Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/727

 cu ph HESYCHIUS ke flax seed ; in two or three weeks the insect within becomes detached from the leathery skin, and lies loosely in it, a motionless grub ; within this it gradually advances toward the winged state about the end of April or be- ginning of May, according to the warmth of the weather. When mature, it breaks through this case, enveloped in a delicate skin, which soon splits on the back, setting the perfect in- sect at liberty. Many of those laid by the spring brood are left in the stubble, and remain unchanged until the following spring ; some, wever, do not get so low on the stalk as to out of the way of the sickle, and thus with straw may be transported long distances, d might have been brought in the flax-seed across the Atlantic from Europe. The perfect insects, though small, are active and fly considerable distances in search of fields of grain. The insect supposed to be the Hessian fly, which Miss Morris found laying its eggs in the seeds of wheat instead of on the leaves, she afterward ascertained to be another species, which she called 0, culmicola. This destruc- tive insect was first observed in 1776 on Staten md, near the place of debarkation of the essian troops under the command of Sir Wil- Howe; thence it spread to Long Island, southern New York, and Connecticut, proceed- ing inland at the rate of about 20 miles a year ; it was seen at Saratoga, 170 miles from Staten island, in 1789, and west of the Alleghanies in 1797; so great was the destruction, that the Itivation of wheat was abandoned in many ilaces. Burning the stubble in wheat, rye, and barley fields, afterward ploughing and har- rowing the land, appears to be the best method of getting rid of this insect; steeping the grain, rolling it in plaster or lime, or other methods of securing a rapid and vigorous growth, sowing the fields with wood ashes and feeding off the crop by cattle in the au- tumn, are useful accessory means. Various minute parasitic insects, of the hymenopterous order, similar in their habits to the ichneumon flies, destroy a very large proportion of every generation of the Hessian fly, preying upon their eggs, larvae, and pupse. The insect which commits such depredations on the wheat crops of Great Britain, G. tritici (Kirby), will be described under WHEAT FLY. For details on the history, habits, and transformations of the Hessian fly, the reader is referred to "Insects Injurious to Vegetation," by Dr. T. M. Harris. HESYCHIUS. I. Saint, an Egyptian bishop, born about the middle of the 3d century, died in Alexandria in 311. He published an edi- tion of the New -Testament mentioned by St. Jerome, as well as a revised edition of the Septuagint, both of which were in general use throughout Egypt and the neighboring coun- tries. He suffered martyrdom in the perse- cution begun by Diocletian, shortly before its termination. II. Of Alexandria, a Greek lexicog- rapher, born in Alexandria about 350. His personal history is unknown. He left a lexicon HETEROOEROAL 709 considered to be of inestimable value. Some critics say that this work is based on a lexicon composed in the 1st century by Pamphilus of Alexandria, and abridged later by Diogenianus. One manuscript of the work exists in St. Mark's library at Venice; and according to Kopitar (Hesychii Glossographi Discipulm Rvssus, Vi- enna, 1839), inedited manuscripts of St. Cyril of Alexandria in several European libraries reproduce the work of Hesychius. The first edition was that of Musurus (Venice, 1514) ; the best is that of Johann Alberti and David Euhnken (Leyden, 1746-1766; reedited by Schmidt, 4 vols. 4to, Jena, 1857-'64). HI. Of Jerusalem, a Greek ecclesiastical writer, born in Jerusalem, died in Constantinople about 434. He was educated in his native city, and ordained priest in Constantinople, where he spent the remainder of his life. His principal works are: In L&viticum Libri VII (Latin, Basel, 1527; Paris, 1581; the Greek text is lost) ; Siv^pov (or Ke^dAam) ruv 16' UpofijT&v nal 'Haatov (Augsburg, 1602); 'H 'Evayye^iK^ I,vfj.(j)uvia (in Combefis's Grceco-Latince Patrum Biblioihecce, Notum Auctarium, Paris, 1648). His complete works are published in vol. xciii. of Migne's Patrologie grecque. Among his lost works is a church history. IV. Of Miletus, called the Illustrious, a Greek historian, born at Miletus in Ionia about 470, died about 530. Very little is known of his life. His only ex- isting work is one on celebrated teachers, Tlepl T&V h ILaitieia "ka^avr^v (Antwerp, 1572, with a translation by Hadrianus Junius). Meursius in his Hesychii Opuscula (Leyden, 1613; Leip- sic, 1820) published a fragment, Tlarpia Kuva- TavTivovTrdfauc, believed to be the 6th book of a universal history from Belus to the end of the reign of Anastasius I., 518. Photius and Suidas mention this work with praise. HETEROCERCAL. All palaeozoic and most mesozoic fishes had a vertebrated tail, the ver- tebrsB extending to its extremity, instead of stopping short at its commencement as in almost all existing fishes. As the vertebral column extended into the upper lobe of the taD, the two lobes were une- qual, sometimes very much so ; hence such were called by Agassiz heterocercal or une- ventailed fishes, while those of the ordinary form, the even-tailed, were called homocer- cal. The placoids (se- lachians or sharks) and the ganoids (sturgeons and gar pike), both the extinct and living species, had heterocercal tails ; while ordinary fishes (ctenoids and cy- cloids), from the oolite to the present time, have the lobes of the tail nearly or quite equal. This has been regarded as a mark of the sau- roid character of the early fishes ; with other peculiarities, it indicates the high position of 1. Heterocercal (Shark). 2. Homocercal (Salmon).