Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/841

 HORNER of his journey to his friends in Europe. Re- turning to Moorzook, he joined a caravan for the interior, after which all traces of him were lost. Konig published at Weimar in 1802 Hor- nemann's TagebucJi einer Reise von Cairo nach Murzuck, an English translation appearing at the same time in London. It was translated into French by Griffet de la Baume, with ad- ditions on the geography and the oases of Af- rica (2 vols., Paris, 1803). HOMER. I. Francis, a British statesman, born in Edinburgh, Aug. 12, 1778, died in Pisa, Feb. 8, 1817. He was educated at the high school and university of Edinburgh, studied for the bar, and was one of the originators of the "Edinburgh Review." In 1803 he removed to London, entered at Lincoln's Inn, was called to the bar in 1804, was one of the commission- ers appointed by the East India company for settling the nabob of Arcot's debts, and in 1806 entered parliament. After the general elec- tion of 1812 he became a leader of the whig party in the house; but he disagreed wi$ Lord Grenville on the question of war after Napoleon's return from Elba, and consequent- ly tendered the resignation of his seat, which was not accepted. His last speech was on June 25, 1816, in favor of the Catholic claims and deprecating the harsh treatment of Ire- land ; soon after which he made a visit to Italy for the benefit of his health, and died abroad. A monument to him by Chantrey has been erected in Westminster abbey, and his " Me- moirs and Correspondence," edited by his brother, was published at London in 1843 (2 vols. 8vo). II. Leonard, brother of the prece- ding, born in Edinburgh about 1785, died in London, March 5, 1864. In 1827 he became warden of the university of London, and in 1833 an inspector of factories. In 1848 he was elected president of the geological society. Be- sides many pamphlets on social questions, he published " Memoirs and Correspondence of Francis Homer " (1843), and a translation of Villari's " Life of Savonarola " (1862). HORNET, a stinging hymenopterous insect, of the family diploptera and tribe of vespiaria or wasps, under which title their family and generic characters will be given. The Euro- pean hornet (cespa crabro, Linn.) is about an inch long, larger than the common wasp ; the thorax is black in the middle, and brown else- where ; the abdomen is black with yellow bor- ders, and below yellow with black spots ; the upper lip yellow, and the eyes blackish; the body smooth ; the wings are longitudinally folded, and the mandibles strong and dentated. The hornets, like the wasps, live in society, in nests containing males, females, and neuters, the last two of which do all the work and are armed with a venomous sting; their societies are republican, several females and their broods living and working harmoniously together. The nest is built on decayed trees, old posts, and in almost any sheltered place in barns and porticoes ; it is of a rounded form, made HORNET 823 of coarse materials, and of the color of faded leaves ; the materials of which it is composed are prepared from particles of old wood or bark by their mandibles, reduced to a kind of papier mache or soft pasteboard; with this, af- ter the inside of the nest has been thickly plas- Hornet and Nest tered, they make horizontal combs suspended from above by strong columns, the central be- ing the largest ; the cells are hexagonal, with the opening downward. A few females, or per- haps a single one, having escaped the rigors of winter, begin to construct a few cells and lay their eggs in the spring, the first broods being neuters, which when perfect help their mothers in the domestic economy of the nest ; the larvro are footless, each enclosed in a separate cell, where it is fed on insects and honey stolen from bees ; when the larvsD have acquired their full growth, they line the cell with silk, cover- ing the opening, and in this undergo their meta- morphosis. The neuters aid in building the other nests, and in feeding the successive broods of larvse ; as the family increases, new cells and additional platforms are constructed. The young females and young males come forth about the beginning of autumn, and all larvaa which cannot become perfect before cold weather are destroyed by the neuters; the males perform no labor; both sexes meet on the trees in autumn, feeding on saccharine juices, and soon perish from the cold. There are about 150 individuals in a nest. Hornets prey upon other insects, especially flies, upon flesh, and ripe and sweet fruits ; they also rob bees of their honey ; a hornet's nest suspended in a place infested by flies will soon perceptibly diminish their numbers. If their nest be dis- turbed, they fiercely attack and sting the in- truder, causing a painful and frequently dan- gerous wound. The wasp called hornet or "yellow jacket" in New England is the V maculata (Linn.); it is too common to need any description, and its habits are those of the