568 



branch ; but enough of attention has not been paid 

 to their anatomy for enabling us to ascertain whether 

 this is done wholly by muscular effort, or whether it 

 in part depends on an elastic ligament. They leap 

 from tree to tree, or at least from one branch to 

 another ; and the females which have pectoral 

 mammae, carry the young partly in the membrane 

 and partly embraced by one fore leg. 



There are several museum species ; but there is 

 not more than one real one very clearly made out. 

 It is about the size of a cat, reddish grey on the 

 upper part and reddish on the under ; but it is under- 

 stood that the young are differently coloured from 

 the old ones, and that they go through several 

 differences of colour before the\ r arrive at their full 

 growth. They are found in the Philippines, the 

 Pelew islands, and various other groups in the eastern 

 seas ; but it does not appear that they occur on the 

 main land of Asia. They are said to have a strong 

 and unpleasant odour ; but the islanders where they 

 are found seek after them with avidity, and eat their 

 flesh with considerable zest. They are different in 

 many respects from all other known animals, and not 

 the least singular part of their history is that they 

 are confined to so very limited a locality ; and that 

 we have no reason to suppose that they are in any 

 way a remnant of a race which had once been more 

 widely distributed and consisted of more species ; 

 for the islands which they inhabit cannot be regarded 

 as remains of a former continent ; but are rather 

 independent formations of more recent date than even 

 the continent of Asia. We want more information 

 respecting them for any thing like scientific detail. 



GALERUCID^E, a family of herbivorous beetles 

 belonging to the section Tetramcra, and sub-section 

 Cyclica of Latreille, and nearly allied to the Chryso- 

 melida (which see, for general observations on those 

 groups), but distinguished by having the antennae in- 

 serted close together, and exposed at the base, the 

 joints being sub-cylindrical, with the terminal ones 

 generally somewhat thickened ; the body is oval, or 

 rounded, and the palpi have the terminal joint more 

 or less conical. These insects, which are generally 

 of a small, or but of moderate size, are herbivorous in 

 their larva and perfect state ; the typical species seem 

 to prefer aquatic plants, and herbs growing in damp 

 situations, upon which we have found some of the 

 larvae ; whilst others are found upon plants in hedges 

 and fields, especially preferring the Cruciate. The 

 genera are Adorium, Adimonia, Auchenia, Lupei-us, 

 Calomicrus, Galeruca, and Haltica, with the numerous 

 sub-generic divisions of the latter genus, which com- 

 prises the troublesome turnip-fly (Haltica nemorum). 

 (See HALTICA.) The typical genus Galeruca (Geof- 

 froy), comprises those species which have the legs of 

 equal size, the hinder pair not being formed for leap- 

 ing ; the antenna? with short sub-conical joints, the 

 second being only half the length of the third ; the 

 elytra are oval and convex. The species of this 

 genus are rather numerous, and of dull colours. The 

 typical species, Gal. tanaceti (Linnxus), being entirely 

 black and rugose ; it is rather common, and creeps 

 very slowly. It takes firm hold, however, upon the 

 plants on which it is found, by means of the cushions 

 with which the underside of the feet are furnished. 

 It varies in length from one-third to half an inch. 

 There are twelve other British species. 



GALIUM (Linnaeus), an extensive genus of Euro- 

 pean annual, biennial, and perennial weeds, some of 



GALERUCID.E GALLINID^. 



which are, however, pretty, and frequently met with 

 ornamenting waste grounds or drv banks, and fami- 

 liarly known by the name of ladies' bed-straw. The 

 G. aparine, or cleavers, is one of our most common 

 hedge-bank plants, and well known from the circum- 

 stance of its seed-vessels or burs cleaving to the dress 

 of persons coming in contact with it. It belongs to 

 the natural order of Rubiacece. 



GALLINID^E (poultry, and birds resembling 

 poultry). A very numerous and well defined order 

 of birds, consisting of numerous genera, and probably 

 in strict systematic arrangements, of several distinct 

 families ; but we shall be enabled to shorten our de- 

 scription of them, by bringing into this article the 

 whole, except such as we have already described in 

 the articles ARGUS, CURASSOW, and some others. In 

 Cuvier's system, the pigeons and doves are included 

 as a section of the order ; but they are sufficiently 

 distinct and peculiar for being made the subject of a 

 separate description and we shall include them all in 

 one general article, PIGEON, which will be found in 

 \ its place in the alphabet. 



In the meantime, therefore, we have to deal only 

 with the GallinidtE properly so called ; and we shall 

 first offer a few remarks on the general characters of 

 the order, and then enumerate the leading genera, 

 adding particular descriptions of those species which 

 may appear to be most worthy of attention. The 

 legs of these birds are all formed for walking, and the 

 upper parts are, accordingly, well supplied with mus- 

 cles ; but the muscles in them are not so completely 

 concentrated upon the legs, as they are in the ostrich 

 family, and other birds which have no power of flight. 

 On the other hand, the gallinidai, though not in any 

 ca50 birds of long flight, are remarkable for the faci- 

 lity with which they can take the wing, and also 

 descend. The peculiar structure of their wings, as 

 adapted for the accomplishment of those purposes, 

 will be found explained in the article BIRD ; and we 

 shall, probably, have occasion, in the sequel of this 

 article, to advert to some of the variations of structure 

 which characterise particular genera or species. The 

 front toes are mostly united at their base by a short 

 membrane, and toothed along their margin ; the upper 

 mandible arched, the nostrils pierced in a broad mem- 

 branous space at the base of the bill, and partially 

 covered with a cartilaginous scale. They have short 

 wings, a heavy gait, a bony sternum, diminished by 

 two notches, so deep and broad that they occupy 

 nearly all its sides ; its ridge obliquely truncated for- 

 wards, so that the sharp point of the fork is united to 

 it only by a ligament ; circumstances which, by greatly 

 weakening the pectoral muscles, render their flight 

 laborious. The general number of the tail feathers is 

 fourteen, but it varies from that to eighteen or twenty. 

 From the structure of their larynx being simple, their 

 note is seldom agreeable. Their crop is very wide, 

 and they have a very vigorous gizzard. Nearly the 

 whole of the species lay and hatch their eggs on the 

 ground, on bits of straw, or herbage carelessly put 

 together. 



In many of the genera, though not in all, the males 

 are polygamous, each having a number of females in 

 his train ; and as is the case with all birds which have 

 this habit, the males fight battles of gallantry with 

 great courage and determination, and the females, as 

 is also the case in the other races, fall to the lot of 

 the victor. This peculiarity in polygamous birds has 

 never been very satisfactorily explained upon physio- 



