808 



reasons desirable many more will be added to the 

 lists, and something known of their manners beyond 

 what we understand at present, which, it must be 

 supposed, lies within a very small compass. The ac- 

 count which we have given is little else than a mere 

 catalogue ; and we have not been able to say much 

 of their relations to the rest of nature, but it is all that 

 our limits will afford. 



HUMULUS (Linnaeus). A genus of plants. The 

 H. lupulus is the well known hop, a British plant, but 

 extensively cultivated for its use in manufacture of beer 

 and porter. The hop belongs to the order Urticece. 

 The specific denomination Lupulus is a corruption of 

 the old name Lupus salictarius, the willow wolf, as we 

 are informed by Pliny it formerly was called on 

 account of its growing amongst osiers, to which, by 

 twining round, overbearing, and choking them, it 

 becomes as destructive as the wolf to the flock. Our 

 English name, hop, evidently comes from the Anglo- 

 Saxon hoppan, to climb, and it is admirably descrip- 

 tive of the habit of the plant. 



Above fifty thousand acres in Kent, Sussex, and 

 Hereford, are estimated to be already in existence. 

 The duty on hops, with the uncertainty of the crops, 

 often raises them to an extravagant price ; hence the 

 temptation is great to substitute some other bitter for 

 the hop. This is, however, resisted by the excise 

 as a fraud on the revenue, but still more vehemently 

 resented by the public, who will tolerate, in theory, 

 no brewing save from genuine malt and hops. The 

 young shoots of the hop, blanched, are sometimes 

 eaten as asparagus, for which they form an excellent 

 substitute. From the bines a coarse sacking has been 

 made, and a yellow dye extracted. 



HURA (Linnaeus). A genus of South American 

 trees, called by the English sandbox-trees. They 

 belong to the order Eupfiorbiacece. They receive the 

 specific names, Strepens and Crepitans, from the noise 

 which is made by the elastic bursting of their capsules. 

 The sap contains, like that of the Excaecarics and 

 other EuphorbiacccE, caoutchouc, and is very acrid. 



HUTCHINSIA (R. Brown). Annual and peren- 

 nial herbs, natives of Europe, formerly ranked with 

 the Lepidiunis and Iberis, closely allied genera all 

 belonging to Crucifercs. 



HYACINTH (Linnaeus). A beautiful and much 

 esteemed bulbous bed-flower, belonging to the sixth 

 class of Linnaeus, and natural order Asphodeliee. 

 This genus has been long celebrated, not only for the 

 beautiful fable whence its name has been fancifully 

 derived, but also for the immense number of varieties 

 which culture has produced. Of the H. orientalis, 

 the common species, the Haarlem florists had at one 

 time upwards of two thousand varieties. These 

 bulbs, as well as those of the tulip and narcissus, 

 once formed a most valuable, and still a not import- 

 ant, branch of Dutch commerce. 



HYACINTH. This beautiful mineral was well 

 known to the ancients, who applied the same name 

 to common zircon, when it partook of the hyacinth- 

 red colour. It occasionally occurs in angular grains, 

 but is more frequently chrystallised, of which two 

 examples are given in the annexed diagrams. 



Hyacinth may readily be distinguished from the 

 garnet by its crystallisation, resinous lustre, distinct 

 cleavage, and great weight. It occurs in every 

 quarter of the globe, but some of the finest specimens 

 have been brought from the Island of Ceylon. This 

 tone readily loses its colour when exposed to the 



HUMULUS HYDR^N A. 



action of heat, and, in consequence of its great bril- 

 liancy, it is frequently substituted for the diamond, 



Hyacinth, 



the colour being first destroyed by the actrorr of the 

 blowpipe. It is, however, rarely found of a large 

 size. Small crystals of quartz, tinged with iron, are 

 found in Spain, and have been termed " Hyacinths 

 of Compostella." 



HYALCEA (Lamarck j AHOWIA TRIBJNTATA, 

 Linnaeus). This very extraordinary mollusc is of a 

 thin transparent horn-like substance, differing in that 

 respect from the common character of shells as they 

 are generally understood. Its form is trrcusprdated, 

 with hollow points, and finely striated transversely. 

 The valves are united, or, as it may familiarly be 

 termed, soldered together. They are unequal ; one 

 being sub-globular, ventricose, and anteriorly short- 

 ened, occasioning an aperture through which the 

 animal protrudes the two winged-shaped portions of its 

 body ; the other is larger, and has its under part 

 nearly flat. It has been fancifully called the Chariot 

 of Venus, from some resemblance it bears to the form 

 of a triumphal car in miniature ; and it has been 

 asserted that these molluscs have been seen sailing 

 before the breeze in little fleets ; that fact does not, 

 however, rest upon corroborating evidence, though 

 the substance of these molluscs render them peculiarly 

 fitted for such an exhibition, should it be hereafter 

 ascertained, by more frequent observation, that such 

 is the animal's habit of locomotion. Five or six spe- 

 cies have been described, all of them inhabiting the 

 warm latitudes ; and the genus Glandiolus, of D. 

 Montfort, is nearly allied to it in its general charac- 

 teristics. 



HYDATICUS (Leach). A genus of coleopter- 

 ous insects, belonging to the family of the predaceou* 

 water-beetles (Dyticidts) of a moderate size, having 

 the anterior tarsi dilated into a rounded patelliform 

 plate, the elytra smooth in both sexes, and the third 

 and fourth joints of the maxillary palpi of nearly equal 

 length. There are four British species, all of which 

 are of rare occurrence, the type being the Dyt. 

 transversalis, Fabricius. In their habits they do not 

 differ from the larger Dyticidce. 



HYDR^ENA (Kugellan). A curious genus of 

 minute coleopterous insects, belonging to the Hypo- 

 phagous water-beetles, and family Helophffridte, having 

 the maxillary palpi three times as long as the antennas, 

 by which character they are distinguished from the 

 remainder of the family. The species are found at 

 the roots of grass growing upon the margins of stand- 

 ing water and streams. Their legs are not formed 

 for swimming, and they creep but slowly. Mr. 

 George Waterhouse has lately published a valuable 



