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S I L 



own country, is the moil remarkable of the European fpe- 

 cies. It is diftingiiilhed by having the wing-fheaths confi- 

 derably fliorter than the abdomen, or as if cut off at the 

 tips ; they are alfo marked by two waved, orange-coloured 

 tranfvcrfe bars, the reft of the infecl being black ; the ge- 

 neral length of the animal is about tiiree-quarters of an inch. 

 The vefpillo feeks out fome decaying animal fubftnnce in 

 which it may depofit its eggs, and in order to their greater 

 fecurity, contrives to bury it under ground. Three or four 

 of thefe infedls, working in concert, have been known to 

 drag under the furface the body of a mole in the fpace of 

 an hour, fo that not a trace of it ha? appeared above ground. 

 The eggs are white, and of an oval (hape : from thefe are 

 hatched the larva;, which, when full grown, are about an 

 inch long, of a ycllowifh-white colour, with a fcaly orange- 

 coloured Hiield, or bar, acrofs the middle of each divifion of 

 the body. Each of thefe larva; forms for itfelf an oval cell 

 in the ground, in which it changes to a yellowilh chryfalis, 

 refembling that of a beetle ; out of which, in the fpace of 

 three weeks, proceeds the perfeft infeft. This fpecies is 

 reckoned very elegant in form, but it generally diffufes a 

 very ftrong and unpleafant fmell ; it flies with ftrength and 

 rapidity, and is ufually feen on the wing during the hottelt 

 part of the day. 



MoRTUORUM. Black ; (hells marked with two ferru- 

 ginous bands ; the club of the antennae is black ; the hind- 

 thighs are unarmed. This is found in many parts of Ger- 

 many, preying on carcafes and fungi. 



F. Lip fquare and emargtnate. 



* Scarad-t:oides. Oval, black ; the (hells are marked 

 with two ferruginous fpots. 



LuNATA. Oval, black ; (hells with a lunate yellow fpot 

 at the tip. It is about the fize of the latt, and is found in 

 Germany. 



Colon. Yellow ; the fpots on the thorax, and marginal 

 ipot on the (hells, black. It is found in Sweden. The head 

 is black ; the antennx are yellow ; the club is black ; the 

 thorax is downy, with fix fpots difpofed in a ftreak ; the 

 abdomen is black, edged with yellow. 



* Atomaria. This infedl is fmooth and black ; the (hells 

 have crenate ilria: ; the legs are pale. 



* Melanocephala. This is black and fmooth ; the 

 fliells are grey, with a common black fpot at the bafe. 



* Unipuncta. This is black ; lliells yellowilh, with a 

 common black fpot. The (hells are fometimes immaculate. 



* F1.METARIA. Black, immaculate ; the (hells are very 

 fmooth. It is found chiefly in dung. 



* Minuta. This is black and fmall ; the (hells are 

 ftriate ; legs of the fame colour. It is found in many parts 

 of England. 



* Pulicvria. This is oblong and black ; the (liells are 

 abbreviated ; the abdomen pointed. This is found chiefly 

 among flowers. 



G. Tbc InfeSs of this SeUion have a long and entire Lip; the 

 y^ntentm are ferrate. 



* Saxicornis. Smooth, pohfhed, and of a chefnut co- 

 lour ; the antennae are black. 



Depressa. Smooth, ferruginous ; the rtiells are fub- 

 ftriate, and the body is deprefled. It is found under the 

 bark of oak-trees, 



H. Lip and Jaw unknown. 



Of this feftion there are no Englifh fpecies ; it will be i'uf- 

 ficient to iriention the following. 



I.vsiGN'lTA. Black ; (hells obfoletely ftriate, with two 

 large fcarlet fpots. Common at Berlin ; as is the next. 



Nigricans. Blackifh ; the (hells are fmooth, with four 

 yellow fpots. 



HiSTEROiDE?, Black ; the antennx and legs are red ; the 

 fiielLs are abbreviated with a red fpot. It inhabits Upfal, 

 and is the fize of a loufe. 



SILPHIUM, in Botany, an old Latin name adopted 

 from the Greeks, whofe inXUv.-, according to the defcrip- 

 tion in Diofcorides, is evidently one of the umbelliferous 

 family, with a broad or flat feed. (See La.ser.) Linnaeus 

 takes a great liberty, in transferring this name to a fynge- 

 nefious genus, altogether American, in his Corollarium 

 Gen. PI. 16 ; nor does he, in his Hortus Chffortianus, give 

 any reafon for this meafure. — Linn. Gen. 444. Schreb. 580. 

 Willd. Sp. PL V. 3. 2330. Mart. Mill. Diet. v. 4. Ait. 

 Hort. Kew. V. 5. 163. Purfti 577. Jud. 118. Lamarck 

 lUullr. t. 707. Gaertn. t. 171. (Aiteiifcus ; Dill. Elth. 

 32. t. 47.) — Clafs and order, Syngenefia Folygamia-necef- 

 faria. Nat. Ord. Compoftta oppnfitifolix , Linn. Corymbifera, 

 Jufl. 



Gen. Ch. Common Calyx ovate, imbricated, fquarrofe ; 

 its fcales ovate-oblong, reflexed for about half their length, 

 projefting on all fides, permanent. Cor. compound, ra- 

 diant. Perfetl florets in the diflc feveral, of one petal, 

 funnel-lhaped, tive-toothcd ; their tube fcarcely more flender 

 than the limb ; female one?, in the radius, fewer, lanceolate, 

 very long, often three-toothed. Stam. in the florets of the 

 diflc only. Filaments five, capillary, very (hort ; anthers 

 united into a cylindrical tube. Pifl. in the florets of the 

 difli imperfeft, Germen thread-ihaped, very flender ; llylc 

 thread-lhaped, very long, villous ; ftigma fimple : in the 

 females, Germen inverfely heart-fhaped ; ftyle fimple, (hort ; 

 ftigmas two, briftle-lhaped, the length of the ityle. Peric. 

 none, except the unaltered calyx. Seeds in the diflc none j 

 in the radius fohtary to each floret, fomewhat membranous, 

 inverfely heart-(haped, with a membranous, two-horned, 

 emarginate border. Recept. chafl^y, with linear fcales. 



Eil. Ch. Receptacle chaffy. Seeds compreffed, in- 

 verfely heart-(haped, bordered ; their down bordered, with 

 two horns. Calyx fquarrofe. 



Fifteen fpecies are defined by authors, hardy herbaceous 

 perennial plants, generally rather large, with the afpeft of 

 Sunflowers ; their leaves oppofite, whorled, or alternate ; 

 the flowers yellow. The horns of the feed are wanting in 

 fome of the fpecies. 



1. S. laciniatum. Jagged-leaved Silphium. Linn. Sp. 

 PI. 1301. Ait. n. I. Pur(h n. i. Linn. fil. fafc. I. 5. 

 t. 3. — Stem hifpid. Radical as well as ftem-leaves pinna- 

 tifid ; their fegments deeply toothed, — On the banks of 

 rivers, in the weftern territories of North America, parti- 

 cularly on the Miflifippi, flowering from Auguft to Oftober. 

 Purjh. Colhnfon fent the feeds to Linnaeus. Thi ftem is 

 from eight to twelve feet high, fimple, leafy, round, an 

 inch thick, rough in the upper part with briftly hairs. 

 Leaves alternate, ftalked, two feet long, and one broad, 

 with four or five repiote lobes at each fide ; llrongly ribbed, 

 rough. Flowers four inches wide ; the ten fcales of their 

 rough calyx armed with Itrong taper points. 



2. S. compofttum. Panicled Silphium. Michaux Boreal- 

 Amer. v. z. 145. Willd. n. 2. Purfli n. 2. (S. laci- 

 niatr.m ; Walt. Carol. 217.) — "Stem fmooth. Stem- 

 leaves pinnatifid ; radical ones ternate, with many feg- 

 ments. Flowers panicled." — In gravelly woods, near the 

 fca-coaft of Virginia and Carolina, flowering from AuguA 

 to Odlober, Not above two feet high. Flowers froall. 

 Pu,fh. 



3-S. 



