OST 5: 



OSTEOCOL'LA, from oariev, a bone, and 

 xaXAMft), to glue. Glue-bone, stone, or 

 bone-binder. A peculiar carbonate of 

 lime, found in some parts of Germany, in 

 loose sandy grounds, spreading from very 

 near the surface to considerable depths, 

 ramifying like the roots of a tree. It is 

 of a whitish colour, soft whilst under the 

 earth, friable when dry, rough on the 

 surface, for the most part hollow within, 

 but always bearing evidence of its hav.- 

 ing been deposited on some fibrous mat- 

 ters, as the roots of plants. It takes its 

 name from a ridiculous notion not yet 

 entirely vanished, that it promotes the 

 coalition of fractured bones, and the for- 

 mation of callus. 



OS'TEO-SARCO'MA, ) from offrtov, a bone, 



OS'TEO-SARCO'SIS, ) and ffos.zwu&,, a 

 fleshy tumour. A term that is very 

 vaguely applied to any tumour which 

 contains a mixture of bony and soft mat- 

 ter. It is most commonly applied, how- 

 ever, to a tumour commencing in the 

 medullary structure of a bone, and after- 

 wards blended with osseous matter. 



OS'TIARY. Lat. ostiwn. a mouth. The 

 opening by which a river disembogues 

 itself. 



OS'TRACISM. OtrT$otzitru,es,trom o/rrqct,- 

 xov, a shell. 1. Banishment by the people 

 of Athens of a person whose merit and 

 influence gave umbrage to them; so 

 named from the shell on which the name 

 or the note of acquittal or condemnation 

 was written. The shell, however, was a 

 piece of baked earth called testa by the 

 Latins.' -2. Banishment. 



OSTRACIT'ES. Fossil oyster-shell : ostrea, 

 an oyster. 



OS'TREA.. A genus of testaceous Ace- 

 phala, comprehending, according to 

 Linng, all those which have but a small 

 ligament to the hinge, inserted into a 

 little depression on each side, and with- 

 out teeth or projecting plates. The ge- 

 nus is now divided into Ostrea proper or 

 true oysters, which are irregular, inequi- 

 valve, and lamella ted ; shell inhabited by 

 a tethys : pectens, which are distinguished 

 from the true oysters, principally by two 

 angular production-, called cars, which 

 widen the sides of the hinge ; limes, which 

 differ from the pectens in the superior 

 length of their shell in a direction per- 

 pendicular to the hinge. There are, also, 

 certain fossils which belong to the ostrea 

 of Limit-, as the hinnita, plagiostoma, 

 pachytes, dianchora, and podopsis. Name 

 oftrea, from orrgctxev, a shell. 



OS'TRICH. A bird of which there are 

 two species, constituting the genus Stru- 

 t/tio, Lm. The ostrich of the eastern 

 continent (th<? S. mmchis, Lin., of the 

 an ly deserts of &7[>ia and Africa), has 



7 GUI 



been celebrated from the earliest ages. It 

 attains the height of from 6 to 8 feet, 

 lives in great troops ; lays eggs weighing 

 nearly 31bs., feeds on grass, grain, &c., 

 and runs with such speed that no animal 

 can overtake it in the race. The loose 

 flexible feathers of its wings are highly 

 valued for ornamental purposes of dress, 

 and the coarse part of the plumage, called 

 hair, to which it bears a resemblance, is 

 used in the manufacture of hats. The 

 American ostrich (8. rhea, Lin.) is about 

 one-half smaller than the oriental species. 

 When taken young it is easily tamed. 



O'TARY. In zoology, the Phoca jtibata, 

 Gm., or sea-lion of Steller and others, of 

 which there appears to be three or four 

 species. The otaries are regarded as 

 seals with external ears, but they differ 

 from the seals also in the characters of 

 their teeth, feet, &c., so as in fact to 

 form a distinct genus. 



O'TIS. A genus of birds. The bustards. 

 Order Grallatoria ; family Pressirostres , 

 Name borrowed from the Greek urif. 

 The most known species is the great bus- 

 tard (0. tarda, Lin.). It seldom flies, and 

 feeds indifferently on grain, herbs, worms, 

 and insects. It builds on the ground 

 among grain. 



OT'OMTS. The name given by F. Cuvier 

 to a genus of animals nearly allied to tho 

 Field Rats, from uros, an ear, and fMtr;, 

 a rat, on account of the large size of the 

 ears. 



OT'TAR OF ROSES. An essential aroma- 

 tic oil, obtained from the flower-leaves 

 of the rose. See ATTA.R. 



OTTAV'A RIM'A. Octuple rhyme. An 

 Italian form of versification, consisting of 

 stanzas of two alternate triplets and a 

 couplet at the end. 



OT'TER. A mainmiferous animal, of 

 which there are several species. See 



LUTRA. 



OT'TO, Arab, otr, essence. A term sig- 

 nifying essence, and usually applied to 

 essential oils extracted from flowers, as 

 the otto of roses. See ATTAR. 



OT'TOMAN, Turkish. Relating to Turkey 

 or the Turks. The terra originated in 

 Othiuan, or Osman, the name of the first 

 Sultan, who assumed the government 

 about 1300 A.D. 



O'TDS. In ornithology, a subgenus of 

 Strix, comprehending the horned owls, 

 or those owls which have tufts of feathers 

 on the forehead, (\\ilg.horns), which they 

 can erect at pleasure. The best known 

 species is the Strix otus, Lin., or commor, 

 owl. Name from UTO;, eared, in allusion 

 to the horns. 



OCCH. A socket in which a prcciout 

 stone is set. 



ODISTI'TH. A small genus of Quadrn- 

 mana, similar to the S' ki., and fo; ;i lonfc 



