Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/373

 BRUSH TURKEY BRUSSELS 367 ranged, and their points temporarily protected, and sliding this through the larger end of a quill, till the points project sufficiently far through the smaller end. The tube, having been pre- viously softened by water, contracts as it dries, and holds the bundle of hairs fast. The best brushes of this kind are made of the hair taken from the tail of a species of Russian sable. BRUSH TURKEY, a local name given by the colonists of Australia to a family of birds, the peculiar habits of which are in many respects among the most remarkable facts known in the history of the animal kingdom'. The sev- eral varieties of this group are now assigned to the family of megapodiidce. There are but about 12 species in all known to belong to this Brush Turkey (Talegalla Lathami). family. All of these are restricted in their range to the eastern archipelagoes of Asia, and to Australia, especially to the latter. The me- gapodiidce are subdivided into the sub-fam- ilies of talegallinas and megapodiince. They are also known as New Holland vultures, na- tive pheasants, and jungle fowl. To the most noticeable of this group, talegalla Lathami, the name of brush turkey is chiefly applied a name derived from the facility with which it eludes pursuit by running through tangled brushwood. Some disagreement has existed among systematists whether it should be class- ed among the true vultures, or among gallina- ceous birds ; but it is now by common consent placed among the gallinte. The most remark- able circumstance in the economy of this family is its method of hatching. Some weeks before the commencement of laying, several pairs of birds collect an almost incredible heap of de- caying vegetable matter as a depository for their eggs, to be developed by the heat engen- dered in the process of decomposition. These heaps frequently contain four cart loads of materials, and are constructed in a perfectly pyramidal form. If undisturbed, the same site is resorted to year after year, the birds adding each season a fresh supply just before the period of laying. The eggs are deposited about 12 inches apart, and all buried to the depth of two or more feet ; they are uniformly placed with the larger end up, and carefully covered. The chick when produced is fully feathered, and able to provide for its own wants from the mo- 127 VOL. HI. 24 ment of leaving the shell. The number of eggs deposited in a single heap is often very great, as many as a bushel being frequently found. From experiments made in heaps collected by birds partially domesticated, the heat of their centre has been ascertained to range as high as 95 F. The leipoa oeellata, another of this interesting group, deposits her eggs in mounds of sand alternating with layers of dried leaves and grasses. The megapodius tumulus con- structs mounds of earth, said to be often of an immense size, varying from 20 ft. in circum- ference and 5 ft. in height to a diameter of 20 ft. and a height of 15 ft. In these the eggs are carefully covered up by the parent birds, and buried often to the depth of 6 ft. Other spe- cies merely deposit their eggs, in large numbers, in holes excavated on the seashore to the depth of 2 or 3 ft. Nearly all the family, however, are unequivocally mound-builders. BRUSSELS (Flemish, Brwsel ; Fr. Sruxelles), the capital of Belgium, and of the province of South Brabant, situated on the river Senne, in lat. 50 51' N., Ion. 4 21' E. ; pop. in 1870, 171,277, or including the eight suburban com- munes, 314,077. In the new town, which is higher and healthier than the old, are the royal palaces and the mansions of the nobility, the park, public promenades (the Allee verte being the most popular), the chambers of the legislative bodies, and the libraries and mu- seums occupying the former residence of the Austrian viceroys ; while in the old town are the churches of the 14th and 15th centuries, with their superb oak carvings, stained glass win- dows and statues, the h6tel de ville, and the Church of St. Gudule. mansions of the former nobles and burghers of Brabant, now chiefly occupied by the middle class. The principal church is that of St. Gudule, an immense building in Gothic style,