Y-SHAPED • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Y-shaped

... organization. The most characteristic feature of the Papilionidae, however, and that on which I think insufficient stress has been laid, is undoubtedly the peculiar structure of the larvae. These all possess an extraordinary organ situated on the neck, the well-known Y-shaped tentacle, which is entirely concealed in a state of repose, but which is capable of being suddenly thrown out by the insect when alarmed. When we consider this singular apparatus, which in some species is nearly half an inch long, the arrangement of ...

— Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection - A Series of Essays • Alfred Russel Wallace

... were struck with astonishment at this singular and apparently nauseous indulgence." A few years later, a different method was reported, by Columbus, as employed in Hispaniola. This consisted of inhaling the fumes of the leaf through a Y-shaped device applied to the nostrils. This operation is said to have produced intoxication and stupefaction, which appears to have been the desired result. The old name still continues in Cuba, and if a smoker wants a cigar, he will get it by calling for a "tobacco." The production ...

— Cuba, Old and New • Albert Gardner Robinson