Many of th 

 species are natives of Europe, very few are found in 

 arctic regions, and scarcely any within the tropics 



Boraginea. 



Borago officinalis, common borage, is found pretty 

 abundantly among rubbish and waste ground in 

 Britain, although scarcely considered indigenous. 

 Exhilarating qualities were formerly attributed to this 

 plant, and with the alkanet, roses, and violets, it was 

 reckoned one of the four cordial flowers. It possesses 

 emollient, diuretic, aud sudorific qualities. Its leaves 

 are considered in some countries as refrigerant and 

 cordial. A syrup is prepared from them in France, 

 which is used in pleurisy and inflammatory fever. 

 The plant has an odour like cucumber, and commu- 

 nicates a peculiar coolness and flavour to any 

 beverage in which it is steeped. With wine, water, 

 lemon and sugar, it forms an ingredient in the favourite 

 English drink called " cool tankard." It has been 

 employed in cutaneous diseases. Its diuretic qualities 

 are owing to the nitre or saltpetre which enters into 

 its composition. 



The roots of the Anchusa tinctoria, alkanet or dyer's 

 bugloss, are imported into this country from France 

 and Germany in a dried state, for the purpose of 

 being used in dyeing. The alkanet is a native of 

 Europe, and is frequently cultivated in Britain, Its 

 roots have a bitter taste, and their bark yields a 

 reddish-brown matter resembling resin, which is used 

 for giving a red colour to oils, ointments, plasters and 

 salves. The corks of Port-wine bottles are sometimes 

 stained with it by way of deception. To alcohol it 

 imparts a carmine-red colour, which by evaporation 

 changes to blue, and then to green. This root is also 

 used in compositions for rubbing and giving colour 

 to furniture made of mahogany. Wax dyed with it 

 and applied to the surface of warm marble, tinges it 

 of a flesh-colour, which sinks deep into the stone. 

 The small roots are best for dyeing. Anc/nisa sent* 



