Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/639

 PLOVER PLUM 619 does not frequent rocky or muddy places. It is a very rapid flier and runner, and is so near- ly the color of the sand on which it squats close when alarmed that it is hard to detect. The notes are very soft and mellow, approach- ing those of a song bird, whence its name. It is seldom pursued by sportsmen, on account of its small size, though its flesh is very delicate and savory. The European ring plover (C. hiaticula, Linn.) so nearly resembles the C. semipalmatus of America as to be with diffi- culty distinguished from it. There are about 40 other species of the genus charadrius. In the genus squatarola (Cuv.) the bill is nearly as long as the head, strong and straight ; tail long, broad, and rounded ; hind toe very small, not touching the ground. Two species are de- scribed, found in both hemispheres, migrating from the temperate to arctic and antarctic re- gions, where they pass the warmer months; they frequent river margins and marshes as well as the seashore, running with rapidity and uttering at the same time a shrill piping whistle ; the food consists of worms, slugs, and various insects; the nest is a slight hollow in the ground lined with dry grass. The black-bellied plover (8. Helvetica, Cuv.) is the largest of the American birds of this group, having a length of about 12 in. Most of the lower parts, the front of the neck, and around the base of the bill to the eyes, are black ; above white, nearly pure on the forehead, barred with brownish black on the back and tail, and tinged with ashy on the sides ; abdo- men, under tail coverts, and tibiae white ; quills brownish black ; bill and legs black. In win- ter the plumage is dark brown above, spotted with white and yellow, and white below, with dark brown lines and spots on the breast. It is widely distributed over America, and along the seacoasts of most parts of the world; it migrates chiefly by night, resting and feeding by day ; it is very shy except in the breeding season, which is the same as to time as in the Upland Plover (Actiturus Bartramius). other species. The bird called the upland or field plover is Bartram's sandpiper, belonging to the subfamily totaninc&, and is the actitu- rus Bartramius (Bonap.), or tringa Bartramia (Wils.). It is 12 in. long; the bill is long- er than the head, curved at the tip, the cleft extending nearly to the eyes ; the upper man- dible is grooved for three fourths of its length, and the feathers extend on it further than on the lower ; wings and legs long; tarsus longer than middle toe ; outer toe most webbed ; tail more than half the wing, graduated. The general color is brownish black above with a greenish lustre, the feathers edged with ashy white and yellow ; lateral tail coverts yellow- ish white, with black arrowheads; wide stripe over eye and under parts pale yellowish white, nearly pure white on abdomen, with brown- ish black lines on the neck ; legs light yellow. This is the most terrestrial of the family, frequenting as its name imports the upland dry places, sometimes in the neighborhood of and at others far removed from the sea. It is spread over eastern North America, South America, and Europe, very abundant in the interior of the Atlantic states, preferring plains and cultivated fields; it is one of the few species which have not decreased with extended civilization. It passes the winter in the vast prairies of the southwest, going in spring and summer as far north even as the Saskatchewan, returning in the autumn ; it is seen in large and small flocks, and sometimes in pairs ; it is very wary, a swift flier, and a rapid runner ; the notes are plaintive and mel- low; the food consists of beetles, grasshop- pers, crickets, seeds, and berries ; it is fat and juicy in the autumn, and excellent eating ; the habits are the same as in the true plovers, which, though ranked among waders, rarely enter the water except on the very edge of the sea and ponds. PLOWDEN, Edmund, an English lawyer, born about 1517, died in 1584. He studied at Cam- bridge and Oxford, and in 1552 was admitted to the practice of physic and surgery. He then studied the common law, according to Wood; but Plowden in the preface to his " Commentaries " says that he began the study of the law in the 20th year of his age. He was made sergeant at law under Queen Mary, and in 1557 and 1560 he was reader or lec- turer of the Middle Temple. He wrote " Com- mentaries or Reports of Divers Cases in the Reigns of Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth" (London, 1571, 1578, 1599, 1613, and 1684), written in Norman French, and " Queries, or a Moot Book of Cases, translated, methodized, and enlarged" (8vo, 1662). An English trans- lation of the "Commentaries" appeared in 1761, and was reprinted in 1816 (2 vols. 8vo). His works are regarded as the most accurate and authoritative of the old reports. PLUM, the name of wild and cultivated spe- cies and varieties of trees of the genus prunw^ and their fruit. Formerly our cultivated stone fruits were distributed in three or four differ- ent genera, but the highest botanical authori- ties now bring the almond, peach, apricot, plum, and cherry all under the genus prunus,