C A S N O N 1 A C A S S 1 C U S. 



7CP 



flowers and opposite entire leaves. They inhabit the 

 temperate and colder regions of the globe, and are 

 found on mountains as well as in hedges and waste 

 places. The few species which exist in tropical 

 countries grow at a great I'levatiori, generally close 

 to the limit of perpetual snow. They are very abun- 

 dant in Europe and Siberia. According to Hutnboldt 

 the caryophyllea constitute a seventeenth part of the 

 flowering plants of Lapland, a twenty-second part of 

 those of France, a twenty-seventh of those of Ger- 

 many, and only a seventy-second part of those of 

 North America. 



By De Candolle, the order is divided into two sec- 

 tions, Silenea;, in which the sepals are united into a 

 tube, the petals have elongated claws, and Alsinete, in 

 which the sepals are distinct or only coherent at the 

 base, and the petals are not furnished with claws. 

 The former includes the genera Silene, Dianthus, 

 Saponaria, Lychnis, Agrostemma, $e. ; while the latter 

 comprehends the genera Alsine, Stellaria, Sagina, 

 Spergula, Arenaria, Cerastium, dye. 



The plants of the order are not remarkable for any 

 active properties, being generally insipid. From 

 some of them a volatile oil may be obtained, and a 

 few have been used both medicinally and dietetically. 

 In general they are mere weeds, and are not submitted 

 to cultivation. Most of the species of Dianthus and 

 Lychnis, however, possess handsome fragrant flowers, 

 and are prized in the garden. They are propagated 

 by cuttings, divisions, and seed?. 



The genus Sllenc contains two hundred and seven- 

 teen species, ten of which are natives of Britain. 

 Silene circnaria, common cr Lobel's Catchfly, is a 

 pretty border annual familiar to every one. It grows 

 freely, and has been naturalised in some parts of 

 England. Silene acaulis, moss campion, with its beau- 

 tiful purple flowers, is a great ornament of our alpine 

 districts. A decoction of the root of Silene Virginias 

 is used in North America as a remedy for worms. 

 The boiled leaves of Silene injlala, a very common 

 plant in Britain, taste like peas, and proved of great 

 use in a famine at Minorca in 168,5, when the harvest 

 was destroyed by locusts. The leaves are used as an 

 external application in erysipelas. 



Dianlhus, or pink, is the most showy genus of the 

 order. The elegant little maiden pink, so frequently 

 found on our hills, is a species of this genus. Under 

 it also is included the common Sweet-William, so 

 generally cultivated as a garden flower. Dimilhus 

 Cari/opJn/lliis, clove pink, or clove gilly-flower, is the 

 species whence the name of the order is derived. 

 This plant is found native in Italy, and grows appa- 

 rently in a wild state on the walls of some old castles 

 in England. It is interesting as giving origin to those 

 beautiful varieties of Carnation, so highly valued by 

 the florist. The varieties of carnation amounted to 

 nearly four hundred named sorts in the beginning of 

 the eighteenth century, and since that time they have 

 greatly increased. They have been arranged in three 

 classes, flakes, bizarres, and jiicotees. Flakes have 

 only two colours, and their stripes are large, going 

 quite through the petals. Bizarres are variegated in 

 irregular spots and stripes, arid their colours are not 

 less than three. In the picotces the colours are 

 arranged like a fringe round each petal ; they have a 

 white ground, which is spotted with scarlet, purple, 

 yellow, and other colours. New varieties are raised 

 from seed, and are chiefly procured from Germany 

 and Italy. Established varieties are propagated by 



cuttings or layers. Carnations thrive best in a rich 

 but somewhat sandy loam, and they require to be 

 protected by a frame during winter, and to be covered 

 with an awning when in flower. The flowers of the 

 clove-pink have a pleasant aromatic smell, and a bit- 

 terish, somewhat astringent, taste. They are used to 

 give a pleasant flavour and a fine colour to a medici- 

 nal syrup. 



The leaves of Saponaria afficinalis, common soap- 

 wort, are employed to take out spots of grease. The 

 plant derives its name from the property of forming a 

 saponaceous compound with water, a property pos- 

 sessed by several other plants of the order, more 

 especially Lychnis dioicd and Chalcedonica. The root 

 of the soapwort has a bitterish taste, and has been 

 used in medicine for the cure of gout, rheumatism, 

 jaundice, and other complaints. 



Stcliaria media, common chickweed, or stitchwort, 

 is a well known weed, w Inch has been used as a pot- 

 herb, instead of spinach, and the seeds of which are 

 eaten by birds. The flowers are upright, and open 

 from nine in the morning till noon, unless it rain. 

 After rain they droop, and continue to do so for seve- 

 ral days. This plant illustrates the sleep of vegeta- 

 bles, the leaves approaching in pairs every night and 

 inclosing the rudiments of the new shoots. In this 

 way nature also makes provision for the protection of 

 the young shoots. 



Arenaria peploides, sea-side sandwort, grows abun- 

 dantly on the shores of Britain. It is used in Iceland 

 as an article of food, and forms an excellent pickle. 

 The Arenaria marina is also used as a pickle in place 

 of samphire, to which it bears some resemblance. 



The berries of Cucubalus baccifer, berry-bearing 

 campion, are said to be as poisonous as those of the 

 deadlynight shade. 



Spergula arvcnsis, common spurrey, called Yarr in 

 Scotland, and Pick-purse in Norfolk, is considered as 

 excellent pasture. It is said to enrich the milk of 

 cows, and to form excellent butter. 



CASNONIA (Latreille). An elegant genus of 

 insects belonging to the order Coleoptera, family 

 CarabidfE, and sub-family Bracl'niidcc, and distinguished 

 by its long and slender neck-like thorax, brown head 

 narrowed behind, antenna? much shorter than the 

 body, tarsi with the penultimate joint bilobed. These 

 insects are of small size, not exceeding one-third of 

 an inch in length, they are inhabitants of the warmer 

 climates of the globe, where they reside, according 

 to M. Lacordaire, who observed their habits in South 

 America, in moist places on the margins of brooks. 

 They run very quickly, soon take Hit; lit, and when 

 on the wing, are easily mistaken fur small tiger beetles 

 (Cicindcla}. They are generally prettily variegated. 

 We have adopted the generic name given above, 

 being employed by most authors, although we agree 

 with Messrs. Audouin and Bridle in considering that 

 the long previously proposed name of Colliuris of 

 De Geer (which has been improperly used for a genus 

 of tiger beetles) ought to be restored to this group. 



CASSICUS (so called because, in the most 

 typical species, the crest bears some resemblance to 

 the feathers worn by a caziqne or Indian chief). 

 A genus or rather family of birds, placed by Baron 

 Cuvier in the conirostral family of his order Passcres; 

 but which, in a natural arrangement, would require a 

 different place in the system. They are, in fact, 

 omnivorous birds, bearing more resemblance to the 

 starling, at least in their manners, than to almost any 



