HIP 



HIP 



order of Accra, Jussieu. Essential cha- 

 racter : calyx five-parted ; petals five ; 

 capsule three, obcordate or elliptic. There 

 are two species, viz. H. volubilis, and H. 

 commosa. 



HIPPOCREPIS, a genus of the Diadel- 

 phia Decandria class and order, Natural 

 order of Leguminosae or Papilionaceae. 

 Essential character: legume compressed, 

 several times emarginate along one of the 

 sutures, curved. There ate five species. 

 These are small herbaceous plants, with 

 unequally-pinnate leaves and small sti- 

 pules ; peduncles axillary, and terminat- 

 ing, one or many-flowered, in umbels: 

 corollas mostly yellow. Natives of the 

 South of Europe. 



HIPPOMANE, in botany, a genus of 

 the Monoecia Monadelphia class and or- 

 der. Natural order Tricoccse. Euphor- 

 bise, Jussieu. Essential character : male, 

 ament, perianthum bifid ; corolla none : 

 female, perianthum trifid ; corolla none ; 

 stigma three-parted ; drupe or capsule 

 three-grained. There are three species; 

 of which H. mancinella, manchineeltree, 

 is exceedingly large in the West Indies, 

 almost equalling the oak in siie. The 

 first accounts of this tree were very much 

 exaggerated ; it was said to be dangerous 

 to sit or lie under it, and that the rain 

 which falls from the leaves will raise blis- 

 ters in the skin. Professor Jacquin in- 

 forms us, that he and his companions re- 

 posed upwards of three hours under a 

 manchineel tree, withoutreceivingany in- 

 jury ; and that he experienced'rain drop- 

 ping from the leaves to be perfectly inno- 

 cent. It is dangerous to eat of the fruit, 

 which resembles crab-apples; it occasions 

 vomiting, and a burning heat in the 

 mouth, throat, and stomach, for many 

 hours after. The juice of the buds of the 

 white cedar is esteemed an antidote to this 

 poison, and is generally used with success. 

 It is said, that goats, sheep, and macaws 

 feed greedily on the fruit. The wood is 

 very much esteemed, and is used for or- 

 namental purposes. 



HIPPOPHAE, in botany, a genus of the 

 Dioecia Tetrandria class and order. Na- 

 tural order of Calyciflorae. Elxagni, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character: male, calyx 

 two-parted ; corolla none : female, calyx 

 bifid ; corolla none ; style one ; berry one- 

 seeded. There are two species, viz. H. 

 rhamnoides, common sea-buckthorn, and 

 H. canadensis, Canadian sea-buckthorn. 



HIPPOPOTAMUS, in natural history, 

 a genus of Mammalia, of the order Bel- 

 luae. Generic character : four front teeth 

 in each jaw ; the upper ones drstant, in 



pairs ; Jhe lower ones prominent ; the 

 two intermediate ones longest ; tusks soli- 

 tary ; those of the lower jaw very large, 

 long, curved, and obliquely truncated; 

 feet hoofed at the margin. This animal 

 appears very naturally to have attracted 

 the early attention of mankind, and is sup. 

 posed, by mostcriticsacquainted with na- 

 tural history, to be the behemoth, so sub- 

 limely described in the book of Job. The 

 Greek and Roman writers have also al- 

 luded to it ; but their observations upon 

 it are by no means such as could have re- 

 sulted from accurate and philosophical 

 observation ; and both Aristotle and Pliny 

 have fallen, on this subject, into the most 

 absurd deviations from truth. Indeed, it 

 is only recently that clear and just repre- 

 sentations of this animal have been pub- 

 lished, with interesting circumstances re- 

 lating to its manners and habits, collected 

 by persons who had inclination and oppor- 

 tunities of particularly examining it. Dr. 

 Sparman, and Colonel Gordon, and Mr. 

 Mason, are particularly entitled to ho- 

 nourable mention on this occasion. The 

 largest female which the Colonel ever had 

 an opportunity of observing was eleven 

 feet in length, and the largest male near- 

 ly twelve. It is staled, however, on re- 

 spectable authority, that they are fre- 

 quently much larger ; and Mr. Bruce re- 

 ports, that they are occasionally found 

 even of the length of twenty feet. The 

 form of the hippopotamus is particularly 

 awkward : its head is astonishingly large, 

 and its body extremely fat and round ; its 

 legs are very short and thick, and its teeth 

 are of vast strength and size : one of them 

 is stated to weigh no less than three 

 pounds; occasionally, each of the tusks 

 weighs even six ; the whole animal is co- 

 vered with short hair ; its skin is so tough, 

 as in some parts to resist a bullet ; and 

 its colour, when dry, is an obscure brown. 

 It inhabits the warmer latitudes, and is to 

 ^be found chiefly in the interior of Africa, 

 dwelling in the largest rivers, in which it 

 ranges at the bottom, sometimes reaching 

 the surface for the purpose of respiration. 

 It sometimes quits the rivers for the sea, 

 merely, as is supposed, for the sake of 

 expatriating with greater freedom, as it ne- 

 ver drinks salt water, and eats no fish, 

 and indeed takes no animal food whatever. 

 By night it quits the water to feed, and 

 devours a vast quantity of grass, and the 

 tender branches of trees. Its disposition 

 has nothing in it sanguinary or feRociouS-; 

 it never attacks otker animals. It fre- 

 quently commits great depredations on 

 the plantations of corn or sugar, which 





