158 
SCORPION-GRASS. 
the eggs of the female. The practical directions 
resulting from a knowledge of the economy of 
the scolytus when there is reason to suspect its 
presence, are first to pare away the exterior 
rough bark with a cooper’s spokeshave or other 
convenient tool, thus admitting of a distinct in- 
spection of the actual state of the trees, which, 
if having no trace in the inner bark either of 
small holes in old trees, or those superficial fur- 
rows which they make for food in young trees, 
may be pronounced sound and healthy, and to 
require no further attention. If the inner bark 
should exhibit any of these appearances, it is 
next to be ascertained whether the female has 
already deposited her eggs in it, and if it con- 
tain larvee, (which may be known by cutting 
away portions of the bark down to the actual 
wood,) should their existence be proved, the trees 
should be cut down, the bark peeled off, and 
every fragment carefully burnt. Trees which 
have been merely pierced for food, may be care- 
fully brushed over with coal tar, the smell of 
which is highly offensive to the insect ; and when 
this is repeated for a year or two, they are en- 
abled to resume their vigour, and grow healthy.” 
The drawf scolytus, S. pyymeus, is sometimes 
associated with the preceding species in the work 
of ravaging the elm, but is more generally, and 
somewhat distinctively, a devastator of the oak. 
Its length is not more than one line and a half ; 
its body is black, smooth, and shining ; its head 
is strong and granulated ; its thorax with the 
anterior margin is sometimes reddish ; its elytra 
are rust red and closely punctate-striate ; its ab- 
domen is retuse ; its legs are pitch-red ; and its 
antenne also are red, but of a lighter hue than 
the legs. This insect abounds in France, and 
made such havoc on a somewhat recent occasion, 
in the Bois de Vincennes that 50,000 young oaks 
had to be cut down in consequence of its attacks ; 
and though hitherto undetected in connexion 
with any devastation in Britain, it may possibly, 
at some future day, make as sudden and deso- 
lating an appearance among the oaks of our 
country as the destroying scolytus has done 
among the elms, and requires therefore to be 
known. 
SCOPULA. See Pyranis. 
SCORPION-GRASS,—botanically Myosotis. A 
genus of ornamental herbaceous plants, of the 
borage family. Seven species grow wild in Bri- 
tain ; upwards of a dozen have been introduced 
from other countries ; and between 20 and 30 more 
are known. Some are annuals, and others radical 
perennials; some are aquatics, and others fre- 
quent very dry situations; some are trailing or 
procumbent, and others are more or less upright ; 
some possess little interest, and others are among 
the mest exquisitely beautiful small - flowered 
plants in the world. The great majority have 
blue flowers; and all the very handsome ones 
are well represented by the well-known peren- 
nial- rooted indigenous species noticed in our 
SCORZONERA. 
article Foraut-Muz-Nor. All the species, when 
grown in gardens, will thrive in any common soil; 
and most of the perennial ones are propagated 
by radical division, and all the annual ones, and 
the rest of the perennials, from seeds. 
The tufted scorpion-grass, A. ccespitosa, is an 
indigen of watery places in Britain. Its roots 
are perennial; its stems are 9 or 10 inches high ; 
and its flowers are blue and very beautiful, and 
bloom in June and July. A long calyxed variety 
of it, W/. ¢. macrocalyx, occurs wild.—The inter- 
mediate species, J/. intermedia, is an indigen of 
the dry woods of Britain. Its roots are peren- 
nial; its stems are procumbent and about 6 
inches long; and its flowers are very handsome, 
and bloom in April and May.—The rock species, 
M. rupicola, is an indigen of rocky situations on 
the lofty mountains of Scotland. Its roots are 
perennial ; and its flowers are blue and beauti- 
ful, and bloom in June and July.— The wood 
species, df. sylvatica, is a perennial-rooted weed 
of the woods of Britain. It has a height of 
about a foot, and blooms in June and July.— 
The corn-field species, W/. arvensis, is an annual, 
blue-flowered weed of the dry fields of Britain. 
It has a height of about a foot, and blooms from 
spring till autumn. A handsome white-flowered 
variety of it, W/. a. alba, occurs in gardens.—The 
party-coloured species, Jf. versicolor, is also an 
annual weed of the dry fields of Britain. Its 
stems are about a foot high; and its flowers are 
blue and yellow, and bloom from April till June. 
The Azorean species, M/. azorica, grows about | 
waterfalls, streams, and wet rocks in some of the 
westerly islands of the Azores, and was intro- 
duced to Britain in 1844. It is a perennial, 
scarcely hardy, about two feet high; and it re- 
sembles our native forget-me-not, but has larger 
flowers, of a deep indigo blue colour, and is more 
prolific of bloom on its numerous lateral branches. 
It needs a moist atmosphere.—The dwarf species, 
M. nana, was introduced about 48 years ago from 
Continental Europe. It also is a perennial, and 
presents a close resemblance of flower to the 
forget-me-not ; but blooms only for a short period, 
and is only 4 or 6 inches high, and has the re- 
commendation, while in bloom, of displaying a 
great profusion of flowers comparatively to the 
bulk of its herbage. 
SCORPION SENNA. See Coronita. 
SCORPIURUS. See CaTerPriLuar. , 
SCORZONERA. A genus of exotic herbaceous 
plants, of the succory division of the composite 
order. About 30 species—all hardy, chiefly peren- 
nial-rooted, mostly yellow-flowered, and varying 
in height from 6 inches to 3 or 4 feet—have 
been introduced to Britain; and a few more are 
known. Most of the introduced species are more 
or less ornamental], and flourish on any ordinary 
soil, and may be propagated either from seed or 
by radical division. 
The Spanish species, S. Aespanica, was intro- 
duced in the latter part of the 16th century; and 
