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IANTHINA IBI&. 



IANTHINA (Lamarck; HELIX, Linnaeus). 

 This singular shell was confounded by Linnaeus with 

 the genus Helix, the impropriety of which may at 

 once be pointed out by stating that the lantldna is a 

 marine, and all the Helices are terrestrial molluscs 

 in general form, also, it varies from the Helix in many 

 respects when examined with any thing beyond a cur- 

 sory glance. The shell is extremely fragile thin, 

 transparent, and imbued throughout its substance with 

 a beautiful violet colour. The form is round and 

 ventricose, the whorls slightly angular, spire obtuse, 

 columella straight and continued below the base of 

 the right side, occasioning an angle to be formed at 

 the lower part of the aperture ; a sinus or notch 

 exists in the margin of the lip, but it is seldom met 

 with in a perfect state from the extreme delicacy of 

 the shell ; and some authors are of opinion that it 

 only occurs in the female species. These shells are 

 found floating on the surface of the sea, suspended by 

 a bladder-like appendage attached to the animal's foot, 

 and closing the aperture of the shell in the manner of 

 an operculum ; from this a violet liquor is emitted 

 when the animal is touched or injured, whence the 

 name of the genus is derived. Many naturalists were 

 of opinion that this vesicular appendage contained 

 the eggs of a future generation ; but this appears 

 unlikely, as every species is furnished with it ; and if 

 the assertions of the late Sir Everard Home are to 

 be credited, he has seen the eggs of this mollusc dis- 

 persed on the exterior of the shell, and thus carried 

 to a certain period of their development, which he 

 adduces as one of the few instances known, of any 

 thing like a superior instinct being exhibited by mol- 

 luscous animals in the care of their progeny. The 

 facts cannot, however, long remain doubtful, as one 

 species is not very rare in our seas, though the other 

 inhabits the warmer latitudes. Supposing the notch 

 in the lip of the shell to constitute a distinction of sex, 

 no subdivision of the genus would be necessary ; and 

 as there are but three or four species known, that ques- 

 tion cannot, as yet, be conclusively answered till fur- 

 ther observation shall have determined the position 

 of the eggs, and proved, as appears most likely, that 

 the bladder-formed appendage to the animal's foot is 

 merely a wise and necessary provision of nature to 

 assist locomotion, since without it the specific gravity 

 of the shell would be greater than the medium through 

 which it is seen to travel or become suspended. Some 

 of the aquatic insects are beautifully provided with 

 the faculty of expelling small air-bladders to their 

 covering, by which their rise to the surface of the 

 water is facilitated, or altogether accomplished ; 

 and the absence of such a provision as that we 

 speak of in the anitnal found in the Argonauta, has 

 been often urged in evidence of its being a pirate, 

 and not the " architect of its fairy boat." That 

 the wisdom of the Almighty Creator of all things is 

 manifested as much in the smallest work of nature as 

 in her stupendous productions, all rational beings will 

 confess but to fathom the full extent of that wisdom, 

 is not allotted to man ; all he can do is by patient 

 investigation and continued reasoning to assign some 

 probable effect to certain natural indications, and this 

 leads him to the beautiful results of a knowledge of 

 comparative anatomy, and a greater reverence towards 

 Him, who said, Let it be, and it was. 

 . 1BERIS (Linnaeus). A genus of annual and bien- 

 nial herbs, and perennial under shrubs, mostly natives 

 of the south of Europe. They belong to Cniciferce, 



and are well known by the name of candy-tuft, so 

 frequent in every flower border. /. odorata is fra- 

 grant as well as pretty, and the whole genus is remark- 

 able for the cruciform corolla becoming irregular, the 

 two outer petals of the external flowers in its dense 

 corymbose panicles being longer than their fellows, 

 and even ligulate. 



IBIS. A genus of Echassiers, or stilt birds, be- 

 longing to the family of birds with long bills, and 

 resembling the curlews more than any other genus. 

 They are of larger size, however, and, generally 

 speaking, inhabit warmer countries, where they fre- 

 quent the margins of the larger rivers. The true 

 ibis appears to be confined to the eastern continent, 

 though the American genus, Tantalus, which agrees 

 with it in many habits, and answers the same pur- 

 poses in that quarter of the world, as the ibis does 

 in the east, has sometimes been confounded with it. 

 The characters of the genus are : the bill long, slen- 

 der, arched, enlarged at the base, and depressed at 

 the tip, which is rounded and obtuse ; the upper 

 mandible furrowed with deep nasal groves for its 

 whole length ; the nostrils placed in the base of the 

 upper mandible, and partially covered by a mem- 

 brane which also lines the nasal grove ; the front, 

 and often part of the head covered with naked skin ; 

 the feet very slender, and having a naked garter 

 above the tarsal joint ; four toes on the feet, of which 

 the middle and upper ones have pretty large webs, 

 and the middle and inner shorter ones, and the hind 

 toe sufficiently long for touching the ground. Some 

 species, however, have the tarsi short and with reti- 

 culated scales, and these have the tarsi and also the 

 bill comparatively stout. The others have the tarsi 

 shielded with plates, and their bills are in general 

 smaller. 



SACRED IBIS (7 ireligiosa). This bird has been 

 very celebrated from comparatively remote antiquity, 

 for its real or supposed services to the ancient Egyp- 

 tians, in destroying offensive and poisonous reptiles, 

 and generally for scavengers' work done about the 

 temples and houses. For these reasons it was ad- 

 mitted into the temples themselves among the 

 numerous other animal gods of the Egyptians ; and 

 mummies of it were preserved with the same assiduous 

 labour of embalming as those of men and monkeys. 

 Notwithstanding this ancient celebrity, however, and 

 the pains which were taken to perpetuate specimens 

 of the carcass of this animal, those schemes did not 

 accomplish their purpose ; and in times comparatively 

 modern, there have not only been disputes about 

 which species is the sacred ibis ; but some have con- 

 trived to mystify the matter to such an extent, that, 

 if we did not possess the living bird to which we can 

 appeal for its own history, we should have remained 

 ignorant as to what bird received those high honours 

 in the olden time. 



Bruce was the first who, in modern times, gave an 

 accurate account of the bird ; but it was not until 

 other evidence had been produced in corroboration 

 of his statements, that he received the credit to which 

 he is so well entitled. This bird is not confined to 

 Egypt, but is very generally distributed throughout 

 Africa It is a bird about the size of a common fowl, 

 with the plumage entirely white, except the quills, 

 the points of which are black, and the last coverts of 

 the wings have long and slender barbs also of a black 

 colour, and with violet reflections, which hang down 

 over the extremities of the closed wines and the tail ; 



