ORN 



OSI 



shallow waters in search of noiirish- 

 inent. Such, in fact, is the source of 

 food of the greater number ; and al- 

 though some of them resort exclu- 

 sively to dry places, they are, never- 

 theless, termed * shore birds,' or 'wa- 

 ders' {Grallct). 



"Among the true land birds, the 

 Gallmacccc have, like our domestic 

 cock, a heavy carriage, a short flight, 

 the beak moderate, its upper mandi- 

 ble vaulted, the nostrils partly cover- 

 ed by a soft and tumid scale, and al- 

 ways the edges of the toes indented, 

 with short membranes between the 

 bases of those \n front. They sub- 

 sist chiefly on grain. 



'• Birds of prey (Accipitres) have a 

 crooked beak, with its point sharp 

 and curving downward, and the nos- 

 trils pierced in a membrane that in- 

 vests its base : their feet are armed 

 with strong talons. They live on 

 flesh, and pursue other birds ; their 

 flight, accordingly, is mostly power- 

 ful. The greater number still retain 

 a slight web between their external 

 toes. 



" The passerine birds (Passcres) 

 comprise many more species than all 

 the other families ; but their organi- 

 zation presents so many analogies 

 that they cannot be separated, al- 

 though they vary much in size and 

 strength. 



" Finally, the name of climbers 

 (Scansorcs) is applied to those birds 

 in which the external toe is directed 

 backward like the thumb, because the 

 greater number of them avail them- 

 selves of a conformation so favoura- 

 ble for a vertical position to climb the 

 trunks of trees. 



" Ttie primary division of the class 

 of birds adopted by the author of tlie 

 article ' Aves,' in the Cydopudui of 

 Anatomy and Pliysiology, includes 

 seven orders ; the struthious birds, 

 by virtue of their remarkable ana- 

 tomical peculiarities, being separated 

 from tlie Gralla of Linnaeus and Cu- 

 vier. The following are the orders ; 



1. Raptorks, Accipttres, Linn., Cuv. 

 Birds of prey. 



2. LvcEssoREs, Pawere*, Cuv. Perch- 

 ers. 



3. ScANsoREs, Cuv. Climbers. 



4. R.isouEs. Galiincc. Linn., Cut. 

 Scratchers. 



5. CuRsoREs, Illig. Coursers. 



6. Grall.\torks, GrallcE, Linn. Wa- 

 ders. 



7. N XT ATOREs, Palmipedes, Ca\.; An- 

 scrcs, Linn. Swimmers." 

 ORPIMENT. Yellow sulphuret 



of arsenic : it is poisonous ; the so- 

 lution in licjuor ammonia has been 

 used as a yellow dye. 



ORPINE. Scdum tchphium. An 

 exotic perennial succulent plant, of 

 the family Crassulacc<z. 



ORRIS. Ins Florentina. The root 

 of this flag is remarkably fragrant, 

 and used in powder as a dentifrice. 

 It is readily cultivated in moist, light 

 soils, and grows rapidly from offsets. 



ORTHOPNQEA. Difficulty of 

 breathing, especially when lying 

 down. 



ORTHOPTER.^NS. See Insects. 



ORTHOTROPOUS (from op(9of, 

 straight, and Tperru, I turn). Seeds in 

 which the hilum and foramen are op- 

 posite. 



ORTOLAN. A bird of passage of 

 the family Fringillida. They migrate 

 from Africa to Southern Europe, and 

 are fattened for the tables of the lux- 

 urious. 



ORYZ A (from Aruz, Arabian). The 

 genus of the rices. 



OSCILLATION. Movement sim- 

 ilar to that of the pendulum. 



OSCILLATORIA. Plants of the 

 lowest organization, living in wet or 

 damp places, and consisting of 

 threads, which have sometimes an 

 apparent movement. 



OSIER. Salix viminalis. Com- 

 mon osier ; there are, however, other 

 useful species, but this only is accli- 

 mated in the United States ; the S. 

 Forbiana is cultivated in England for 

 fine baskets, and also the S. rubra. 

 They are botanically willows, but are 

 remarkable for their slender and 

 tougli twigs, which answer admirably 

 for baskets and lioo()s ; for the first, 

 they are cut annually ; for the second, 

 every two years. They require a 

 marshy, rich soil. 



" In the fens of the east of Eng- 



539 



