HETEROPTERIS 



1. The Melasoma, having the elytra hard, claws ' 

 simple, maxillae with a hook, wings generally 

 wanting. Families PimcliidtE, JBlapsida:, Tene- 

 brionidtz. 



2. The Taxicornet, having the elytra Hard, claws 

 simple, maxillae without a hook, wings present, 

 antennae perfoiiated or clavate. Families, Diape- 

 ridce, Cossyphidce. 



3. The Slenelytra, having the elytra hard, claws 

 simple or toothed, wings present, antenna- sim- 

 ple. Families, Helopidce, C'lstclldoE, SerropalpidoE, 

 CEdeniendtE, and Mycteridee. 



4. The Trachelides. Elytra flexible, claws bifid, 

 wincrs present, head inserted upon a neck. Tyi- 



! -la, Pyrochroa, Mordella, A.ttfac'Ji, 

 Horia, and JMeloe. 



HETEROPTERIS (Humboldt). A genus of 

 climbing and shrubby plants, natives of tropical 

 America, belonging to Malpighiaceez. Some of them 

 are handsome and easilv propagated. 



HE UC HER A (Linnaeus). A genus of North 

 American perennial herbs belonging to SajnfragecE. 

 The 1 in any light soil in the open borders. 



HEYNEA (Roxburgh). Indian ornamental trees 

 belonging to the 3Ieliace<. They are in our stove 

 collections, and are propaged bv ctittinss. 



HiBBERTI A (Andrews) "A genus of climbing 

 evergreen and deciduous shrubs, natives of New Hol- 

 land, named in honour of George Hibbert, Esq., a 

 distinguished collector of plants. Class and order 

 Polyandria Trigynia, and natural order Dilleniaceae. 

 Generic character : calyx of five persisting sepals ; 

 corolla of five petals ; stamens seated below the ger- 

 inen. filaments filiform, bearing oblong anthers ; styles 

 three or five, diverging and bent ; seed-vessels seve- 

 ral united, membranaceous, one or two-seeded. These 

 are rather showy plants, with yellow tiowers, but 

 evolving a disagreeable scent. They are extremely 



of culture in the greenhouse. 



HIBISCUS (Linnaeus). An extensive genus of 



arborescent, suffruticose, and herbaceous plants found 



in every quarter of the world. Among themselves, 



the H'jjucii assume so many forms that botanists 



have divided them into twelve sections. They have 



generally showy, some of them magnificent, flowers, 



and form an interesting group in the natural order 



acece. Several species have been employed in 



medicine and domestic economy. The stems of 



almost the whole consist of strong and tough fibres, 



so that they have been manufactured into cords and 



whips, such especially 05 H. carmabimu, arboreus, cly- 



peaiut, and mutabilut. The leaves of the two former 



are also eatable, and those of H. esculentus, as well as 



lit, are esteemed as food in the Levant The 



petals of H. rota sinensis are astringent, and are em- 



~A bv the Chinese to make a black dye for their 



hair and" eyebrows, and a blacking for shoes. The 



aromatic seeds of H. abelmoschut have, been much 



J as stomachics, and they are added as a cordial 



by the Arabians t _ their coffee. The mucilage pro- 



i from the root of H. maiuhot is used in Japan 



id to give a proper consistence to paper. 



hole are easy of propagation. 



HICKORY TREE is the Carya alba of Nuttall, 



a ge rth American timber trees, formerly 



called Juglant iquamota of Poire t. 



!UM (Linnaeus), An extensive genus 

 chiefly European, vulgarly known by the 



H I M A N T O P U S. 745 



name of hawkweed. They are chiefly perennials, 

 and found every where in meadows and drv pastures. 

 Their colour is yellow, and resemble the" flowers of 

 the dandelion, only more numerous and much smaller. 

 A few of them, particularly the H. fruticosum, a half 

 shrubby one from Madeira, is esteemed as a green- 

 house plant, but the generality are mere weeds. They 

 belong to the natural order Composite. 



HIMANTOPUS Stilt or Longshanks. A very 

 singularly formed bird, arranged by Cuvier in the 

 snipe section of long-billed wading birds, but which 

 does not appear to range very correctly in this part 

 of the system, at least if we are to consider the order 

 in the ordinary acceptation of GralltE, or wading birds. 

 Cuviers Echassiers is not indeed so objectionable as 

 GralUe, but it is only not objectionable because it is 

 not definite, unless the subdivision lead us in some 

 way to the haunts of the birds. Indeed the birds 

 under consideration are so peculiar that it is not easy 

 to say what should be their place in the arrange- 

 ment. 



The generic characters are : the bill long, slender, 

 i depressed in the basal part, but compressed toward 

 i the tip ; the nasal channel, extending half the length 

 i of the bill, and the nostrils of a lineal shape and long ; 

 j the legs very long, much more so in proportion to 

 their length than in any other bird, and as dispropor- 

 tionately slender as they are long. It is from this 

 that the bird is called Hnnantopus, which means " cord 

 legs," the legs being feeble and flexible as well as 

 long. The feet have three toes, all turned to the 

 | front, the outer and middle ones being united with a 

 broad membrane at their bases, and the inner and 

 middle ones by a very small membrane. It is not 

 easy to point out the kind of surface for which such 

 feet are best adapted ; but the birds are most fre- 

 quently seen in waste and sandy places near the 

 banks of rivers and the shores of salt lakes. The 

 wings are also remarkable for having the primary 

 quills much longer than any of the others. There 

 are at least two species, one of the eastern continent 

 and the other of America. 



COMMON STILT (H. mektnopterus). Top of the 



, head, back, and wings, black, with green reflections 



in the male only ; tail dusky grey ; and all the rest 



j of the plumage" white, except a few streaks of >'. 



' grey on the hind part of the neck. The bill is about 



two* inches and a half long, the head and neck four, the 



body four and a half, and the tail two. The legs, 



! whe'n stretched out, extend at least five inches beyond 



the tail ; they are bare of feathers for two or three 



inches, and are of a pale red colour, as are also the 



irides. The win?s are long and much pointed, and 



the bird is evidently well fitted for flight. The body 



of the bird is Tightly and handsomely formed, and the 



colour of its neck is particularly graceful. 



British bird, the stilt is a very occasional straggler ; 



! and we are thus ignorant of its habits. On the con- 



' tinent it is much more common, and therefore its 



," habits are better known, though even there it is a 



< bird of desert places. 



But thoush not very often seen near the habitations 

 of man, it is"a bird very generally distributed. On the 

 eastern continent it is "found as far to the north as the 

 salt marshes in the south of Russia, and the confines 

 of Siberia. It is particularly abundant about the 

 shores of the Caspian Sea and the lake of Aral. It 

 is by no means rare in India, not only about the 



