E 
of insects of the order Coleoptera. Anten- 
nae setaceous ; feelers six, filiform ; hind- 
legs formed for swimming, fringed on the 
inner side, and nearly unarmed with claws. 
Nearly two hundred species of this genus 
have been enumerated. This has sometimes 
obtained the English name of water-beetle, 
it being an aquatic genus, and rarely seen 
in flight except during the evening. One 
of the largest European species is the D. 
marginalis, about an inch long, of a ochre 
colour : the whole insect is of a polished 
surface on the, upper part, and the wing- 
shells are each marked by two rows of 
scarcely perceptible impressed points. This 
insect is not uncommon in stagnant waters, 
where its larva also resides, w'hich is of a 
very extraordinary shape, and so unlike the 
animal into wfiich it is at length transform- 
ed, that no one, not conversant in entomo- 
logy, would suppose it to have the most 
distant relationship to it. It is of a bold 
EAR 
and ferocious disposition, committing great 
ravages, not only among the weaker kind 
of water-insects, as well as water-newts, 
tadpoles, &c,; but even among fishes, 
of which it frequently destroys great num- 
bers in a season, and is therefore justly 
considered as one of the most mischievous 
animals that can infest a fish-pond. A larva 
of this kind has been known to seize on a 
young tench of three inches in length, and 
to kill it in a minute. When arrived at its 
full growth tlie larva betakes itself to the 
banks of the water it inhabits, and forming 
an oval hollow in the soft eartli or clay, in a 
few days changes into a chrysalis much re- 
sembling that of the genus scarabmus, and 
of a whitish colour. From this, in the 
space of about three weeks, proceeds the 
complete insect. Many other much smaller 
species of this genus may be found in ponds. 
There have been enumerated forty-nine 
species of British dytisci. 
E. 
E The fifth letter of the alphabet, and 
’ second vowel, has diiferent pronuncia- 
tions in most languages. The Greeks have 
their eta >i, and epsilon e, or long and short e. 
The French have their e open pronounced 
much like our a in the words face and make; 
their e masculine, pronounced not unlike 
our y at the end of words, as liberty, liberty ; 
their e feminine, or mute, very weakly if at 
all pronqunced, added generally at the end 
of words, either to disthiguish the feminine 
gender, or lengthen the syllable ; and their e 
before an m or re, which sounds like our a 
in the word tear : these are ail exemplified 
in the words empecMe or enfermie. In 
English there are three kinds of e, viz. the 
open or long e, as in the wiords bear, tvear ; 
the close or short c, as in wet, kept; and 
mute e, which serves to lengthen the sylla- 
ble, as in love, came, &c. 
As a numeral, E stands for 250. In mu- 
sic it denotes the tone e-la-mi. In the calendar 
it is the fifth of the dominical letters. And 
in sea-charts it distinguishes alt the easterly 
points; thus, E. alone denotes east, E. by S. 
and E. by N. east by south, and east by north. 
EAGLE. See Falco. 
Eagle, in astronomy. See Aqgila. 
Eagle, in heraldry, is accounted one 
of the most noble bearings. They are 
generally borne with their wings and tails 
expanded. This posture is best fitted to 
fill up the esciitcheon. 
EALDERMAN. See Earl. 
EAR. See Anatomy and Compara- 
tive anatomy. 
Ear, in music, implies, that sensible, 
clear, and true perception of musical sounds 
by wiiich we are offended at dissonance, and 
pleased with harmony. To have an ear, which 
is a common phrase, is to be capable of distin- 
guishing the true intonation from the false, 
to be sensible of metrical precision, and to 
feel all the nicer changes of artificial com- 
bination. 
Ear pick, an instrument of ivory, silver, 
or other metal, somewhat in form of a 
probe, for cleaning the ear. 
Ear wiux. See Cerumen. 
Ear wig. See Forficula. 
EARING, in the sea-language, is that 
part of the bolt-rope which at the four cor- 
