376 



EBURNA-ECHASSIERS. 



supplied the place of these ox-hoofs in their trim-kept 

 gardens with the hollow claws of lobsters, which give 

 their borders a very droll appearance. 



As a set-off against the mischievous propensities of 

 these insects may be mentioned, the peculiar and 

 almost unique instance which the females afford of 

 maternal care for their young progeny. In general 

 the care taken and the labours undergone by female 

 insects in the construction of nests, are but the result 

 of instinct, the parent dying long before the birth of 

 her progeny ; but in the earwig the reverse of this 

 takes place. Not only do these females take great 

 care of their eggs, covering them over with their 

 bodies, brooding over them like a hen, and collecting 

 them with great care when scattered about, but show 

 great affection to the young when hatched. These 

 young ones differ only from their parents in their small 

 size, want of wings and wing-covers, and the slender- 

 ness and straightness of the forceps at the extremity 

 of the body. In the pupa state they are equally 

 active, and have the wings and wing-cases distinct, 

 but enclosed in flat sheaths of a small size applied 

 closely to the back. The attachment existing between 

 the parent and her young is reciprocal ; De Geer 

 having discovered a female in the month of June 

 under a stone sitting upon her progeny, which appeared 

 to be just hatched, and which nestled under their parent 

 like chickens under a hen. Having removed this 

 family into a box with earth, he observed that instead 

 of burrowing into the ground as might have been 

 expected, the young ones crowded under the body 

 and between the legs of their parent, who remained 

 quiet and allowed them to continue in this position 

 for hours together. He fed his captives with morsels 

 of ripe apple, upon which they thrived, casting their 

 skin several times like caterpillars. The parent did 

 not live long in confinement, and the young ones had 

 the cannibalism to eat the dead body of their parent. 

 After this the number of the brood diminished, with- 

 out any remains of the dead bodies being observed : 

 whence it is to be inferred that the survivors had also 

 devoured their dead bodies. This, however, would 

 most probably be occasioned by the want of their 

 proper food, as they never thus prey upon each other 

 in a state of nature. After the final moulting, the 

 wings are expanded to their full size, in which state 

 they are very beautiful objects, not only for their deli- 

 cate structure, but from the singular direction of the 

 nervures, which are quite unlike those of any other 

 insect. 



There are numerous species of earwigs, six or 

 seven of which are inhabitants of this country. Little 

 is, however, known of their habits. See FORFJCULA. 



EBURNA (Lamarck); BUCCINUM (Linnaeus). 

 Lamarck has separated this genus from the Linnaean 

 Buccinum, of which it formed a part : he was led to do 

 so in consequence of the peculiar characters of the 

 umbilicus and of the columella, which is prolonged 

 at the lower end, and forms a canal occupying the 

 remaining part of the left side. In almost every 

 other respect it possesses the same characters as the 

 buccinum. One species, the Eburna Zcylandica, is 

 remarkable for the spines with which the umbilicus is 

 filled, and they are only to be observed in that species. 

 The animal closely resembles that of the buccinum. 

 The writer has seen specimens of the genus Eburna, 

 in which the channel on the right side was quite closed 

 and concealed, in which state it had every character 

 of the buccinum. Those shells are found in the Indian 



seas principally, a few in the South seas, but no fossil 

 species have yet been discovered. 



ECASTAPHYLLUM (Browne). A genus of 

 tropical plants belonging to Diadelphia Decandrin, and 

 to the natural order Leguminosce. They are evergreen 

 shrubs, and are easy of culture, and easily raised from 

 cuttings. 



ECCREMOCARPUS (Ruiz and Pavon). A 

 genus of South Amerkan climbers, belonging to the 

 class Didynamia, and to the natural order JBignoniacece. 

 Generic character : calyx bell-shaped, limb of five 

 spreading divisions ; corolla tubular, swollen above, 

 throat contracted, limb consisting of five reflexed lobes -, 

 stamens included with the rudiment of a fifth ; anthers 

 free, fleshy, divided at the base ; style bearing a bila- 

 mcllated stigma; capsule oval, compressed, papery, 

 one-celled, two-valved ; seeds imbricated, with mem- 

 branaceous wings. These are very suitable climbers 

 for covering the columns in a greenhouse or conser- 

 vatory, as they are free flowerers, and easily managed 

 and propagated. 



ECHASSIERS stilt-birds. The fifth order into 

 which the feathered tribes are divided, in Baron 

 Cuvier's arrangement. For tke propriety of the name, 

 and the relations which they bear to the other orders, 

 we may refer the reader to the article BIRD. They 

 have the lower part of their thighs always naked, and 

 the tarsi are, generally speaking, long. These circum- 

 stances enable them to wade into the water without 

 wetting their plumage ; and as they in general fre- 

 quent only the shallows, there are few of them that 

 can swim. Some of them have the bill strong, and 

 these feed upon fishes and aquatic reptiles which they 

 seize in the water. Others have the bill feeble, and 

 they feed upon insects and worms. A few of them 

 also feed upon seeds and other vegetable substances, 

 and they are the species which inhabit farthest from 

 the waters. The greater number have the outer and 

 middle toe united by a membrane at the base, but the 

 inner toe is generally free, and the feet not adapted 

 for swimming. Sometimes, however, the toes are 

 emarginated with membrane ; and in many the hind 

 toe is entirely wanting, which in most is so short as 

 not to touch the ground when they walk. With the 

 exception of the ostriches, the cassowaries, the emus, 

 and some others, all the order are well-winged birds, 

 and thus capable of transporting themselves through 

 the air when it becomes necessary for them to shift 

 their pastures with the seasons. The short-winged 

 ones are those which are the least aquatic, but they 

 are very swift of foot, and capable of ranging very 

 freely on the surface of the ground in those parched 

 and semi-desert places on which they are most fre- 

 quently found. Those which are more aquatic in their 

 habits are generally migratory, either within the same 

 country, or from country to country, to a longer or 

 shorter distance, as circumstances may require. 



They are divided by Cuvier into five principal 

 families, and some isolated genera which do not very 

 properly come into any of the larger and more regular 

 divisions. The first family, Brcvipenncs (short wings), 

 includes the ostriches and the allied genera, the stru- 

 ihiones of many naturalists, together with the apteryx 

 and some others. The second family, Pressirostrex 

 (compressed bills), include the bustards, plovers, lap- 

 wings, oyster catchers, and several other genera. 

 The)' arc not in general fishing birds, though they 

 inhabit the moist grounds or the margins of the waters. 

 The greater number of them are birds of swift foot, 



