DORYANTHES 



Dory' boiled in sea water, no excuse, no apology 

 would satisfy Quin, and he declared he would not eat 

 in his house, but, like a ship in distress, threw his 

 water cask overboard, and pursued his journey not a 

 little sulky, till some fortunate stroke of' wit or some 

 palatable viand roused him to good humour. This 

 western tour of Quin's did not appear to have given 

 him mud) satisfaction, as may readily be imagined by 

 his reply to a friend on his return to Bath. Being 

 asked if he did not think Devonshire a sweet county, 

 ' Sir,' said Quin, ' I found nothing sweet in Devon- 

 shire but the vinegar.' " Such is a specimen of 

 Quin's Ichthyoninn'ui, as left on record by Colonel 

 Montagu, and with it we shall close our short notice 

 of the dory, leaving the reader to judge whether the 

 history of the fish or the actor be the more curious 

 subject of the two. 



DORYANTHES (Corrca do Serra). A large 

 herbaceous plant, a native 'of New South Wuh-s. 

 Class and order : Hexandria Afotiogyma, and natural 

 order AjnarylKdete, Generic character : flowers on a 

 bracteated fascicle ; corolla funnel-shaped, six-cleft ; 

 stamens inserted into the base of the segments ; fila- 

 ments awl-shaped ; anthers like fingers, erect, four- 

 sided ; style three-furrowed ; stigma three-sided ; 

 capsule three-celled, three-valved ; seeds disposed 

 in pairs. This gigantic herb bears cream-coloured 

 flowers, and does very well in a green-house. It 

 sometimes produces suckers, by which it may be 

 increased. 



DORYLUS (Fabricius). A genus of singular 

 h yinenopterous insects, of which the males only have 

 hitherto been observed, belonging to the family of 

 j\IutiUid<E. The body is long, and the abdomen 

 knotted at the base ; the antennae are short and slen- 

 der, and inserted near the mouth, the various parts of 

 which are very small ; the legs are very short, with 

 the thighs flattened. There are at least, two species 

 inhabiting India and the Cape of Good Hope. The 

 writer ot this account has been informed by the cele- 

 brated African traveller, W. Burchell, Esq., that their 

 habits are nocturnal. The genus is represented in 

 South America by that of Labidus, which differs 

 chiefly in the structure of the mouth, and smaller size. 

 The type of the Dorylus is the Mutilla hclvola of 

 Linnsieiis. 



DOVE'S FOOT is the Geranium molle of Lin- 

 naeus, a common British plant. 



DRABA (Linnaeus). An extensive genus of small 

 herbaceous annuals, biennials, and perennials, natives 

 of the coldest and most rocky regions of Asia, Europe, 

 and America. They are tetradynamous, and belong to 

 Crucifera. Several species of this family are early 

 flowerurs, which gain them admittance into the 

 flower-gardens, and are particularly useful for rock- 

 work., 



DRACAENA (Linna?us). Tropical trees and 

 shrubs of a very unusual colour ; hence the name, as 

 their juice is said to furnish or resemble the drug 

 called dragon's blood. The flowers are hexandrious, 

 and the plant belongs to the order Asphodelece. Gene- 

 ric character : corolla spreading, regular, six-parted, 

 deciduous. Stamens inserted in the base of the 

 corolla ; filaments membranous at the base, thick in 

 the middle, and awl-shaped at the apex. Style rather 

 angular; stigma three-cleft ; berry six-furrowed, three- 

 celled, cells mostly one-seeded. ' These plants give 

 variety to the stove collection by reason of the deep 

 purple hue of the foliage. " Large cuttings root 



-DRAGON-FLY. 327 



freely by being stuck in the bark-bed in a brisk heat," 

 Sweet. 



DRACOCEPHALUM (Linnasiis). A genus of 

 odoriferous annual and perennial herbs, mostly found 

 in the north of Asia, Europe, and America. Class and 

 order, Didynamia Gymnospermia. and natural order 

 Labiata;. The best known and most generally culti- 

 vated species of this genus is the D. Canariense, the 

 balm of Gilead, met with in every greenhouse, not 

 because of its beauty either of flower or foliage, but 

 entirely for its pleasant and powerful scent. It may be 

 propagated either by cuttings, seeds, or division of 

 the roots. 



DRACONTIUM (Linnaeus). A genus of curious 

 creeping plants, natives of India, belonging to the 

 seventh class of Linnaeus, and to the natural order 

 Aroidcac. Generic character : spatha of one leaf ; 

 spadix cylindrical, to which the flowers are attached ; 

 perianthe cut into five or six petal-like scales ; 

 stamens inserted into the bases of the scales ; fila- 

 ments linear ; anthers oblong, two-celled, opening by 

 a pore at the top ; style elongated, three-sided ; 

 berry three-celled, three-seeded. These are plants 

 of no beauty, but curious in form. They grow in 

 any light soil, and are increased bv division. 



'DRACOPHYLLUM (R. Brown). A genus of 

 handsome shrubs, natives of New Holland. Linncean 

 class and order, Pcntnndria Monogynia, and natural 

 order Epacridccc. Generic character : calyx five- 

 parted ; corolla tubular ; limb beardless, five-cleft ; 

 stamens below the germen, or fixed to the base of 

 the corolla ; anthers fixed by the back ; style simple; 

 stigma three-lobed ; five scales below the germen ; 

 capsule with a central placenta. These plants grow 

 well in the common compost of moor-earth, sand and 

 loam, and are propagated by cuttings. 



DRAGON-FLY Adder-bolt, or Horse-stinger. 

 The ordinary names by which numerous large species 

 of neuropterous insects, composing the families Libel- 

 lulidcc and AgrionidcE, are distinguished. Wherefore 

 such names as these should have been bestowed upon 

 the most harmless of insects we know not ; by the 

 French, the superior gallantry of whom is exhibited 

 even in the naming of an insect, they are termed De- 

 moiselles, from their elegant form and the delicacy of 

 their wings, which are transparent as gauze, often 

 ornamented with coloured spots, and exhibit, when 

 viewed in different lights, all the iridiscent tints of 

 the rainbow. 



The structural characters of this group of insects 

 will of course be given under the systematic name, 

 we therefore proceed to their natural history. 



Nothing can be more beautiful than to watch these 

 brilliant insects on a fine summer's day skimming' 

 over some standing water, and darting backwards and 

 forwards. The object of this continual flight is the 

 discovery and capture of small flies and other insects, 

 which constitute their food. Like the swallows, which 

 are their analogues, they have a mouth capable of 

 much distension, and the long abdomen acting as a 

 rudder enables them to effect the most perfect move- 

 ments in the air, so that an insect when observed has 

 but little chance of escape. Flies, moths, and even 

 butterflies are seized, and the Libelhda may often be 

 seen flying about with a large insect in its mouth, 

 more than equal in size to its own head. It is owing 

 to the numbers of insects frequenting such situations, 

 as well as to the circumstance that the Jjbellulee 

 are produced from aquatic larva?, that they are so 



