Popular HBt'ctmnarn of &tumatelr $ature. 395 



committed in the wood-works were very se- 

 rious. It is recorded that Linnaeus was once 

 consulted by the King of Sweden upon the 

 cause of the decay and destruction of the ship- 

 timber in the royal dock-yards, and having 



SHIP-TIMBER BEEILE. 

 (LYMEXYLOU NAVALE ) 



traced it to the depredations of insects, and 

 ascertained the history of the depredations, 

 by directing the timber to be sunk under 

 water during the season when these insects 

 made their appearance in the winged-state, 

 and were busied in laying their eggs, he 

 effectually secured it from future attacks. 



LYMN^A. A genus of Mollusca, inha- 

 biting a thin, oval or oblong shell ; and 

 having two triangular tcntacula, with eyes 

 at the base ; foot oval and thin. Like the 



LYMN.EA STAONA1 IS. 



Physse, which they much resemble in ap- 

 pearance, they are abundantly found in our 

 rivers and ponds, particularly the latter. 

 They feed on aquatic plants, to the under 

 side of the leaves of which they adhere, and 

 come to the surface of the water for air ; the 

 number of their eggs is very great, and they 

 are deposited on stones, stems of vegetables, 

 &c., in long masses enveloped in a glairy 

 substance. 



LYNX. (Fells lynx.) The name given 

 to certain species of feline animals, which 

 differ slightly from others of the cat tribe, 

 in having the ears tufted with hair, in the 

 greater elevation of the body at the haunches, 

 and in having a shorter tail. They are less 

 courageous than the other felines, and show 

 a sullen and suspicious disposition : they 

 live upon small quadrupeds and birds, pur- 

 suing the latter to the tops of trees ; and 



some of them also resort to the water, to feed 

 on fishes. With some slight varieties as to 

 size and colour, the Lynx appears to be 

 found in all the colder regions of Europe, 

 Asia, and America, residing in thick woods, 

 and preying on hares, deer, birds, and al- 

 most every kind of defenceless animal. Its 

 average length is about three feet. In colour 

 the Lynx varies, but is generally of a pale 

 gray, with a slight reddish tinge : the back 

 and whole upper parts are obscurely spotted 

 with small dusky or blackish marks ; the 

 throat, breast, and belly are white ; the tail 

 white, with a black tip ; and the ears tipped 

 with pencils of long black hair. Its eyes are 

 brilliant and penetrating, its aspect mild, 

 and its general air sprightly and agreeable. 

 Though possessing nothing in common with 

 the wolf but a kind of howl, it is often mis- 

 taken for that animal when heard at a dis- 

 tance. The female produces two or three 

 young at a birth, and carefully secretes them 

 in the recesses of the woods. The Lynx is 

 clothed with a very thick soft fur ; and the 

 colder the climate, the more valuable it ge- 

 nerally is : those skins which approach to a 

 pale or whitish colour, and on which the spots 

 are most distinct, are the most valued. The 

 skin of the Canada Lynx forms a consider- 

 able article in the fur trade ; the Hudson's 

 Bay Company alone annually importing 

 from seven to nine thousand skins The fur 

 is close and fine on the back, longer and 

 paler OP the belly. When blown aside it 

 shows on the middle of the back a dark 

 liver-brown colour from the roots to near 

 the tip, but on the sides it is for the greatest 

 part of its length of a pale yellowish brown, 

 being merely a little darker near the roots. 



LYRE-BIRD OF AUSTRALIA. (Me- 

 nura superba. ) Among the many curious and 

 beautiful genera and species of the feathered 

 tribes which Mr. Gould has delineated and 

 described in his elegant work, 'The Birds 

 of Australia,' no one seems to deserve more 

 attention than the Lyre-bird ; for, inde- 

 pendently of its remarkable form, and the 

 opposite opinions entertained by ornitho- 

 logists as to the situation it should occupy 

 in the natural system ; " and although," as 

 Mr. Gould observes, " more than fifty years 

 have now elapsed since the bird was first 

 discovered, little or no information has been 

 hitherto published respecting its economy 

 and habits." After paying considerable at- 

 tention to the subject, while in Australia, 

 this gentleman is decidedly of opinion that 

 it has not, as has been generally considered, 

 the most remote relationship to the GalK- 

 nacece, but that it forms, with certain Ame- 

 rican genera, a family of the Insessorial 

 order. " Notwithstanding the great size of 

 Menura, and the extraordinary form of its 

 tail, in almost every other point it presents 

 a striking resemblance to its minute con- 

 geners : like them, it possesses the bristles at 

 the base of the bill, but to a less extent, the 

 same unusual mass of loose, flowing, hair- 

 like feathers on the back and rump, the 

 same extraordinary power of running, and 

 the like feebleness of flight." The great 

 stronghold of the Lyre-bird is the colony of 



