746 



CATABROSA CATAPHRACTUS. 



the lions of Africa, where these maintain their posi- 

 tion as lords of the wilderness. And if this has been 

 the case with one animal, we may not only conclude 

 that it must be the case with all other animals of the 

 same genus, but with all animals whatever. A race 

 of animals may be cut down in their strength, if a 

 direct war of extermination is waged against them ; 

 but if they yield to the change of natural circum- 

 stances, they must yield gradually, and decline in 

 strength and energy of character, generation after 

 generation, for some time before they become extinct. 

 This is a most important branch of natural history 

 a curious law in the animal economy, from which 

 man himself is not exempt ; and any one who has an 

 opportunity of examining, for a long period, the lists 

 of men in any given locality, will find that it contains 

 a curious succession of surnames, and consequently 

 of races or families. We shall find, for instance, the 

 predominance of some particular surname at almost 

 whatever point of the record we may begin, and at 

 the same time we shall find several other names less 

 numerous. 



After a time, some of these will increase in number, 

 while others disappear from the record, and the 

 increasing ones will grow till they become predo- 

 minant, and again fall off. Of course the waxing, 

 the waning, and the permanence, are not the same 

 uniformly, neither are they the same even in one 

 family. But still the progress of the law itself is 

 exactly as has been now stated ; and, were such 

 records accurate, a philosophical examination of 

 them would be of great value in studying the pro- 

 gressive history of human society. 



Now, in all the rest of nature, and more especially 

 in animated nature, we may fairly look for the same 

 vicissitudes, and though these may take place some- 

 times at long periods, and sometimes at short ones, 

 yet this is the only rational way which we have of 

 connecting the state of the world as at present it 

 exists with those former states, of which w r e have 

 dumb evidences in the remains both of animals and 

 of plants, and also for enabling us to grope our way 

 to the future, in so far as that is practicable. 



This is not the place for even giving an outline of 

 what should be done on this highly interesting, but 

 exceedingly difficult subject. We must content our- 

 selves with throwing out the hint, and earnestly 

 recommending it to the attention of our readers. At 

 the same time, we may remark, that there are few 

 animals whose progressive history is so important in 

 this respect as the common lynx. We cannot say 

 positively that the lynx follows the pine forests, but 

 still, whether we look at the eastern continent or 

 America, there appears to be more connexion be- 

 tween them than can be merely accidental. 



Canada Lynx. This animal is much longer furred, 

 and has fur of a much finer texture, than the common 

 lynx, and on the sides of the head the fur is very 

 much produced. The general colour is pale ash, 

 yellowish on the upper part and whitish on the 

 under, but without any spots or markings. The grey 

 colour is produced by a mixture of the yellow basis 

 and white tips of the fur ; in the more northerly 

 parts of Africa the colour is very pale and very 

 entire ; but farther to the southward lynxes are 

 found with shorter fur of a reddish colour, and more 

 or less spotted with brown ; and in the mountains to 

 the westward of the United States they are described 

 as being different. It is possible, however, and 



indeed by no means unlikely, that there are local or 

 climatal varieties of one species, or at most of two ; 

 and though their skins are obtained in great numbers 

 by the fur-merchants, we are still without any good 

 account about the animals themselves, and we must 

 look to others than the hunters for better information, 

 because those whose business it is to kill animals are 

 very seldom good naturalists. 



We must here close our notice of this most in- 

 teresting genus of wild animals a genus, the charac- 

 ters of which are imperfectly understood, and whose 

 history is involved in much confusion ; but there is 

 so much to be done, and also to be undone, that we 

 must content ourselves with the hints already given, 

 until the animals shall be more carefully studied in 

 their native dwellings. 



CATABROSA (Beauvoi?). A curious aquatic 

 perennial herb, indigenous to Britain. Linnsean 

 class and order Triandria Digi/n'ia. Natural order, 

 Gramlnece. The catabrosa aquatica was formerly 

 called aira aquatica in English botany ; and there is 

 another species called viridula ; but they are both 

 small inconspicuous plants. 



CATALPA (Tussac). A fine flowing ornamen- 

 tal tree, formerly called Bignonia catalpa. Linnasan 

 class and order, Decandria Digynia. Natural order, 

 Bignoniacece. Generic character : calyx in two parts ; 

 corolla bell-shaped, tube swollen, limb of four un- 

 equal lobes ; stamens five, three of which are sterile ; 

 style bearing a double-plated stigma ; capsule pod- 

 shaped, two-valvcd ; dissepiments opposite the 

 valves ; seeds many, their base and apex covered 

 with membranaceous down. This tree has been in our 

 shrubberies ever since 17:26 ; mid in old gardens, 

 where collections of curious plants were cultivated, 

 the trees have got to a considerable size, and are an- 

 nually covered with flowers. 



CATANANCHE (Linnseus). A genus of two 

 species of ornamental herbs, one perennial, the 

 other an annual, both natives of the south of Europe. 

 Linnscan class and order, Syngencsia JEqualis ; natu- 

 ral order, Composite. Generic character . antho- 

 dium imbricated, with broadish carious scales ; re- 

 ceptacle bristly ; pappus composed of five chufFy 

 awns. These plants thrive well in the open borders, 

 and are propagated by seed, or divisions of the root. 

 CATAPHRACTUS (Lacepede). A genus of 

 soft-finned fishes with abdominal fins, belonging to 

 the family of Sihtrida: in Cuvier's arrangement. The 

 characters are, the body almost entirely cased on the 

 sides by four rows of scaly pieces, similar pieces on 

 the upper part of the head', but the point of the muzzle 

 and the lower part of the body are naked. There is 

 only a single ray in the anterior margin of the last 

 dorsal fin. The spine in the pectoral fins is very 

 strong, but that in the first dorsal is short and feeble. 

 The opening of the mouth is small, and the teeth are 

 barely visible. The eyes are very small, and placed 

 in the sides of the head. 



They are all fre?h water fishes, and found in the 

 rivers of warm countries. Some of them have the 

 pectoral spines smooth, though the greater part of 

 them have them jagged or toothed. These spines, 

 especially the jagged ones, are capable of inflicting 

 very severe wounds ; and they appear to form the 

 natural weapons of the animals. They are bottom 

 fishes, having the gill-openings very small ; and they 

 are very tenacious of life, and can crawl and wriggle 

 about on the dry ground like eels. 



