OTH 



OTH 



fcritious food. Oysters are brought to the 

 Philadelphia market principally from 

 Egg-harbour and Delaware bay ; the 

 former are preferred for immediate use, 

 having an agreeable sapid taste ; the lat- 

 ter are generally dressed for the table, 

 they have a thicker and rougher shell, 

 and are fatter than those brought from 

 Egg-harbour, or other parts of the coast, 

 where the mixture of the fresh water is 

 less abundant. 



Those from the Delaware bay are 

 known by the name of " fresh oysters," 

 and the others by that of " salt oysters." 

 They are merely varieties of the same 

 species, notwithstanding their very differ- 

 ent appearance and qualities. 



OSTRICH. See STUUTHIO. 



OSYRIS, in botany, a genus of the 

 Dioecia Triandria class and order. Natu- 

 ral order of Calyciflorae. Eleagnse, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character : calyx trifid ; 

 corolla none : female, stigma roundish ; 

 drupe one-celled. There are two spe- 

 cies, viz. O. alba, poet's casia, and O. ja- 

 ponica. 



OTHERA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Berberides, Jussieu. 

 Essential character : calyx four-parted ; 

 petals four, ovate, flat ; stigma sessile ; 

 capsule. There is but one species, viz. 

 O. japonica, which has a shrubby stem, 

 with round, striated, purple branches; 

 leaves alternate, ovate, blunt, coriaceous, 

 spreading, an inch and half in length ; pe- 

 tioles semicylindric, smooth ; flowers ax- 

 illary, aggregate, peduncled ; it is a na- 

 tive of Japan. 



OTHONNA, in botany, African rag- 

 ivort, a genus of the Syngenesia Polyga- 

 mia Necessaria class and order. Natural 

 order of Composite Discoideae. Corym- 

 biferx, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx 

 one-leafed, multifid, subcylindrical ; down 

 almost none ; receptacle naked. There 

 are twenty-seven species, among which 

 \ve shall notice the O. bulbosa, bulbous Af- 

 rican ragwort ; this has a thick shrubby 

 stalk, dividing into several branches, and 

 rising five or six feet in height ; the leaves 

 come out in clusters from one point, 

 spreading on every side ; they are smooth, 

 narrow at their base, enlarging gradually 

 to their points, their edges are acutely in- 

 dented like those of the holly ; from the 

 centre of their leaves arise the foot stalks 

 of the flowers, being five or six inches 

 long, branching out into several smaller, 

 each sustaining one yellow radiated flow- 

 er ; these are succeeded by slender seeds 

 crowned with down. Almost all the 



Othonnas are natives of the Cape of Good 

 Hope. 



OTIS, the bustard, in natural history, a 

 genus of birds of the order Gallina. Ge- 

 neric character : bill somewhat convex ; 

 nostrils oval and open ; tongue bifid and 

 pointed ; legs long, and naked above the 

 knee ; only three toes. Gmelin men- 

 tions eleven species, and Latham nine. 

 We shall notice only the following : O. 

 tarda, or the great bustard, is found in 

 the plains of Europe, Asia, and Africa, 

 but has never been observed in the New 

 Continent. In England it is occasionally 

 met with on Salisbury Plain, and in the 

 wolds of Yorkshire, and formerly was not 

 uncommonly seen in flocks of forty or 

 fifty. It is the largest of British land 

 birds, weighing often twenty-five or thir- 

 ty pounds. It runs with great rapidity, 

 so as to escape the pursuit of common 

 dogs, but falls speedily a victim to the 

 greyhound, which often overtakes it be- 

 fore it has power to commence its flight, 

 the preparation for which, in this bird, is 

 slow and laborious. The female lays her 

 eggs on the bare ground, never more 

 than two in number, in a hole scratched 

 by her for the purpose ; and if these are 

 touched or soiled during her occasional 

 absence, she immediately abandons them. 

 The male is distinguished by a large 

 pouch, beginning under the tongue, and 

 reaching to the breast, capable of hold- 

 ing, according to Linnaeus, seven quarts 

 of water. This is sometimes useful to the 

 female during incubation, and to the 

 young before they quit their nest ; and it 

 has been observed to be eminently ad- 

 vantageous to the male bird himself, who 

 on being attacked by birds of prey, has 

 often discomfited his enemies by the sud- 

 den and violent discharge of water upon 

 them. These birds are solitary and shy, 

 and feed principally upon grasses, worms, 

 and grain. They were formerly much 

 hunted with dogs, and considered as sup- 

 plying no uninteresting diversion. They 

 swallow stones, pieces of metal, and other 

 hard substances. BufFon states that one 

 was opened by the academicians of 

 Prance, which contained in its stomach 

 ninety doubloons, and various stones, all 

 highly smoothed by the attrition of the 

 stomach. See Aves, Plate XI. fig. 1. 



O. tetrax, or the little bustard, is met 

 with in many parts of Europe, particular- 

 ly in France, where it is taken by nets. 

 It is rarely seen in England ; is shy and 

 cunning, if molested will fly about two 

 hundred paces, and then run so fast that 

 u man cannot overtake it. Its flesh is like 



