48 



STrcatfurg ol Natural n 



ninus Nucum, or Nut- Weevil, whose larva is 

 so commonly found in nuts, filberts, &c. The 

 egg is introduced when the nut is young and 

 soft ; and the nut being but slightly injured, 

 continues to grow and ripen, while the larva 

 feeds upon the kernel in which it is im- 

 bedded. When about to change its state, it 

 bores through the shell and escapes, leaving 

 a small round orifice: falling on the ground, 

 it then burrows into the earth, where it as- 

 sumes the pupa state, and in the following 

 summer it conies forth as a perfect insect. 



BALANUS. A genus of multivalve Cir- 

 ripedes, usually found adhering to various 

 submarine productions, whether fixed or 

 moveable ; such as the harder sea-plants and 

 all sorts of crusta- 

 ceous as well as 

 testaceous ani- 

 mals, rocks, ships, 

 timber, &c. The 

 shell shapes itself 

 at the base to the 

 figure of the sur- 

 face of whatever it 

 adheres to, and 

 from which it is 

 with difficulty re- 

 moved. It alto- 

 gether forms a 

 rude hollow cone. 

 The animal in- 

 closed in it is of 

 a very singular 

 structure : it has 

 twelve crooked 

 legs or arms, gar- 

 nished with a 

 great number of 

 hairs, which it 

 elevates on all 

 occasions ; besides eight others, inferior in 

 size and lower in position. In general the 

 Balani are considered ineligible as food : but 

 Capt. P. P. King speaks of some large kinds 

 (Balanus psittacus} on the southern parts of 

 the South American coast as forming a very 

 common and highly esteemed food of the 

 natives, the flesh equalling in richness and 

 delicacy that of the crab. He also says, it 

 occurs in large bunches, and presents some- 

 what of a cactus-like appearance. The 

 parent is covered by its progeny, so that 

 large branches are found composed of from 

 fifty to a hundred distinct individuals, each 

 of which becomes in its turn the foundation 

 of another colony. 

 BALD BUZZARD. [See OSPRET.] 

 BALEARIC CRANE. [See CRANE.] 

 BALTIMORE BIRD. [See ORIOLE.. 

 BAND-FISH. (Cepola.) This genus of 

 Acanthopterygious fishes is of a form so thin 

 and flat in proportion to its length, as to 

 have obtained among the ancient ichthyolo- 

 gists the name of Taenia or Riband-fish. One 

 species (C. Mediterranea) is a native of the 

 Mediterranean, and varies in length from 

 eighteen inches to three feet. The head is 

 short and rather truncated in front; the 

 mouth is wide, and the lower jaw longer 



than the upper, both being armed with sharp 

 curved teeth, of which there is a double row 

 in the lower jaw. The sides are extremely 

 compressed ; and the body, both above and 

 below, sharpens into a kind of carina or 

 ridge. The dorsal fin commences from the 

 back of the head, and is continued as far as 

 the tail ; the vent fin also extends nearly 

 throughout the whole length. The colour 

 of the body is bright silver, with a dusky 

 tinge above ; the sides are marked with a few 

 large reddish spots ; the fins are all of a pale 

 red colour, and the skin is covered with ex- 

 tremely small scales. It is predaceous, and 

 swims with great rapidity. 



Another species, found on our coasts, ( Ce- 

 pola rubcscens) is of a pale carmine colour, 

 and varies from ten to fifteen inches in 

 length. It is very smooth and slender, and 

 tapers very gradually from the head to the 

 tail. 



BANDICOOT. (Pcramelcs.-) A genus 

 of Marsupial animals, indigenous to Aus- 

 tralia, and in some respects analogous to 

 the Opossums and Kangaroos ; but the dis- 

 proportion between the fore and hind legs 

 is by no means so great, though sufficient 

 to make their gait rabbit-like, or a succes- 

 sion of leaps, rather than walking or run- 

 ning. Their feet are provided with broad 

 powerful claws, which enable them to bur- 

 row with great facility, and to dig up roots, 

 on which they principally feed. The most 

 common species is called the LONO-NOSKD 

 BANDICOOT (Perameles nasuta) : it mea- 

 sures about a foot and a half from the tip 

 of the snout to the origin of the tail ; the 

 ears are erect and pointed, the eyes small, 

 and the tail bearing considerable resemblance 

 to that of a large overgrown rat, to which 

 the whole animal, in fact, may be likened as 

 regards its general external appearance, as 

 well as its depredations upon the farm-yards 

 and granaries. 



BANXRING. [See TUPAIA.] 



BARB. The name given to a fleet and 

 vigorous breed of horses reared by the Moors 

 of Barbary, and introduced into Spain during 

 their dominion in that country, but since 

 their expulsion it has been allowed greatly 

 to degenerate ; nor is it much better in their 

 original clime, except among the wild no- 

 madic tribes of the desert, where the breed 

 still exists in perfection. But the Barb is 

 far from excelling in symmetrical beauty ; 

 the true value of these noble animals is to 

 be discovered in their qualities rather than 

 in their appearance. With a large and 

 clumsy head, a short thick neck, and a bioad 

 chest, are united a long body and slender 

 legs ; but, on the other hand, they are unri- 

 valled in speed, abstinence, docility, patience, 

 and endurance under fatigue. They are 

 sinewy, nervous, and long-winded ; they 

 walk well, and stop short, if required, even 

 In full career ; walking and galloping, in- 

 deed, being the only paces these animals are 

 allowed to practise. It is not customary, 

 except in cavalry exercises, for the Moors 

 to try the powers of their horses very severely ; 

 they then, however, gallop them at the height 



