ACONTIUS, (Gk. ' AKOvrtoc, A kontios). The hero of a classic love story con tained in a lost poem of Callimachus, and also given by Ovid (Hero/des xx. 21). He is a youth from Ceos. who. being at. Delos and in love with Cydippe (q.v.), throws at her feet an apple on which he has written, "1 swear by the sanctuary of Artemis to marry Acrmtius." In advertently she rends the words aloud, and in spite of her inclination to have nothing to do with the youth, is held by the goddess to her vow thus made. Consult: Morris, "The Story of Aeontius and Cydippe," in The E«rthly Paradise, part iii. (London. 1872).
ACORN, 5'lairn (properly, fruit of the field, A. S. awe, a field). The nut-like fruit of dif ferent. species of oak. It consists of the nut proper and the eupule, or saucer or cup. The acorns from different species differ much in size, form. color, and taste. In some the cup is deep and very rough; in others it is smooth and shal low. A few kinds of acorns are sweet and not unlike chestnuts in flavor, but most are bitter and more or less astringent in taste, owing to the presence of quer•in, or some similar bitter principle, and tannin. On an average, fresh acorns have the following percentage composition: Wa ter, 37.12; protein, 4.11; fat, 3.05; nitrogen free extract, 45.27; crude fibre, 8.95; and ash, 1.50. The shell makes up 14 per cent. of the total fruit, the flesh, 85 per cent. Acorns are a favorite food of wild hogs. and have been used since earliest times as feeding stuff for domestic animals, especially pigs. It is customary to let the pigs gather this food. Acorns and beechnuts
are commonly spoken of as mast. The agreeable flavor of the pork, ham, and bacon of the razor back hog of the southern States is attrib uted in no small degree to its hieing fed on acorns. On the other hand, an excess of acorns may produce a soft. spongy flesh and an oily lard. This, however, is usually obviated by feed ing corn for two or three weeks before slaughter ing. Acorns have been successfully fed to milch cows and to poultry. Horses also are sail to eat them. In the United States acorns are not much eaten by men. Coder the name "Motes," the fruit of Querens Emoryii is used as food in the southwest. Sweet acorns are eaten occasion ally in different regions, mainly by children. The Indians of the Pacific coast region from north ern California to Mexico use acorns in consider able quantities. Dried and pounded, they are made into a sort of mush, and also into bread. The acorn meal is usually leached to free it from tannin and whatever bitter principle is present. When the meal is used for bread a kind of clay is sometimes mixed with it. In several regions of Italy, notably Umbria, Tuscany, Emilia, and the Marches, acorns made into a sort of bread with the addition of two-thirds ground grain are a common article of diet. The bread is black and heavy and not readily digestible. Dried acorns are sometimes used as a substitute for coffee. See OAX.
Vkiirn-slffd. A sessile bar nacle of the family Balanidx. See BARNACLE.