332 



(Drcndurg at Natural 



whilst struggling on the ground, the Gaucho, 

 holding the lazo tight, makes a circle, so as 

 to catch one of the hind legs, j ust beneath 

 the fetlock, and draws it close to the two 

 front. He then hitches the lazo, so tha/P 

 the three legs are bound together. Then 

 sitting on the horse's neck, he fixes a strong 

 bridle, without a bit, to the lower jaw. This 

 he does by passing a narrow thong through 

 the eye-holes, at the end of the reins, and 

 several times round both jaw and tongue. 

 The two front legs are now tied closely to- 

 gether, with a strong leathern thong, fast- 

 ened by a slip-knot. The lazo, which bound 

 the three together, being then loosed, the 

 horse rises with difficulty. The Gaucho 

 now holding fast the bridle fixed to the 

 lower jaw, leads the horse outside the 

 corral. If a second man is present (other- 

 wise the trouble is much greater) he holds 

 the animal's head, whilst the first puts on 

 the horsecloths and saddle, and girths the 

 whole together. During this operation, the 

 horse, from dread and astonishment at thus 

 being bound round the waist, throws him- 

 self, over and over again, on the ground, 

 and, till beaten, is unwilling to rise. At 

 last, when the saddling is finished, the poor 

 animal can hardly breathe from fear, and is 

 white with foam and sweat. The man now 

 prepares to mount, by pressing heavily on 

 the stirrup, so that the horse may not lose 

 its balance ; and at the moment he throws 

 his leg over the animal's back he pulls the 

 slip-knot, and the beast is free. Some " do- 

 midors " (horse-subduers) pull the knot 

 while the animal is lying on the ground, 

 and, standing over the saddle, allow it to 

 rise beneath them. The horse, wild with 

 dread, gives a few most violent bounds, and 

 then starts off at full gallop : when quite 

 exhausted, the man, by patience, brings him 

 back to the corral, where, reeking hot, and 

 scarcely alive, the poor beast is let free. 

 Those animals which will not gallop away, 

 but obstinately throw themselves on the 

 ground, are by far the most troublesome. 

 Tliis process is tremendously severe, but in 

 two or three trials the horse is tamed. It is 

 not, however, for some weeks that the ani- 

 mal is ridden with the iron bit and solid 

 ring ; for it must Icaru to associate the will 

 of its rider with the feel of the rein, before the 

 most powerful bridle can be of any service." 



HORSE-GUARD. This name, we are 

 informed by Mr. Doubleday, is applied in 

 the United States to Hymenopterons insects 

 of the genus Monedula, from their habit of 

 capturing Gadflies (.Tapani'). 



HOUND. There are several species of 

 Dogs which come under this appellation, as 

 the Foxhound. Greyhound, Bloodhound, &c. 

 which will be found in their proper alpha- 

 betical order in this volume. Hounds may 

 be distinguished into such as discover and 

 pursue the game by sight ; and those which 

 find and pursue it by the excellence of their 

 ecent. 



HOUND-FISH. The name applied some- 

 times to different species of the Shark family. 

 LSee DOG -FISH.] 



HOWLET. (Strijc a! tiro.*) A bird of the 

 Owl kind, so called from its mournful, howl- 

 ing voice. It measures eighteen inches in 

 length : the head, back, wings, and tail, are 

 cinereous, with black and white spots ; the 

 head is large, round, nnd full -feathered ; 

 and the wings reach to the extremity of the 

 tail. 



HUMBLE-BEE. (Bombus.) Of the 

 villose or hairy bees popularly called Hum- 

 ble-bees, there are several species. One of 

 the largest and most common is the Apis 

 JapitJarhts of Linnaeus, so named from the 

 circumstance of its nest being generally 

 situated in stony or gravelly places. This 

 species is entirely of a deep black colour, ex- 

 cept the end of the abdomen, which is red 

 or orange-coloured, more or less deep in dif- 

 ferent individuals. The female is of large 

 size, measuring nearly an inch in length ; 

 the male is considerably smaller, and the 

 labouring bee is still smaller than the male. 



Humble-bees are the only tribe besides 

 the hive- bees that in this part of the world 

 construct nests by the united labour of the 

 society. Their habitations are sometimes 

 excavated at a considerable depth in the 

 ground, and sometimes built upon its surface, 

 beneath stones, &c. The societies consist, 

 in some species, of about fifty or sixty indi- 

 viduals ; in others of as many as two or 

 three hundred. They contain males, fe- 

 males, and workers or neuters. The females 

 alone survive the winter ; and they employ 

 the first fine days in spring to commence 

 their nests, which they very quickly exca- 

 vate, and supply with a mixture of honey 

 and pollen for the nourishment of the first 

 brood, which consists exclusively of workers. 

 These, after having undergone their trans- 

 formations, assist in the construction of new 

 cells, the collection of the food, and the rear- 

 ing of the larvae. In autumn the males and 

 females are produced ; and at the com- 

 mencement of winter all but the larger 

 females die ; these remain in a sort of cham- 

 ber distinct from the rest, but, as it would 

 appear, without any supply of food. It 

 should be observed that though the Humble- 

 bees collect honey as well as the common 

 ones, it is neither so fine nor so good : nor is 

 their wax so clean, or so capable of fusion. 



HUMBLE-BEE FLY. (Bombylita.) A 

 name very usually given to a species of 

 the large order Diptera, comprehending 

 species of different sizes, but all agreeing in 

 the great resemblance they bear, at first 

 sight, to the Humble-bees of the smaller or 

 middle-sized kinds : but on examination, it 

 will appear that they are destitute of trunks, 

 and have but one pair of wings. Nature has 

 assigned for the larvae of some of the species 

 a very singular habitation the intestines of 

 horses, or under the thick skins of oxen. In 

 the latter case, the worm hatched from the 

 egg of its parent fly, deposited there, forms a 

 tumour which furnishes it with food and 

 lodging, and in the middle there is an aper- 

 ture for the purpose of respiration. Some, 

 however, feed on vegetable substances, and 

 one species in particular shows a strong pre- 

 dilection for the bulbous roots of flowers. 



