312 GLOSSARY. 



FELiDiE. — The Cat-family. 



Fekal. — Having become wild from a state of cultivation or domes- 

 tication. 



Flora. — Tlie totality of the plants growing natxirally in a country, 

 or during a given geological peiiod. 



Florets. — Flowers imj^erfectly devtloped in some respects, and 

 collected into a dense spike or head, as in the Grasses, the 

 Dandelion, e^c. 



Foetal. — Of or belonging to the foetus, or embryo in course of 

 development. 



FoRAMixiFERA. — A ckss of auimals of very low organisation, and 

 generally of small size, haviug a jelly-like body, from the surface 

 of which delicate filaments can be given off and retracted for the 

 prehension of external objects, and haviug a calcareous or sandy 

 shell, usually divided into chambers, and perforated with small 

 apertures. 



FossiLiFERous. — Contaiiiing fossils. 



FossoRiAL. — Having a faculty of digging. T'he Fossorial Hymen- 

 opteia are a group of Wasp-like Insects, which burrow in sandy 

 soil to make nests for their young. 



Fresum (i)1. Frena). — A small band or fold of skin. 



Fungi (sing. Fungus). — A class of cellular plants, of which Mush- 

 rooms, To:idstools, and Moulds, are familiar examples. 



FuRCULA. — The forked bone formed by the union of the collar-bonea 

 in mauy birds, such as the common Fowl. 



Gallinaceous Birds. — An order of Birds of which the common 

 Ftwl, Turkey, and PheaHaut, are well-known examples. 



Gal us. — The genus of birds wh ch includes the common Fowl. 



Ganglion. — A sweliiDg or knot from which nerves are given off as 

 from a centre. 



Ganoid Fishes. — Fishes covered with peculiar enamelled bony 

 scales. Mo~t of them are extinct. 



Germinal Vesicle. — A minute vesicle in the eg^s of animals, from 

 v% hicli the development of the embryo proceeds. 



Glacial Pkri-od. — A period of great cold and of enormous extension 

 of ice upon the suiface of the earth. It is believed that glacial 

 periods have occurred repeatedly during the geological history of 

 the earth, but the term is generally applied to the close of the 

 Tertiary e\ och, when nearly the whole of Europe was subjected 

 to an arctic climate. 



