144 
A R D 
A R E 
ARE 
the old bill of fare. In the famous feast of 
archbishop Neville, we lind no less than 1000 
astcrides, egre ts or egrfttes, as the word is 
differently spelt. 
5. Ardea grus, or common crane of Eng- 
lish authors, has a naked papillous crown; the 
rime leathers of the wings are black; the 
ody is ash-coloured. 1 his species is far 
spread, being met with in great flocks through- 
out northern Europe and Asia. It seems to 
have been formerly a native of Britain. They 
feed on .reptiles of all kinds, as well as on 
green corn, which last they make such havock 
of, as to ruin the farmers wherever flocks of 
them alight. 
6. Ardea herodias, or cristata maxima of 
Catesby, .is crested behind, has a dusky-co- 
loured back, reddish thighs, and the breast 
speckled with oblong black spots. It is four 
feet and a half when erect. It is a native of 
'Virginia, and feeds upon fish, frogs, lizards, 
efts, &c. 
7. Ardea leucogcranos of Pallas, or the Si- 
berian crane of Pennant, is four feet and a 
■half when standing erect. The bill is of a red 
colour ; the irides are white ; the plumage is 
white as snow, except the 10 first greater 
quills, with the coverts of them, which are 
•black; the legs are long and red. This spe- 
cies inhabits the vast marshes and lakes in 
Siberia. It makes its nest among the reeds, 
seldom accessible by man, upon rising green 
grassy tufts, made up of herbs and grass heap- 
ed together ; and lays two ash coloured eggs, 
spotted with brown. They are shy birds, 
and always upon their guard against an ene- 
my ; having a sentinel to warn them of an ap- 
proach ; on the least alarm they cry aloud, 
not unlike the swan, and fly off directly. The 
Sportsman finds, in course, much difficulty 
in approaching them. Sometimes indeed he 
approaches them under the cover of a stalking 
thorse, or other objects ; at other times a 
small dog will divert their attention, as they 
will without fear attack the dog, while his 
master gets within reach. In breeding time, 
however, they are more bold, as they will then 
defend their young even against men, 
8. Ardea major, or common heron, has a 
black crest depending from the back part of 
the head, an ash coloured body, and a black 
line and belt on the neck and breast. It is a 
native of Europe. It perches and builds in 
trees, and sometimes in high .cliffs over the 
sea, commonly in company with others, like 
rooks. It was formerly in this island game, 
heron-hawking being a favourite diversion of 
our ancestors. Not to know the hawk from 
the heronshaw was an old proverb, (since ab- 
surdly corrupted to ‘ He does not know a 
■hawk from a handsaw,’) taken originally from 
this diversion, but in course of time served to 
express great ignorance in any science. This 
bird was formerly much esteemed as food ; 
made a favourite dish at great tables, and was 
valued at the same rate as a pheasant. It is 
said to be very long-lived ; by Mr, Keysler’s 
account it may exceed 60 years. 
9. Ardea pavonia, or the crowned crane, 
has an erect bristly crest, with th<£ temples 
and two wattles .naked. It is a native of 
Africa, particularly of the coast of Guinea, as 
far as Cape Verd ; at this last place they are 
said to be exceedingly tame, and will often 
come into the court yards to feed with the 
poultry. Their chief food is supposed to be 
.worms, and such other insects as the heron 
tribe usually feed on, with vegetables of all 
kinds. See Plate Nat. Hist. fig. 34. 
10. Ardea steliaris, or the bittern, has a 
smooth 'head, and is variegated through the 
body with dark coloured spots of different 
figures and sizes. It is a native of Europe, 
and inhabits the fen countries. Itwiii suffer 
persons to come very near it without rising, 
and has been known to strike at boys and at 
sportsmen, when wounded and unable to 
make its escape. It flies principally about 
the dusk of the evening, and’then rises in a 
very singular manner, by a spiral ascent, till 
it is quite out of sight, it builds its nest with 
the leaves of water plants on some dry clump 
among the reeds, and lav s five or six eggs of 
a cinerous green colour. r l his bird and the 
heron are very apt to strike at the fowler’s 
eyes when only maimed. The food of the 
bittern is chiefly frogs ; not that it rejects fish, 
for small trouts have been met with in their 
stomachs. In the reign of Henry VIII. it 
was held in much esteem at our tables, and 
valued at one shilling. Its flesh has the 
flavour of a hare, and nothing of the fishi- 
ness of that of the heron. 
11. Ardea violacea, or crested bittern of 
Catesby, has a white crest ; the body is varie- 
gated with black and white, and bluish below. 
These birds are seen in Carolina in the rainy 
seasons ; but in the Bahama islands they 
breed in bushes growing among the rocks in 
prodigious numbers. They are called by the 
Bahamians crab-catchers, crabs being what 
they mostly subsist on ; yet they are well tast- 
ed, and free from any rank or fishy savour. 
12. Ardea virgo, has a straight greenish 
bill and crimson i.ides. The crown of the 
head is ash-coloured ; the rest of the head, 
the upper, and all the under parts, to the 
breast, black ; the back, and all the under 
part from the breast, of a bluish ash colour ; 
behind each eye springs a tuft of long white 
feathers, \vjfich decline downwards. It is found 
in many parts of Asia and Africa. See Plate 
Nat. Hist. fig. 35. " 
ARDENT spirits, those distilled from fer- 
mented vegetables, so called because they 
will take fire and burn, such as brandy, rum, &c. 
AllDISIA, a genus of the tentandria mo- 
nogynia class and order. The essential cha- 
racter is, calyx live-class, corolla onepetalled, 
five patred, reflex, stigma simple berry round 
one seeded. 
There are seven species, all trees or shrubs, 
chiefly natives of the West Indies. 
ARDUINA, a genus of the pentandria 
monogynia class and order. The essential 
character is ; cor. one petalled ; stigma bifid ; 
berry two celled ; seeds solitary. There is 
one species, -a native of the Cape, which with 
us is treated as a green-house plant. 
AREA, in geometry, denotes the superfi- 
cial content of any figure : thus, if we suppose 
a parallelogram six inches long, and four 
broad, its area will be 6 X 4 = 24 square 
inches. 
The method of finding the areas of different 
figures, as triangles, circles, &e. will be given 
hereafter. 
ARECA, the Fausel-nut, in botany, a ge- 
nus of the order of the palm* pennatifolTtr. 
The male has uo calyx, but three petals, and 
nine stamina : the female has no calyx ; the 
corolla has three petals, and the calyx is im- 
bricated. There are three species, viz. 
1. Areca cathecu, a native of India. It 
has no branches, but its leaves are very beau- 
tilul ; they form a round tuff at the top of lire 
trunk, which is as straight as an arrow. It 
grows to the height of 23 or 35 leet, and is a 
great ornament in gardens.' The shell which 
contains the fruit is smooth without, but rough 
and hairy within ; in which it pretty much re- 
sembles the shell of the cocoa nut. Its size is 
equal to thatofapretty large walnut. Itskernel 
semblance without, and lias also the same ; 
whitish veins within when cut in two. In the ' 
centre of the fruit, when it is soft, is contained 
a greyish and almost liquid substance, which ] 
grows hard in proportion as it ripens. 4 he 
extract ol this nut has been supposed to be ll e 
terra juponica of the shops : but according to 
later observations, the genuine drug seems to l 
be obtained from the mimosa catechu. The] 
fruit when ripe is astringent, but not unpala- ■ 
table, and tire shell is yellowish. * Of this fruit 
there is a prodigious consumption in the East 
Indies, l ire chief use that is made of it is to 
chew it with the leaves of betel, mixing with 
it lime made of sea shells. 
2. Areca oleracea, Plate Nat. Plist. fig. 3fy 
or true cabbage palm, is the most beautiful', 
and perhaps the tallest, of all trees. The 
trunk is perfectly straight, and marked will 
rings at the vestigial of the footstalks of the 
leaves. Near the ground it is about seven feet j 
in circumference ; but tapers as it ascends, 
and attains the height of 170 or 200 feet. 
1 he bark is of an ash colour, till within 23 or 
30 feet of the extremity of the tree; when it 
alters at once to a deep sea-green, which eoij4 : 
tinues to the top. About five feet from the; 
beginning of tlie green part upwards, tin* 
trunk is surrounded with its numerous 
branches, in a circular manner; all the 
lowermost spreading horizontally with great 
regularity ; and the extremes ot many ol the 
higher branches bend wavingly downwards, 
like so many plumes of feathers, 4hese 
branches, when lull grown, are 20 feet long, 
more or less ; and are thickly set on the trunk 
alternately, rising gradually superior one to 
another : their broad curved sockets so sur- 
round the trunk, that the sight of it, whilst 
among these, is lost, which again appears 
among the uppermost branches, and is there 
inveloped in an upright green conic spire, 
which beautifully terminates its great height. 
As there are many thousand leaves upon one 
tree, every branch bearing many scores 
upon it, and every leaf being set at a small 
and equal distance from one another, the 
beauty ot such a regular lofty group of waving 
foliage, susceptible of motion, by the most 
gentle gale of wind, is not to be described. : 
The middle rib, in each leaf, is strong and 
prominent, supporting it on the under side, 
the upper appearing smooth and shining, 
l he pithy part of the leaf being scraped off, 
the inside texture appears to be so many lon- 
gitudinal thread-like filaments. 4 hese, being 
spun in the same manner as they do hemp, 
or flax, are used in making cordage of every 
kind. Upon removing the large leaves, or 
branches, which surround the top of the trunk, 
a little way above the beginning ol the green 
bark, what is called the cabbage is discovered 
lying in many thin, snow white, brittle flakes*] 
in taste resembling an almond, but sweeter. 
This substance, which cannot be procured 
without destroying the tree, is boiled, anil 
eaten $vith mutton by the inhabitants of the 
