312 GLOSSARY. 



Fauna. — The totality of the animals naturally inhabiting a cer- 

 tain country or region, or which have lived during a given 

 geological period. 



Pelid^. — The Cat-family. 



Feral. — Having become wild from a state of cultivation or domes- 

 tication. 



Flora. — The totality of the plants growing naturally in a country, 

 or during a given geological period. 



Florets. — Flowers imperfectly developed in some respects, and 

 collected into a dense spike or head, as in the Grasses, the 

 Dandelion, &c. 



FcETAL. — Of or belonging to the foetus, or embryo in course of de- - 

 velopment. 



Foraminifera. — A class of animals of very low organisation, and 

 generally of small size, having a jelly-like body, from the sur- 

 face of which delicate filaments can be given off and retracted 

 for the prehension of external objects, and having a calcareous 

 or sandy shell, usually divided into chambers, and perforated 

 with small apertures. 



FossiLiFEROUS. — Containing fossils. 



FossoRLiL. — Having a faculty of digging. The Fossorial Hymen- 

 optera are a group of Wasp-like Insects, which burrow in 

 sandy soil to make nests for their young. 



Frenum (pi. Frena). — A small band or fold of skin. 



Fungi (sing. Fungus). — A class of cellular plants, of which Mush- 

 rooms, Toadstools, and Moulds, are familiar examples. 



FuRCULA. — The forked bone formed by the union of the collar- 

 bones in many birds, such as the common Fowl. 



Gallinaceous Birds. — An order of Birds of which the common 

 Fowl, Turkey, and Pheasant, are well-known examples. 



Gallus. — The genus of birds which includes the common Fowl. 



Ganglion. — A swelling or knot from which nerves are given off as 

 from a centre. 



Ganoid Fishes. — Fishes covered with peculiar enamelled bony 

 scales. Most of them are extinct. 



Germinal Vesicle. — A minute vesicle in the eggs of animals, from 

 which development of the embryo proceeds. 



Glacial Period. — A period of great cold and of enormous exten- 

 sion of ice upon the surface of the earth. It is believed that 

 glacial periods have occurred repeatedly during the geological 



