HORNET 



HORSE. 



flower and ripen seed in abundance, which has 

 only to be sown in the open border. The fol- 

 lowing are the English species. 



1. Yellow horned-poppy (G. luteurn). This 

 is a biennial, growing wild on the sandy sea- 

 coast, producing golden-yellow flowers in July 

 and August. 



2. Scarlet horned-poppy (G. phceniceum). 

 This is a very rare, or, as Smith observes, 

 perhaps doubtful native. It is annual in habit, 

 the root is tapering, the herb rather less glau- 

 cous, and more upright than the preceding. 

 The flower-stalks and calyx are hairy. The 

 petals are smaller and narrower than those of 

 the last described species, and of a rich scarlet, 

 with an oblong black spot at the base. The 

 pod is clothed with numerous rigid, silky 

 bristles. 



Violet horned-poppy (G. violaceum). This is 

 an annual met with sometimes, but not fre- 

 quently, in grainfields. The root is slender, 

 stem erect, a foot high, round, even, and quite 

 smooth ; leaves dark green, twice or thrice 

 pinnatifid; flowers of a brilliant violet blue, 

 very splendid, but extremely fugacious, some- 

 what larger than the last ; pods 2 or 3 inches 

 long, cylindrical, more or less clothed with 

 bristly prickles. (Eng. Flor. vol. iii. p. 5 ; Pax- 

 ton's ~Pot. Diet.) 



HORNET (Vespa crabro). A well-known 

 fierce insect, which is about one inch in length, 

 and builds its nest in hollow trees. The sting 

 of the hornet is severe, and occasions a con- 

 siderable tumour, accompanied with intense 

 pain ; for the mitigation of which, there is no 

 better remedy than sweet oil, or honey water 

 immediately applied to the place. Hornets are 

 very dangerous enemies to bees, which they 

 attack and consume entirely, except the wings 

 and feet: they are also very destructive to 

 fruit. 



The American hornet is the Vespa maculata 

 of naturalists. Instead of building their nests 

 in hollow trees, the American hornets are na- 

 tural paper-makers, and manufacture water- 

 tight nests of paper, which they construct 

 around the branches of trees or shrubs where 

 they appear as large globes, sometimes a foot 

 or more in diameter. The material of these 

 nests consists of the fibres of wood, prepared 

 by the insects, and wrought into a substance 

 very similar to common brown paper made 

 of rags. Like others of the wasp family the 

 American hornet is a depredator upon fruit, 

 and comes about houses in search of flies. 



HORNWORT (Ceratophyllum, from keras, a 

 horn, and phyllon, a leaf: the petals are cut so 

 as to appear like a stag's horn). These are 

 uninteresting water plants, thriving in any 

 pond, and easily raised from seeds. The com- 

 mon horn wort (C. demersum} is abundant in 

 ditches and fish-ponds; the herb floating 

 entirely under water, dark green, copiously 

 branched, 2 or 3 feet long, densely clothed with 

 whorled spreading forked leaves, eight in each 

 whorl, and axillary, solitary, sessile, pale green 

 flowers. The iruit armed with two spreading 

 lateral spines. There is another indigenous 

 species the unarmed hornwort (C. submersum), 

 which is a more rare plant, and the fruit is 

 destitute of seines. 



There are two species of this plant found in 

 the United States. One of them (Ceratophyl- 

 lum demersum) is described by Darlington as 

 found in the waters of the Schuylkill, Brandy- 

 wine and tributaries ; the other (C. submersum) 

 is described by Messrs. Nuttall and Eaton. 



HORSE, THE. The genus Equus, accord- 

 ing to modern naturalists, consists of six dif- 

 ferent animals, viz. the Equus caballus, or 

 horse ; E. hemionus, the dziggithai ; E. a sinus, 

 the ass ; E. quagga, the quagga ; E. zebra, or 

 mountain zebra ; and E. burchelli, the zebra of 

 the plains. It is only of the first that I shall 

 have to treat in this article. 



Hoi-se, the. This noble animal, there is little 

 doubt, is a native of the warm countries of the 

 East, where he is found wild in a state of con- 

 siderable perfection. It is there that we find 

 the barb and the Arab, noble races of houses 

 that have long mainly contributed to improve 

 the present English race-horse, until he has 

 arrived at his present state of unequalled per- 

 fection. The use of the horse, both as a beast 

 of burden, and for the purposes of war, early 

 attracted the attention of mankind. Thus the 

 Canaanites are recorded as having gone out to 

 fight against Israel with many horses and cha- 

 riots. (Joshua ii. 4.) And 1650 years B. c., 

 when Joseph proceeded with his father's body 

 into Canaan from Egypt, there accompanied 

 him both chariots and horsemen. (Gen. xix.) 

 They were fed in those days on barley (1 Kings, 

 iv. 28) : and 150 years afterwards, the chariots 

 of Egypt are described as being exceedingly 

 numerous. The horse was early employed on 

 the course. 1450 years B. c. the Olympic 

 Games were established in Greece, at which 

 horses were used in the chariot and other 

 races. 



Preserved from the flood waters in the ark, 

 the first breed of horses must have proceeded 

 from the neighbourhood of Mount Ararat; but 

 whether the original stock were first located in 

 Asia or in Africa is an inquiry which we have 

 no means of deciding. Equally ineffectual are 

 all the attempts which have been made to de- 

 cide as to which variety of the horse constitutes 

 the original breed ; while some contend for the 

 barb, others prefer the wild horses of Tartary. 

 It is certain, however, that so late as the se- 

 venth century there were but few horses in 

 Arabia; even now the breed is much more 

 limited in number, according to Burckhardt, 

 than is commonly supposed. He remarked, in 

 a letter to Professor Sewel, "It is a mistaken 

 idea that Arabia is very rich in horses; the 

 breed in that country is limited to the extent of 

 its fertile pasturing districts ; and it is in these 

 parts only that the breed prospers ; while the 

 Bedouins, who are in possession of poor ground, 

 seldom possess any horses. We therefore see 

 that the tribes richest in horses are those who 

 dwell in comparatively the fertile plain of 

 Mesopotamia, on the borders of the Euphrates 

 and in the Syrian deserts. It is there that the 

 horses can feed for several spring months 

 upon the green grass and herbs of the valleys 

 and plains, produced by the rains, which seem 

 to be an absolute requisite for its reaching to 

 its full vigour and growth." The care with 

 which the Arabs tend their horses is prover- 



