648 



BURCHELLIA BURS. 



Voyage to Greece and the other Countries of the 

 Levant, states that the insect named voupristi by the 

 inhabitants of Mount Athos is able to fly, th'at it 

 emits a strong and fetid odour, that it resembles a 

 cantharis, but that it is larger, of a yellow or buff 

 colour, and that it is often found upon ehicoraceous 

 plants. Now these characters indicate a species of 

 mylabris rather than a meloe, whence Latreille is 

 induced to regard the ancient buprestis and voupristi 

 is two distinct species of insect. Messrs. Kirby and 

 Spence, on the contrary, consider the insect of Mount 

 Athos (which is so noxious that when horses or other 

 cattle even feed upon the herbs which the insects 

 have touched, they die from inflammation, and which 

 is an immediate poison to oxen) to be the buprestis 

 of the Greek writers, and as Pliny usually compiled 

 from them it may be regarded as his also. 



In the second edition of the Regne Animal, La- 

 treille divided this family into five sections. First 

 those with dilated tarsi and antennae simply serrated. 

 Of this section, which comprises the majority of the 

 family having simple antennae, some of the species 

 are furnished with an evident scutellum, as B.fasci- 

 culata from the Cape of Good Hope. B. vittata and 

 scutellata from India, &c., others are destitute of a 

 scutellum, as B. grandis from South America. Some 

 species of a linear shape, including several British 

 insects, compose the genus Agrilus of Megerle; whilst 

 others, of a short and nearly triangular form (some of 

 which are likewise British) form the genus Trachys 

 of Fabricius. Another genus, Aphaiusticus, also Bri- 

 tish, is distinguished by its clavate antennas. The 

 second section, having the antennae comb- shaped, and 

 the tarsi nearly cylindric, comprised only the genus 

 Mclasis of Olivier, the type of which is likewise found 

 in England. Since the publication of this work, how- 

 ever, the family has undergone revision by several 

 authors, who have divided the species into numerous 

 generic groups. The memoir of M. Eschscholtz, in 

 his " Zoologischer Atlas" of M. Solier, in the "An- 

 nales de la Societe Entomologique de France," and 

 the new catalogue of the Baron Dejean, may be espe- 

 cially noticed ; but as all these new groups rest 

 merely upon structural distinctions, without any facts 

 relative to their economy having been added in sup- 

 port of their establishment, we shall not further notice 

 them, especially as they are for the most part com- 

 posed of rare and exotic species in the possession of 

 very few entomologists. 



BURCHELLIA (R. Brown). A genus named 

 after W. Burchell, a traveller in Africa. There are 

 two species, Bubulina and Capensis. The flowers are 

 pentandrious, and belong to the natural order Rubi- 

 acece. The B. capcmis is a beautiful shrub, with 

 scarlet flowers in terminal clusters. 



BURDOCK. That is, bear-dock ; the Arctium 

 of Wildenow. A large coarse looking plant, common 

 on hedge banks, and sides of high-ways. The 

 hooked scales of the calyx fix the burs on the fleeces 

 of sheep, or on garments made of wool. The seeds 

 are food for birds, but no domestic animal except 

 the ass will eat the leaves. The peeled stein, while 

 tender, may be eaten as salad, and the green plant 

 by calcination yields a fine alkaline salt. 



BURMANNI^E. A natural order of monoco- 

 tyledonous plants, containing three or four genera, 

 ft is not very closely allied to any known monoco- 

 tyledonous order, but seems to approach nearest to 

 the Hcemodoracetf, or blood-root tribe. 



Its characters are : flowers hermaphrodite ; peri- 

 anth adnate with the ovary, coloured ; membrana- 

 ceous, with six teeth, of which the three outer have a 

 wing or keel at their back, while the three inner are 

 minute ; stamens three, inserted into the tube opposite 

 the inner teeth ; anthers sessile, two-celled, opening 

 transversely ; ovary inferior, three-celled, many 

 seeded ; style single ; stigma three-lobed ; capsule 

 covered with the withered perianth ; seeds minute 

 and streaked. 



The plants of this order are herbs with tufted 

 radical acute leaves, and terminal sessile flowers. 

 They are mostly tropical, and are natives of the main 

 regions of Asia, Africa, and America. Their pro? 

 parties have not as yet been investigated. 



The principal genera are : Burmanrda, Triptcrclla, 

 and Maburnia. Burmannia bifora is a delicate little 

 plant, with pale pimple flowers, found in the swamps 

 of Virginia. Tripterella capitata, with its slender 

 threadlike stem and capitate white flowers, grows in 

 wet places, and on the borders of ponds, in Lower 

 Carolina. 



BURNET is the Poterium (infused in drink called 

 cool-tankard) sanguisorba of Willdenow. This is a 

 British plant, and there are two other species found 

 in Spain and Hungary. The flowers are unisexual, 

 and the genus is placed in the natural order Rosacece. 

 The generic character is, barren flowers calyx of 

 four leaves ; corolla, in four divisions ; stamens thirty to 

 forty; fertile flowers calyx of four leaves; corolla four- 

 clefted ; seed-vessels two ; fruit two-celled, invested 

 with the calyx. Burnet occurs frequently in the 

 south of England, and has long been employed as an 

 agricultural plant, to mix with permanent grasses in, 

 laying down pastures. It continues to grow during 

 winter, with more vigour than any other pasture 

 plant, and hence it gained a character which it really 

 does not deserve. The fact is, it is not relished by 

 either horses, cattle, or sheep ; and therefore when 

 other plants are closely grazed off, this remains in 

 tufts untouched. It is said to be particularly pala- 

 table to deer, and if so, should be introduced into 

 deer-parks. It is a favourite salad plant on the con- 

 tinent ; and as we have already stated, is sometimes 

 used in this country like borage for adding flavour 

 to the beverage called " cool-tankard." The leaves 

 when bruised smell like cucumbers, and taste some- 

 what like the parings of that fruit. 



BURNET SAXIFRAGE is the Pimpinella of 

 Linnaeus. A family of European weeds, only noticed 

 by botanists. The flowers are pentandrious, and the 

 plants belong to the natural order Umbeltifene. 



BUR REED is the Sparganium simplex of Will- 

 denow. It receives its generic name from the riband- 

 like shape of the leaves. The flowers are unisexual, 

 both males and females sticking like burs upon the 

 reed-like stems. All the species are found in England, 

 and in many other countries, both in warmer and 

 colder latitudes. The S. ramosum is a luxuriant 

 growing plant, and troublesome in pools or water 

 courses required to be kept clean. 



BURS (Camraerson). A genus of spinous finned 

 fishes, belonging to the lancet-fish family, or those 

 which have their bodies armed with spines capable of 

 inflicting severe wounds. They are all inhabitants of 

 the warm seas, and feed chiefly if not entirely upon 

 vegetables. The ventral fins o this genus have the 

 external and internal ray in each spinous, and the 

 three intermediate ones articulated. They have five 



