54 



GLOSSARY. 



Volute. A spiral turn in shells, &c. 



Volatile. A petrified shell of the genus 

 Valuta. 



Vomer. The palate or upper part of 

 the mouth of a fish. 



Voracious. Rapacious; eager to de- 

 vour. 



Vortex. A whirlpool ; a whirlwind. 



Vulpine. Pertaining to the fox. 



Vulturine. Having the qualities of, or 

 resembling, a vulture. 



Vulva. A mark in several bivalve shells, 

 formed when the valves are united on 

 the posterior and anterior slopes. 



W. 



Wall-eyed. Having a ' disease in the 

 crystalline humor of the eye, which 

 gives it a white appearance. 



Wattle. The fleshy excrescence which 

 grows under the throat of some fowls, 

 as the turkey, and also- of some 

 fishes. 



Wean. To accustom and reconcile a 

 child or other young animal to a want 

 or deprivation of the breast. 



Web. The membrane which unites the 

 toes of many water-fowls. Also, a 

 plexus of very delicate threads or fila- 

 ments which a spider spins from its 

 bowels, and which serves as a net to 

 catch flies and other insects for its 

 food. 



Webbed. Having the toes united by a 

 \ membrane or web ; as the webbed feet 

 of aquatic fowls. 



Web-footed. Palmiped; having webbed 

 feet. 



Whelky. Protuberant and embossed ; 

 resembling the whelk, a marine uni- 

 valve shell. 



Whine. To express murmurs by a plain- 

 tive cry. 



Whir. To sound like a body passing 

 swiftly through the air. 



Whistle. A call, such as sportsmen use 

 to their dogs ; a shrill sound made by 

 pressing the breath through a small 

 orifice of the lips ; the sound of winds 

 passing among trees or through crev- 

 ices, &c. 



White (of the eye). That part of the 



ball of the eye surrounding the iris or 

 colored part. It owes its whiteness to 

 the tunica albuginea or adnata, a partial 

 covering of the fore part of the eye, 

 formed by the expansion of the ten- 

 dons of the muscles which move the 

 eye-ball. 



White (of an egg). The albumen, or 

 pellucid viscous fluid, which surrounds 

 the vitellus or yolk. 



Whiz. To make a humming or hissing 

 sound, like a ball or arrow passing 

 through the air. 



Windfall. A soft tumor on the fetlock 

 joints of a horse. 



Wing-shell The shell that covers the 

 wings of certain insects. 



Withers. The juncture of the shoulder- 

 bones of a horse, at the bottom of the 

 neck. 



Wood-fretter. An insect or worm that 

 eats wood. 



Wrinkled. Ridges and furrows formed 

 on the skin or any smooth surface. 



Writhe. To twist with violence ; to dis- 

 tort. 



Xiphoid (cartilage). A small cartilage 

 situated at the bottom of the breast- 

 bone, called also the ensiform car- 

 tilage. 



Xylophagous. Destroying and feeding 

 on wood. 



Y. 



Yearling. A young beast one year old, 

 or in the second year of his age ; as, 

 a yearling heifer. 



Yelp. To bark in a particular way ; as, 

 & yelping cur. 



Z. 



Zigzag. Having short turnings and an- 

 gles. 



Zoned. Surrounded with one or more 

 girdles. 



ZoOgraphy. Zoology, which latter term 

 is now generally used for the sci- 

 ence that describes and classifies ani- 

 mals. 



