TIG RID I A TINE I 



803 



minute examination than has hitherto been given to 

 them. There is'an interesting memoir upon their 

 curious mode of ovi position contained in the last 

 part of the Annales de la Societe Entornologique de 

 France. 



TIGRIDI A (Jacquin). A genus of bulbs, natives 

 of Mexico, bearing remarkably curious, though fugi- 

 tive, flowers, belonging to the class Monadelphia of 

 Linnaeus, and to the natural order Iridacece. The 

 plants flower well in the open air ; and, as soon as the 

 flowering is over, the bulbs must be taken out of the 

 ground, and hung up in a dry warm room all winter, 

 and replanted in spring, when all danger of frost is 

 over. 



TILIA (Linnaeus). A genus of deciduous timber 

 trees, commonly called the lime or linden-tree. The 

 flowers are polyandrous, and the genus ranges among 

 the order to which it gives a title, viz. : 



TILLIACE/E. A natural order, containing twelve 

 genera and above seventy-seven species. The order 

 consists of trees, shrubs, and many worthless herbs, 

 none of which are remarkable for the beauty of their 

 flowers, though some are fragrant. The lime is a 

 forest-tree ; and Sparrmannia and Entclea, as green- 

 house plants, are amongst the most conspicuous in 

 the order. In general the leaves are simple, alter- 

 nate, and with deciduous stipules. The inflorescence 

 is axillary or terminal, racemose or paniculate, seldom 

 solitary, and the flowers are regular and united. The 

 calyx is formed of four or ri ve sepals, free or connate, 

 and valvate in aestivation. The petals are equal in 

 number to the sepals, and alternate with them, com- 

 bined at the base, or free. The stamens are indefi- 

 nite and distinct, filaments often sterile, anthers two- 

 celled, and opening lengthwise. The gerrnen is 

 formed of from two to ten carpels. The style, when 

 present, either free or united, and with the stigmas 

 equal in number to the carpels. The fruit is dry, or 

 like berries, of several cells, or by abortion one-celled. 

 The bark of most of these plants is tough and strong, 

 easily separable into layers, and from which mats, 

 baskets, and cords are made. Lime-trees grow to a 

 very large size ; the timber is light, soft, smooth, 

 close-grained, and not liable to be worm-eaten, and 

 therefore fit for carvers and toymen. The flowers 

 are the resort of bees, and the honey extracted is 

 highly esteemed, and called Kowno honey. It is 

 propagated by layers, cuttings, and seeds. 



TILLANDSIA (Linnaeus). A genus of rigid- 

 leaved herbs, natives of the warmer parts of the tropics. 

 The flowers are hexandrous, and the genus belongs 

 to BromeliacecB. They are easily grown in the stove, 

 and increase themselves bv suckers. 



TILLID/E (Leach). "See CLKRID*. 



TILLUS (Olivier). A genus of coleopterous in- 

 sects, belonging to the family Clcridce, having the an- 

 tennae terminated by a serrated mass, the last joint of 

 the labial palpi large and securiform, and the third 

 and fourth joints of the tarsi dilated. The species 

 are not numerous, and are found on the trunks of old 

 trees, or in decaying stumps. There are three British 

 species, the type being the Ckrysomela clongata of 

 {Linnaeus. 



TIN. A mineral known and employed for useful 

 purposes from the remotest ages. Tin was in com- 

 mon use in the time of Moses, and was obtained at a 

 very early period from Spain and Britain by the 

 Phoenicians. The native oxide is the principal ore 

 of tin, and the metal is obtained by heating it to red- 



ness with charcoal. It is found in abundance in 

 Cornwall, Spain, and Saxony, as well as in the East 

 Indies and South America. Its primitive crystal is 

 an obtuse octohedron, of which the modifications are 

 extremely numerous. It may be proper to add, that, 

 in some of the valleys of Cornwall, tin is found in 

 rounded nodules, mixed with pebbles and fragments 

 of rock. 



TINEIDJ2 (Stephens; PHALJENA TINEA p., 

 Linnceus), A very numerous family of lepidopterous 

 insects, having the wings more or less convoluted 

 when at rest ; the palpi generally four in number, 

 the maxillary pair being often exposed and very dis- 

 tinct ; the front of the head is clothed with long and 

 erect scales forming a kind of crest ; the antennas 

 often ciliated internally, and never exceeding the 

 body in length ; the usual colour of the upper wings 

 being rather sombre, white, ochre or buff' being the 

 most prevalent colours, metallic tints being seldom 

 found amongst them ; the posterior wings are gene- 

 rally plain. Such are the characters by which Mr. 

 Stephens separates a portion of the Linnaean Tmeae 

 from the Yponomeulidte , amongst which latter are 

 placed the Japan moths with long horns (Adel<B\ and 

 many minute and splendid species ornamented with 

 metallic markings. But the study of the minute 

 Lepidoptera, as regards the relations of the different 

 groups, may be said to be yet in its infancy. It is 

 true that the figures of many species have been pub- 

 lished, in which the markings of the wings are accu- 

 rately displayed ; but the real structure of the insect 

 in its various details, as the position of the wing- 

 nerves, the antennae, parts of the mouth, legs, c. ; 

 but, above all, the transformations of the different 

 species, have been so much neglected, that it is im- 

 possible to construct at present any thing like a true 

 classification of these tribes ; and hence it is that we 

 find in the works of Curtis and Stephens the greatest 

 disagreement, not only as respects the outlines of the 

 families, but even of the genera. In this case, there- 

 fore, it would be useless to give a list of the genera. 

 It will be sufficient to mention that the most con- 

 spicuous genera placed in the family by Stephens, 

 are Gallcria, Fabricius ; Ilithyia, Latreillc ; Phycita, 

 Curtis; (Pltyc'is, Fabricius, &c.); Crambus, Fabricius; 

 Yptolophutt Fabricius ; Lampronia, Stephens ; Gracil- 

 laria, Haworth; and Tinea. Some of these have been 

 already noticed under their respective names. The 

 typical genus Tinea, as restricted by Stephens and 

 Curtis, comprises the species generally known under 

 the name of clothes'-moths, which have the head 

 very woolly, or rather furnished with a crest of elon- 

 gated erect scales ; the wings incumbent in repose 

 and glossy ; the maxillary palpi are as long as the 

 maxillae ; the larvae of these insects are very de- 

 structive to woollen cloths, feathers, furs, &c., which 

 they feed upon, making cases of these materials in 

 which they reside. Amongst the species of this genus 

 (which comprises fifteen British species), the Tinea 

 tapetzella, vcstianella, pcllionella, and destructor, are 

 the most obnoxious. The proceedings of these larvae 

 in the construction of their tube-like abodes have 

 been detailed by Reaumur and others, and which 

 are made closely to fit the body of the caterpillar, 

 and are enlarged from time to time according to its 

 growth. This is effected by adding to its length bits 

 of materials upon which it feeds, so that by causing 

 it to feed upon stuffs of different colours, its case 

 assumes the appearance of a Scotch plaid, as well as 

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