-papular HOuttanarp of gmmatttr $atre. 321 



the head and the top of the first ring, which 

 are brown, and of a horny consistence. The 

 pupa state lasts only about a week, soon 

 after which the beetles come out of their 

 burrows. 



The leaves of the apple-tree in North Ame- 

 rica are inhabited, according to Dr. Harris, 

 by some of these little mining insects, which, 

 in the beetle state, are probably the Hispa 

 rosea, or rosy Ilispa. They are of a deep 

 tawny or reddish-yellow colour above, 

 marked with little deep red lines and spots. 

 The head is small, the antenna} are short, 

 and of a black colour ; the thorax is nar- 

 row before and wide behind, rough above, 

 striped with deep red on each side ; the 

 wing-covers taken together form an oblong 

 square ; there are three smooth longitudinal 

 lines or ribs on each of them, spotted with 

 blood red, and the spaces between these lines 

 are deeply punctured in double rows ; the 

 under side of the body is black, and the legs 

 are short and reddish. They measure about 

 one-fifth of an inch in length. These beetles 

 may be found on the leaves of the apple-tree 

 during the latter part of May and the be- 

 ginning of June. A small species is found 

 in this country (//. testacea). 



HISTER : HISTERIDvE ; or MIMIC 

 BEETLES. A genus and family of Coleop- 

 tera, which, from the power they possess of 

 contracting their limbs and counterfeiting 

 death, evidently derive their name from the 

 Latin word Histrio, a stage mimic. The 

 beetles belonging to this group are distin- 

 guished by the very hard consistence of the 

 body, which is generally of an oblong-quad- 

 rate form, and of a highly polished surface. 

 The antenna are short, elbowed, and ter- 

 minated by a large and solid club ; the 

 mandibles very robust, horny, and exserted ; 

 the maxillae elongated and bilobed ; the la- 

 bium bipartite and setose ; the palpi filiform ; 

 the legs more or less dentate, the two pos- 

 terior pairs being inserted widely apart ; 

 and the elytra generally short and truncate. 

 These insects seldom exceed a third of an 

 inch in length ; their colours are generally 

 black and shining ; some few have the elytra 

 ornamented with blood- coloured or pale buff 

 spots, or exhibit metallic tints. They creep 

 slowly, but fly well. They feed upon decay- 

 ing vegetable and animal matter, and are 



v; 



MIMIC BEETLE. (H13TER QUADRINOTA.TTJS.) 



found very abundantly in the spring in the 

 dung of horses and cows ; some species, 

 whose flattened bodies are admirably adapted 

 to their mode of life, reside beneath the 



bark of trees ; while some of the more mi- 

 nute species are constantly found as resi- 

 dents in ants' nests. The larvae are linear, 

 depressed, nearly smooth, of a soft consist- 

 ence, and white colour ; and feed upon the 

 same substance as the perfect insect. 



HOBBY. (Falco subbuteo.) A bird of 

 the long-winged Hawk kind, formerly used 

 in the humbler walks of falconry, chiefly for 

 larks and other small birds, which were 

 caught in a singular manner : when the 

 Hawk was cast off, the larks, keeping close 

 to the ground through fear, became an easy 

 prey to the fowler, who drew a net over 

 them. The Hobby is about twelve inches 

 in length ; has a prominent and crooked 

 bill ; the orbits of the eyes are yellow, and 

 over each eye is a light-coloured streak. 

 The crown of the head, the back, and the 

 coverts of the wings, are bluish black ; the 

 hinder part of the neck is marked with two 

 pale yellow spots ; and each cheek with a 

 large black spot pointing downwards. The 

 breast and belly are pale, marked with 

 dusky streaks ; wings brown ; the two mid- 

 dle tail feathers deep dove colour, the others 

 barred with rusty, and tipped with white ; 

 the legs and feet are yellow. The female is 

 considerably larger than the male ; the spots 

 on her breast are more conspicuous ; and 

 her legs are greenish. She builds in high 

 trees ; and lays three or four bluish white 

 eggs, irregularly spotted with grey and olive: 

 but the Hobby is a bird of passage ; and 

 though it breeds here, it migrates from this 

 country in October. 



HOG. (Sits.) As all the varieties of this 

 useful quadruped are derived from the Wild 

 Boar, we shall proceed to describe that 

 animal before we speak of the domestic 

 species ; merely premising that the genus 

 Sits is in some points of an ambiguous nature, 

 appearing to form at once a link between 

 the cloven-footed, the whole-hoofed, and 

 the digitated quadrupeds. 



The Wild Boar is a native of almost all 

 the temperate parts both of Europe and 

 Asia. In times of yore it was not an unfre- 

 quent inhabitant of our own woods and 

 forests ; where it served as a beast of chase, 

 as it still does in India, as well as in some 

 parts of Continental Europe ; presenting 

 not only the most interesting and exciting 

 sport to the hunters, but at the same time one 

 of the most dangerous in which they can be 

 engaged. This fierce and powerful animal is 

 armed with long, curved, and sharp tusks, 

 capable of inflicting the most severe and fatal 

 wounds ; but as he advances in age (after he 

 has passed his fifth year), he becomes less 

 dangerous, on account of the growth of 

 these formidable tusks, which turn up so 

 considerably as often to impede rather than 

 assist his intentions of wounding with them. 

 We learn from Buffon,that wild Boars follow 

 their common parent until they have passed 

 their third year, never wandering alone till 

 they have acquired sufficient strength to 

 resist the attacks of the wolf. " These 

 animals," says he, " when they have young, 

 form a kind of flocks, and it is upon this 

 alone that their safety depends. When at- 



