34 



(r?auri) of Natural ggi 



it really is, would be but a trifling set-off 

 against the benefit produced by the destruc- 

 tion of those swarms of little thieves." 



The Weasel's courage in defending itself 

 when attacked by birds of prey, is universally 

 admitted ; nor is it deficient in fierce opposi- 

 tion to dogs and even men, when its nest is 

 invaded by either. The nest is constructed 

 of dry leaves and herbage, and is generally 

 lodged in some snug locality, as a dry ditch, 

 the hollow of a tree, &c. It produces four or 

 five young at a birth, and generally has two 

 or three litters in the year. 



WEAVER. (.Ploceus.) The Weavers, of 

 which there are several species, belong to the 

 Fringillidce, have a conical beak, more or 

 less stout at its base, and the upper mandi- 

 ble slightly bulging. These birds are found 

 in both continents, and the greater number 

 of those of the eastern hemisphere are re- 

 markably skilful nest-builders, in which 

 they interweave blades of grass, from which 

 circumstance they de_rive their name. They 

 generally build their nests independently 

 of each other, as the Philippine Weaver- 

 bird, whose spherical pensile nest is entered 

 by a vertical canal, which communicates 

 with a lateral opening of the cavity wherein 

 the eggs are deposited ; but some of them 

 build a vast number of contiguous nests, 

 which form a single mass divided into nu- 

 merous compartments. 



WEEVER. (Trachinus.) There are two 

 Acanthopterygious fishes of this name, not 

 uncommon in the British Seas : the GREAT 

 and the LESSEK WEEVER, but the last- 

 mentioned is the one most frequently met 

 with on different parts of our coast. It is 

 seldom more than five or six inches long ; 

 the GKEAT WEEVEK or STING BULL is, how- 

 ever, double that length. Their most dis- 



COMMON WEEVER. (TRACHINDS DRACO.) 



tinguishing characteristic is the power they 

 have of inflicting wounds by means of their 

 spinous fins ; and fishermen almost inva- 

 riably cut off the first dorsal fin, and both 

 opercular spines, before they bring them on 

 shore. The LESSEK WEEVER or STING-FISH 

 is much quicker in its motions, and is even 

 more difficult to handle with security, than 

 the larger species. " In its habits," Mr. Yar- 

 rell tells us, " it is actve and subtle, burying 

 itself in the loose soil at the bottom of the 

 water, the head only being exposed ; it thus 

 waits for its prey aquatic insects, or minute 

 crustaceous animals, which the ascending 

 position of its mouth enables it to seize with 

 certainty. If trod upon or only touched 

 while thus on the watch, it strikes with force 

 either upwards or sideways ; and Pennant 

 states, that he had seen it direct its blows 

 with as much judgment as a fighting-cock." 



Whether the supposed venomous quality of 

 the sharp spines is justly founded, or not, is 

 difficult to determine, but it appears that the 

 wounds inflicted by these offensive weapons 

 usually exhibit spmptoms of great inflam- 

 mation and pain. The back is reddish-gray ; 

 lower part of the sides and belly silvery 

 white, membrane of the first dorsal fin black ; 

 caudal fin tipped with black, the other fins 

 pale brown. 



WEEVIL. The name applied to Coleop- 

 terous insects of the family CUKCULIOXIDJE. 

 The CORN- WEEVIL (Calandra granaria) in 

 its larva state is exceedingly destructive to 

 grain ; the female perfect insect lays a single 

 egg in each grain, which when hatched turns 

 into a grub which eats away the interior of the 

 grain and perfectly destroys it : in granaries 

 the perfect insect may be destroyed by sort- 

 ing the grain into conical heaps, when the 

 beetles cluster at the top and may be taken 

 away in great quantities. (See BALANINUS.) 



WHALES. (Cetacea.') An order of aqua- 

 tic Mammalia, characterized by having fin- 

 like anterior extremities, and the posterior 

 extremities having their place supplied by a 

 large horizoual caudal fin or tail, and the 

 cervical bones so compressed as to leave the 

 animal without any outward appearance of 

 a neck. In this order are comprised the 

 largest animated forms in existence. Their 

 abode is in the sea or the great rivers, and 

 they resemble the Fishes so closely in external 

 appearance, that they are not only so re- 

 garded by the vulgar, but even many of the 

 earlier zoologists considered them as belong- 

 ing to that class. Nay, to the present day, 

 when the capture of Whales is spoken of in 

 the public papers, we read that one ship has 

 returned from the Whale Fishery with two 

 fish, another with three fish, &c. Mr. Bell, 

 indeed, in his description of the Cetacea, 

 says, "The outward form of the cetaceous 

 animals, organized as they are for a perma- 

 nent residence in the ocean, resembles so 

 nearly that of the fishes, that the ancients 

 were wont to arrange them together. Ray 

 himself was not prepared to separate them 

 from the fishes ; and even the example of 

 the great Linn, who with his wonted cor- 

 rectness and judgment placed them in their 

 true position, was not sufficient to counter- 

 balance the prejudices of Pennant, whose 

 knowledge of the true principles of zoologi- 

 cal science was too limited to enable him to 

 look beneath the surface. Hence he follows 

 Ray, and considers the Cetacea as forming a 

 division of the class of fishes ; and this not- 

 withstanding he was well aware that they 

 bring forth their young alive, and nourish 

 them by means of mammary organs, simi- 

 larly constructed to those of the whole class 

 of mammalia. This fact, however, being 

 established, it becomes a matter of great in- 

 terest to ascertain what relation the other 

 organs of the body bear to the corresponding 

 ones in the other groups of this class, and by 

 what modifications of structure they are 

 rendered subservient to a mode of life so dif- 

 ferent from that of the more typical forms. 

 These huge beings, then, have all the essen- 

 tial characters of mammiferous animals : 



