Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/360

324 and, although shorter, resemble those of the Raven ; but in the Ameri- can Crow they are three times as broad, rounded, and entirely blended.

Lastly, the American species has a decided purpUsh-brown tinge on the neck, while the European bird has that part glossed with green and blue.

I am happy on this occasion to have an opportunity of referring you to an excellent paper, on the specific characters of birds, by Mr Mac- GiLLivRAY, which you will find in the Transactions of the Wernerian Natural History Society, and in which he shews the great advantage that may be derived from attending to the structure and form of the feathers. The characters by which the American Crow is distinguished from the European Carrion Crow are an exemplification of his views, in which I cordially agree : — " Allowing," says he, " only a partial application of the principle of characterizing the species by the forms of the feathers, even this would be a matter of importance ; and were the attention of ornithologists directed toward this point, there can be little doubt that discoveries would quickly be made, which would determine species and varieties with much greater precision than can be attained by attending to colour alone."

JuGLANs NIGRA, WUld. Sp. PI. vol. iv. p. 45C. PuTsh, Flor. Amer. Sept. vol. iL p. 636. Mich. Arbr. Forest, vol. i. p. 157. pi- i Monizcia Polyandria, Linn. Tere- binthacEjE, Juss.

The Black Walnut of the United States is generally a tree of beauti- ful form, and often, especially in the Western and Southern States, at- tains a great size. Wherever it is found, you may calculate on the land being of good quality ; the wood is very firm, of a dark brown tint, vein- ed, and extremely useful for domestic purposes, many articles of furni- ture being made of it. It is also employed in ship-building. When us- ed for posts or fence rails, it resists the action of the weather for many years. The nuts are gathered late in autumn, and although rather too oily, are eaten and considered good by many persons. The husking of them is however a disagreeable task, as their covering almost indelibly stains every object with which it comes in contact.

See Vol. I. p 433.