ELA 



ELE 



ash-coloured cms*, closely united with a 

 hard whitish wood ; pinnate leaves break 

 out from the top of the trunk only, in a 

 decussated order, the old ones dropping 

 off :;s she young ones break forth. The 

 flowers are concealed in stiff, green, co- 

 riaceous spathes; they are small, seve- 

 ral on the same peduncle ; petals whitish 

 green ; they have no smell, but a rough 

 taste. The fruit is like a wild plum, 

 with a hard woody point at top, covered 

 with the calyx at bottom. The nut or 

 stone is ubiong, marked longitudinally 

 with a deep furrow, containing a bitter 

 kernel. Tiie poorer sort of people chew 

 the nut in the same manner as the areca 

 nut, with the leaf of the beetle and quick- 

 lime. The elephants are very fond of the 

 fruit branches, which are sweet. It is a 

 native of the East Indies. 



ELATER, in natural history, a genus 

 of insects of the order Coleoptera : an- 

 tennae filiform, lodged in a groove under 

 the head and thorax : underside of the 

 thorax terminating in an elastic spine, 

 placed in a cavity of the abdomen; by 

 which means the body, when placed on 

 the back, springs up and recovers its na- 

 tural posture. This genus, which is ex- 

 tremely numerous, is divided into two 

 sections, viz. A. feelers hatchet-shaped ; 

 and B. feelers clavate, the club round. 

 Of the latter only three species are men- 

 tioned, but of the former two hundred 

 at least have been enumerated. In point 

 of size, the European species are not 

 comparable to those which are natives of 

 the tropical regions. Among the most 

 remarkable may be mentioned E. flabelli- 

 cornis, which is more than two inches 

 long, and is a native of India, and of many 

 parts of Africa. E. noctilucus, found in 

 South America, and called there cocu- 

 jas, is not so large as the last, but the 

 spots on the thorax, like those on the ab- 

 domen of the glow-worm, are highly lumi- 

 nous, diffusing through the night a bril- 

 liant splendour, by which the smallest 

 print may be read, and eight or ten of 

 them in a phial will afford a light equal 

 to that of a common candle. Many spe- 

 cies of the elater are natives of our own 

 country; but they are seldom distinguish- 

 ed by any brilliancy of colour, and are far 

 inferior in size to the exotic ones. E. 

 tesselatus, so called from the manner in 

 which it is marked, is not uncommon in 

 the fields during the middle of summer. 

 The larvze of these insects are of a slen- 

 der form, and devour the roots of the 

 grasses. That insect, so destructive to 

 newly sown French beans, the wire- 



worm, is thought to be the larvae of the E. 

 obscurus. 



ELATERIUM, in botany, a genus of 

 the Monoecia Monandria class and order. 

 Natural order of Cucurbitaceae. Es- 

 sential character : male, calyx none ; co- 

 rolla salver-shaped. Female, calyx none ; 

 corolla salver-shaped ; ^capsule inferior, 

 one-celled, two-valvech There are two 

 species. 



ELATINE, in botany, a genus of the 

 Octandria Tetragynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Inundatse. Caryophyl- 

 lae, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 

 four-leaved ; petals four ; capsule four- 

 celled, four-valved, flatted. There are 

 two species. These are annual aquatic 

 herbs, very low and spreading ; the flow- 

 ers axillary and small. 



ELDERS, among the Jews, were per- 

 sons of great age, experience, and wis- 

 dom ; the denomination is known in the 

 Presbyterian discipline. They are offi- 

 cers, who, with the ministers and dea- 

 cons, compose the sessions of the kirk. 

 The elder's business is to assist the minis- 

 ter in visiting the congregation upon 

 occasion, to watch over the morals of the 

 the people of his district, and to give 

 them private reproof in case of any dis- 

 order ; but if the scandal be gross, or the 

 person obstinate, he lays the thing before 

 the session. The elders are chosen from 

 among the most substantial, knowing, and 

 regular people, by the session or consis- 

 tory of the kirk. There is a ruling elder 

 in every session ; he should be a man of 

 spotless character, and of principal con- 

 sideration and interest in his parish : he 

 is chosen out of the kirk session : the 

 congregation is to approve of >he 

 choice : the minister ordains him be- 

 fore the congregation : he may be cho- 

 sen to assist in any church judicatory, 

 and in all manner of government and 

 discipline has an equal vote with the mi- - 

 nister. 



ELECTION, in law, is where a person 

 has a choice of one or more things which 

 happen upon several occasions; as where 

 he has by kw two remedies, and must 

 take only one : thus, a creditor, in cases 

 of bankruptcy, may either prove his debt 

 unvler the commission, or proceed at 

 law, but in this case he is compelled to 

 make his election: where also a per- 

 son having obtained a judgment is enti- 

 tled to execution, he may either take 

 his remedy against the goods or the per- 

 son of hisdebtor; but if he proved against 

 the person in the first instance, he can- 

 not afterwards have recourse to the goods, , 



