LOTUS LOUSE. 



also darker than the rest of the body. During the 

 day, and indeed at all times if it is fed in confine- 

 ment, it is a slow and indolent animal, and seldom 

 moves ; and when it makes an effort at running either 

 from danger or to its food, that effort is a very feeble 

 one. It is by no means a vicious animal, and though 

 it is not easy to stimulate its instincts, it does not 

 appear to be so stupid as it is slow. It remains in 

 concealment during- the day, but as the evening closes 

 in it begins to move, grasping from branch to branch, 

 and watching around it with apparent, eagerness. It 

 is said to prey upon the ground as well as among 

 the brandies ; and when it spies a prize on a large 

 branch, or on the ground, it creeps along perfectly 

 motionless till within a short distance ; then it elevates 

 itself on the hind legs, advances a little quicker, seizes 

 the prey between the fore ones, and speedily grasps 

 it to death. Some which have been kept as curiosi- 

 ties have fed upon milk and ripe fruits, but they 

 always preferred birds and the larger insects when 

 these could be procured. 



THE SLENDKR LORI (L. racilis). This is a much 

 smaller animal than the former, and also more re- 

 markable for the-slenderness of its limbs. It possesses 

 also some of the general characters which we have 

 mentioned, though in greater perfection than the 

 former one, such as the elevation of the point of the 

 nose, and the projection of it beyond the u;>per lip ; 

 but we believe the two middle incisors are not so 

 often undeveloped, or at all events wanting in the 

 upper jaw, so as to occasion the vacant space to 

 which allusion has been made. This species inhabits 

 the island of Ceylon, and various other places in that 

 neighbourhood ; and the name is said to have been 

 first given to it by the Dutch. Its general colour is 

 brownish yellow on the tipper part, aud greyish on 

 the under, with a reddish brown spot surrounding 

 each eye, but without the dorsal line which charac- 

 terises* the other. Its size is rather less than the 

 other species, being about that of a squirrel ; its 

 covering is remarkably soft, and it is altogether a 

 verv delicate animal. One which died a few years 

 ago in the gardens of the Zoological Society measured 

 between eight and nine inches in the body, five and 

 a half in the hind extremities, and five in the fore 

 ones, the difference being between the thigh bones 

 and the bones of the arms. 



The loris are altogether singular creatures, and 

 whether we judge of them by their structure or their 

 habits, it is not very easy to assign, with accuracy, 

 their place in the system of the mammalia. As we 

 have said, their chief resemblance is to the lemurs ; 

 but then the lemurs themselves stand alone as a group. 

 It does not appear that these creatures bear much 

 analogy to any others which are found in the eastern 

 islands, and especially in continental India ; and 

 therefore we must regard them as in a great measure 

 forming one of those detached groups which we now 

 and then meet with, more especially in countries 

 having great peculiarities of climate ; and of which 

 we can neither assign the proper place, nor point out 

 the structural advantages, until we have obtained an 

 internal knowledge of all the peculiarities of the 

 climates and their causes. 



LOTUS (Linnaeus). An extensive genus of 

 creeping herbs and under-shrubs, chiefly natives of 

 Europe. Four or five species are found in Britain, 

 where they are known as the bird's-foot trefoil. The 

 flowers are papilionaceous, and belong to Lrgirmi- 



nosae. The loti resemble the clovers in their general 

 properties, but do not seem to be so acceptable as food 

 to cattle. The pods of L. edul'is are esteemed in 

 Caiidia and Barbary, and those of L. Gebelia are 

 eaten by the Arabs, being dressed when young as 

 French beans are in Europe. 



LOUREIRA (Cavanille.) A genus of evergreen 

 Mexican shrubs belonging to Euphorbiaccce. They 

 are treated as greenhouse plants, grow freely in a 

 mixture of loam and moor earth, and are increased 

 by cuttings. 



LOUSE. The generic English name given to 

 several small species of apterous insects, belonging to 

 the order Anoplura, and family Pcdiculidcc, which are 

 parasitic upon man and various animals, and distin- 

 guished by having the mouth composed of a short 

 tubular proboscis or haustellum, by which they are 

 separated from the bird-lice, ^irniulee, which have 

 the mouth mandibulated. Notwithstanding the dis- 

 gusting nature of these insects, the writer on natural 

 history ought not to be deterred from entering into a 

 notice of their peculiarities, especially since, in seve- 

 ral respects, they afford several interesting grounds 

 of inquiry. Thus in respect to their situation in the 

 systems of entomology, we find them a constant 

 source of difficulty. They are entirely wingless, and 

 the mouth in the species now under examination is 

 rostrated, whilst in the bird-lice it is mandibulated ; 

 and yet the habits of the two groups are so identical, 

 that this variation in the structure of the mouth 

 (which in the true winged insects is considered as 

 sufficient to warrant the establishment of the two 

 classes Mandibulata and Haustellata) cannot be re- 

 garded as affording characters of a higher rank than 

 those belonging to the family groups. Dr. Nitzsch, a 

 celebrated German writer upon these insects, has, 

 however, actually united them, from the structure of 

 the mouth, with two distinct orders of winged insects, 

 calling the former Henaptera-epizQica and the latter 

 Orthoptera-ejrizoica. Some authors again have regarded 

 them as forming a distinct order of insects, which was 

 named Parasita, whilst by others they were not deemed 

 to belong to insects at all, but were placed with the 

 Centipedes and spring-tailed insects, in a distinct class 

 named Ametabola. Hence it is evident that the cor- 

 rect location of this group of insects demands an 

 intimate acquaintance not only with this and all the 

 other insect tribes, but also a just appreciation of the 

 principles which regulate the distribution of the annu- 

 lose sub-kingdom. Referring to our article INSECT, 

 where we have somewhat concisely entered upon this 

 subject, we pass to the account of the chief species of 

 PettteuKcUe. Of these the Pediculus hitinan/is, or body 

 louse, is of a whitish colour, and almost destitute of 

 markings. This species is very abundant in various 

 parts of Europe, although rare in this country. It 

 frequents the garments and bodies of persons of dirty 

 habits, being exceedingly abundant in the lowest 

 classes in Poland and Russia, Portugal, and Spain. 

 The species which is most abundant in this country 

 is the Pediculus cervicalus, or head louse, which is 

 marked on each side of the body by a dark line, and 

 infubits the heads of children and dirty persons, 

 piercing the skin and sucking the blood. They are 

 easily extracted by a fine tooth comb, or are destroyed 

 by rubbing calomel mixed with bears' grease into the 

 roots of the hair. Its eggs or nits are small pear- 

 shaped bodies, termed nits, which are attached near 

 the base of the hair by a glutinous substance. Swam- 



